Sunday 12 October 2008, San José, Costa
Rica
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Punishing U.S., President Says
Guatemala Forum Decries
FTA with US
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Brazil: No Budget Cuts
For Infrastructure
Despite Financial Crisis
Peru Names New Prime
Minister After Cabinet's
Resignation
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Peru Names New Prime
Minister After Cabinet's
Resignation
LIMA - Peruvian
President Alan Garcia
Saturday named Yehude
Simon as new prime
minister a day after the
13-member cabinet led by
Jorge del Castillo
resigned en masse over
corruption allegations.
Four audio tapes emerged
last Sunday linking
members of the ruling
party to a plan to steer
lucrative petroleum
contracts to a Norwegian
oil company in exchange
for bribes.
Following the scandal,
the government fired
Vice President Alberto
Quimper of the
state-owned petroleum
company Petroperu and
accepted the
resignations of Energy
Minister Juan Valdvia
and the company's
president Cesar
Gutierrez.
Simon, 61, an
independent leftist
politician, is currently
governor of the northern
Lambayeque province. He
was a lawmaker for the
United Left party from
1985 to 1990 during
Garcia's first
administration.
He was jailed for eight
years for alleged links
to leftist Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)
guerrillas during the
presidency of Alberto
Fujimori.
He was pardoned in 2000
after Fujimori fled to
Japan, and was elected
governor of Lambayeque
province in 2003.
Simon accepted the post,
Garcia said, adding that
one of the main tasks
for the new cabinet will
be to "absolutely
eradicate corruption."
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