LatinNews Daily - 4 September 2024

*Peru’s President Dina Boluarte has replaced four cabinet ministers, including the foreign minister, Javier González-Olaechea. Also out in the reshuffle were the ministers of foreign trade & tourism (Elizabeth Galdo), housing, construction & sanitation (Hania Pérez de Cuéllar), and culture (Leslie Urteaga). González-Olaechea was replaced by Elmer Schialer, who served as Peru’s ambassador in Germany from 2016-2022. The new foreign trade & tourism minister, Úrsula Desilú León, has previously held other roles in the Boluarte administration including as general secretary at the production ministry and deputy minister for fishing and aquiculture. The housing brief was taken over by Durich Whittembury, who since 2019 has been the general secretary at the housing, construction & sanitation ministry. The new culture minister is Fabricio Valencia, a lawyer who was previously an adviser to the culture ministry. González-Olaechea’s replacement was a surprise, and comes ahead of Peru’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November, which will be attended by global leaders including China’s President Xi Jinping. Urteaga, meanwhile, had faced widespread calls to step down as culture minister amid controversy over a contract to sell tickets for the Machu Picchu archaeological site. Boluarte’s most questioned minister, Interior Minister Juan José Santiváñez, who is facing renewed allegations that he undermined a corruption investigation into the president’s brother, Wigberto Nicanor Boluarte, was not affected by the reshuffle.