LIMA (Reuters) – Peru’s President Dina Boluarte will make changes to her cabinet, Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea said on Tuesday, as speculation swirled in local media that her prime minister could soon depart her government.
The cabinet shuffle will be part of a “relaunch of the government’s general policy,” Gonzalez-Olaechea said during an event at the foreign ministry.
His comments follow the publication of an audio clip in local media over the weekend purporting to be of Prime Minister Alberto Otarola attempting to improperly influence government contracts.
Otarola has not commented specifically on media reports about his possible exit, but on social media on Sunday denied any irregular contracting and on Monday denied committing any illegal act.
Any resignation by Otarola would require the other 18 cabinet members to also resign, according to Peruvian law.
Boluarte would have the choice to reinstate each cabinet member or swap them out for a new minister.
The president last shuffled her cabinet last month, swapping out four ministers, including those heading the economy and mining, as the Andean nation works to lift its shaky economy out of a recession.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle and Kylie Madry; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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