Peru’s President Struggles to Hold Onto Cabinet Ministers

(Bloomberg) -- Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra keeps losing cabinet members as the team he appointed after dissolving congress struggles under harsh public scrutiny.

Culture Minister Francisco Petrozzi this week became the third cabinet member to quit in two months after his decision to fire the head of the state television and radio caused a backlash. That followed the resignations of ministers for health and social inclusion after news reports suggesting they may have violated nepotism laws.

Vizcarra is coming under pressure even though he has little political opposition since sending congress home Sept. 30. With no lawmakers to hold the government to account until a new congress in March, the government is directly exposed to public opinion, said Luis Benavente, executive director of communications and marketing consultancy Vox Populi.

“Ministers are starting to fall like bowling pins, and that's not good because it means the government is weaker than it seems,” he said by phone from Lima.

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The president dissolved congress following a feud with the opposition over anti-corruption reforms and called a fresh election for Jan. 26.

Petrozzi quit Wednesday, four days after firing Hugo Coya as head of the state broadcaster ITRP with Vizcarra's approval.

Coya said he was ousted because TV Peru gave air time to opposition politicians, including Keiko Fujimori, who was released from jail last week. Petrozzi denied the allegation and said the state broadcaster needed fresh leadership. But his denials didn't forestall his departure.

Coya's removal has fueled concern the government could interfere with news coverage ahead of next month's elections. Ana Jara, a former cabinet chief, said it was a mistake to make changes at the broadcaster so close to the vote, and the government was too slow to recognize its error.

“There's been awful damage control,” Jara said. “The issues of freedom of expression and press freedom always have to be handled with extra care, and even more so when a new congress will be elected in a few weeks.”

Vizcarra's press office didn't respond to requests for comment on the resignations. The president said Tuesday his government is committed to freedom of the press and supports “plurality, transparency and objectivity” in the media.

But the president's cabinet troubles may not be over. On Thursday, El Comercio reported that the comptroller general is seeking an investigation into irregular payments by the Moquegua regional government to a construction company building a hospital in 2014. Transportation Minister Edmer Trujillo was the regional government's general manager while Vizcarra was governor.

Vizcarra told reporters the hospital project has been investigated twice and prosecutors closed the case without finding any wrongdoing. He said he's open to any new probes.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Stephen Merelman, Robert Jameson

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