A little more than a day after assuming the presidency, José Jerí is trying to present himself as a determined leader with control of internal order. This Saturday he led a police operation in the Ancón I prison, in a clear staging that evoked images of Nayib Bukele entering prisons to display power. But behind the gesture, Jerí faces a serious problem: he has not been able to appoint a single minister, which leaves his Government in institutional limbo.
The operation, coordinated with the INPE and the National Police, included searches of the inmates’ cells and the seizure of cell phones, sharp weapons and drugs. The intervention was replicated in other prisons in the country, such as Lurigancho and Challapalca. The intention was to send a message of “authority and security,” but it ended up generating more questions about the media use of these actions when there is still no cabinet to support their decisions.
