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Peru's
President Reshuffles Cabinet
Lima - Peruvian President Alan Garcia on
Saturday announced a cabinet shakeup, naming Javier
Velasquez, head of Congress, as the president of the
council of ministers (prime minister).
Seven new ministers were also named by Garcia.
Former National Police chief Octavio Salazar was
appointed as interior minister, and ex-cabinet
minister Rafael Rey as defense minister.
Other new ministers include Justice Minister Aurelio
Pastor, Agriculture Minister Adolfo de Cordova,
Labor Minister Manuela Garcia, Minister of Foreign
Trade and Tourism Martin Perez and Production
Minister Mercedes Araoz.
The new cabinet members were sworn in at the
presidential palace on Saturday.
The shakeup was the largest cabinet reshuffle since
Garcia took office in July 2006.
On June 19, former Prime Minister Yehude Simon, who
had been heavily criticized for his handling of a
stand-off with Amazon tribesmen over land and
resources, said the president would decide whether
to shake up the cabinet.
On June 5, at least 34 people died and dozens were
injured in police raids to break indigenous
protestors' blockades of roads and rivers in the
rain forest that started in April. Since then,
opposition parties have demanded that Simon step
down.
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