President of Peru replaces most of his cabinet, including the Minister of Health
The President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, changed 11 of his 18 ministers, among them the Minister of Health. This is the second change in cabinet since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the country four months ago.
The departure of the Minister of Health, Víctor Zamora, who was replaced by Pilar Mazzetti, is the most notable change due to the constant criticism he received for his handling of the numbers of victims of the coronavirus in the second country with the most cases in Latin America (over 333,000), behind Brazil.
The official death toll from Covid-19 stands at 12,229, which is the third-highest number in the region after Brazil and Mexico, but critics of Zamora say they exceed 30,000.
Vizcarra named Mario López Chavarri as the new chancellor, who replaced Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, both career diplomats.
As a new interior minister, Jorge Montoya, a former head of the Air Force, assumed an appointment that may mean a turn in the fight against crime in the country.
The new ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at the Government Palace, in which Vizcarra and his collaborators wore face masks.
I am sure with this new cabinet we will move forward and comply with the course we have set ourselves, said Vizcarra.
Pilar Mazzetti is a prestigious neurologist and former minister who heads the command that advises the government in the fight against the pandemic.
I have nothing but to thank President Martin Vizcarra for the high honor of giving me his trust and entrusting me with the responsibility of leading the health sector, Zamora said in a farewell message on his Twitter account.
The new Minister of Health has experience in the public sector, since she held the same portfolio with President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) and was Minister of the Interior during the second government of Alan García (2006-2011).
Zamora had taken office on March 21 in place of Elizabeth Hinostroza, a week after Peru launched mandatory national confinement that lasted until June 30.
At the head of the cabinet, Vizcarra appointed Pedro Cateriano, a liberal lawyer who already held that position during the government of President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), as prime minister, succeeds Vicente Zeballos, who held that portfolio since September 30, 2019.
The official death toll from Covid-19 stands at 12,229, which is the third-highest number in the region after Brazil and Mexico, but critics of Zamora say they exceed 30,000.
Vizcarra named Mario López Chavarri as the new chancellor, who replaced Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, both career diplomats.
As a new interior minister, Jorge Montoya, a former head of the Air Force, assumed an appointment that may mean a turn in the fight against crime in the country.
The new ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at the Government Palace, in which Vizcarra and his collaborators wore face masks.
I am sure with this new cabinet we will move forward and comply with the course we have set ourselves, said Vizcarra.
Pilar Mazzetti is a prestigious neurologist and former minister who heads the command that advises the government in the fight against the pandemic.
I have nothing but to thank President Martin Vizcarra for the high honor of giving me his trust and entrusting me with the responsibility of leading the health sector, Zamora said in a farewell message on his Twitter account.
The new Minister of Health has experience in the public sector, since she held the same portfolio with President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) and was Minister of the Interior during the second government of Alan García (2006-2011).
Zamora had taken office on March 21 in place of Elizabeth Hinostroza, a week after Peru launched mandatory national confinement that lasted until June 30.
At the head of the cabinet, Vizcarra appointed Pedro Cateriano, a liberal lawyer who already held that position during the government of President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), as prime minister, succeeds Vicente Zeballos, who held that portfolio since September 30, 2019.