In Peru, the Minister of the Interior resigns after an evening organized in the midst of the epidemic
Luis Barranzuela (right) was appointed Minister of the Interior less than a month ago.
- PRESIDENCIA DEL PERU / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
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Peruvian Interior Minister Luis Barranzuela resigned Tuesday, less than a month after taking office.
At the origin of this decision: a party organized at his home in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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"
I took the democratic decision to irrevocably renounce the post of Minister of the Interior
", announced Luis Barranzuela Tuesday, November 2 in the evening on his Twitter account, rejecting what he describes as "
false accusations
".
He made the democratic decision to renunciate de forma irrevocable al cargo de Ministro del Interior, rechazando las falsas acusaciones a mi trayectoria profesional y in respeto the gobernabilidad y la confianza del Presidente de la República.
- Luis Barranzuela Vite (@ViteBarranzuela) November 3, 2021
Monday morning, TV Latina revealed that the 58-year-old retired policeman had organized a party at his home in Lima on Sunday on the occasion of Creole Song Day and Halloween night.
The kind of celebration expressly prohibited by decree a few days earlier as the country struggles to emerge from a particularly deadly Covid-19 epidemic.
With 2.2 million cases and more than 200,000 deaths for 33 million inhabitants, the South American country holds the world record for per capita mortality.
Work meeting
Under fire from critics, Luis Barranzuela defended himself by asserting that it was not a question of a party but of a “working
meeting
” which had continued into the night.
An explanation deemed "
unacceptable
" by the Prime Minister,
Mirtha Vasquez
.
A resignation accepted by
Pedro Castillo
in the wake.
"
Our commitment remains to ensure the governance of the country,
" said the left-wing president.
The Minister of the Interior was appointed less than a month ago.
A
new controversy
for the very young Castillo presidency, which comes as the Peruvian Congress, controlled by the right-wing opposition, must decide on Thursday whether or not to trust the government of Mirtha Vasquez, who succeeds the controversial prime minister Guido Bellido.
According to the local press, this vote of confidence would probably have been refused if the minister had not resigned.
(
with
AFP)
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Peru
Pedro Castillo
Coronavirus