LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian President Pedro Castillo swore in his fourth cabinet in just six months in office on Tuesday, picking a loyalist as prime minister, in a bid to end his administration’s recurring crises.
Castillo, a former schoolteacher and member of a Marxist-Leninist party, handed the premiership to Anibal Torres, the justice minister in the previous cabinet.
The previous prime minister resigned last week after just four days in office due to allegations of domestic violence against his daughter and late wife.
The prime minister who came before that had resigned over disagreements with Castillo over appointments of police officials.
Castillo kept on investor-friendly technocrat Oscar Graham as finance minister, the role given to him in last week’s short-lived Cabinet.
An opposition attempt to impeach Castillo in December on grounds that he was morally unfit for office failed to gather enough votes in Congress.
Castillo’s new cabinet still needs to be confirmed by the opposition-controlled Congress, which could reject it and force the president back to the drawing board. Castillo won approval for his first two cabinets, while the third one fell apart before the vote.
During the swearing in ceremony, Castillo appeared without his signature broad-rimmed hat. He has worn the hat, customarily worn in his home province of Chota, for almost all public appearance since taking office.
Neither Torres or Castillo, who both hail from Chota, offered remarks during the swearing in ceremony.
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
