On Tuesday, September 3, the President of the Republic, Dina Boluarteswore in her new cabinet, marking a significant reduction in female representation in senior ministerial positions.
Of the four changes made, only one woman was appointed minister, leaving his government with just two women in charge of ministries, a notable decrease compared to the start of his administration.
LOOK: Swearing-in of new ministers begins: Santiváñez stays despite criticism
On this occasion, Úrsula Desilú León Chempén took office as the new Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism. León is not unknown in the current government, as she previously held the position of General Secretary in the Ministry of Production. With more than 12 years of experience in Senior Management, she has played key roles in the Ministries of Health and Education, in addition to participating in various sectoral and multi-sectoral commissions.
The other woman in the cabinet is Angela Hernandez Cajo, Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations, who had already been sworn into a previous cabinet. Her management has been under scrutiny after her controversial statements on cases of rape of girls in the Awajun community, where she described these abuses as “cultural practices”, generating a strong reaction in public opinion.
The marked decline in the presence of women in Boluarte’s cabinet has generated concern and debate about the government’s commitment to gender parity, an issue that is gaining relevance in the country’s political and social sphere.
Dina Boluarte has made 44 ministerial changes
Since assuming the presidency of Peru on December 7, 2022, Dina Boluarte has set an accelerated pace in the changes to her ministerial team, with a total of 48 appointments in just 18 months. This figure translates into an average of one minister every 10 days, a fact that has generated both criticism and support on the national political scene.
Currently, the ministerial team is led by Gustavo Adrianzén, Minister of Education, Morgan Quero, Minister of the Interior, Juan José Santiváñez, Minister of Defense, Walter Enrique Astudillo Chávez, Minister of Economy José Arista Arbildo, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Eduardo Arana Ysa, Minister of Health, César Vásquez Sánchez, Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Angel Manero Campos, Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion, Daniel Maurate Romero, Minister of Production, Sergio González Guerrero, Minister of Energy and Mines, Rómulo Mucho Mamani, Minister of Transport and Communications, Raúl Reyes Espejo, Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations, Angela Hernández Cajo, Minister of the Environment, Juan Castro Vargas, Minister of Development and Social Inclusion, Julio Demartini Montes, Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, Durich Whittermbury, Minister of Culture, Fabricio Valencia Gibaja, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Úrsula León Chempén, Minister of Foreign Relations Foreign Affairs, Elmer Schialer Salcedo.
