Pedro Castillo has announced the resignation of his entire cabinet

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced in a public appearance this Wednesday the resignation of his prime minister, who, according to the country’s laws, includes his entire cabinet. The move comes just two months after taking office.

“I would like to inform the nation that today we accept the resignation of Cabinet Speaker Guido Belido Ugarde, and I thank him for his services,” Castillo said during a three-minute brief broadcast on state television.

The left-wing president did not provide details of the resignation, announcing that the new leader and his members would meet tonight.

Belido, a 41-year-old engineer and member of the hardline faction of the Marxist-Leninist Liberal Party, was appointed head of the first cabinet of the Castillo government on July 29.

“I would like to reiterate my respect and esteem for President Pedro Castillo’s trust, and I believe he created it with decor,” Bellido told a news conference.

In his resignation letter to the press, he stated that he was leaving the executive at Castillo’s request.

“We do not know the reasons. Today the president asked me to submit my resignation. I immediately complied with that request,” Bellido told reporters, adding that he would return to Congress to serve as a Member of Parliament.

Left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo has won Peru’s presidential election, defeating right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori after a polarizing campaign on June 6.

During his brief message, the President reiterated his call for broader solidarity in the economic, political and social spheres to achieve common goals such as economic restructuring.

“It is time to put on top of bigotry and isolated party positions,” the president said, wearing his typical big straw hat.

The right is celebrating the victory of its infamous campaign

Since Belido was appointed, he has not had a single day that the right has not criticized him for his firm left stance. For a week, he engaged in verbal clashes with right-wing-dominated Congress when he was questioned by Labor Minister Iber Marave, claiming he had taken part in the terrorist attacks carried out by the Maoist group Shining Bath four decades ago.

Legislators plan to table a no-confidence motion against Marave this week, defending him by refusing to allow Bellido and Castillo to engage in vile acts.

Congress leader and opposition member Maria del Carmen Alva resigned and expressed satisfaction with the possibility of changes in the cabinet.

“After several days of unnecessary uncertainty and highly questionable ministers, we welcome President Castillo’s decision to reshuffle the cabinet. Congress has the best mindset for dialogue and administration,” the legislator tweeted.

The controversial politics of Marawa, a 61-year-old teacher union leader, has been one of the factors in the past instability in the relationship between management and the legislature.

Political tensions over the past two months have marked a relationship between the two powers, triggered by the September 11 death of Abigail Guzmn, the ethnogenic leader of the Shining Path.

Right-wing Congressmen are sympathetic to the Castillo government with the Maoist group, which the president denies.

The Peruvian Congress gave a vote of confidence to Bellido’s cabinet on August 27, allowing him to continue in office.

But uncertainty about the cabinet continued, affecting the economy (the dollar rose against the local currency — and the stock market plummeted), after five years of conflict between the administration and the legislature, led by three presidents in November 2020.

Conflicts between the new government and the opposition Foreign Minister Hector Bazar, a former guerrilla fighter of the 1960s, lost his job in government for only 19 days.