Nine months with a premier who overflows with violence in his statements

Rampant. It is said -according to the Royal Spanish Academy- of the person who behaves without moderation and with violence. An adjective that, in recent months, fits well with the Prime Minister of Peru. Hannibal Torres does not hide He is irreverent, macho, defiant, with violent overtones in his behavior and a public admiration for the genocidal Adolfo Hitler; Not only is she the right hand of President Pedro Castillo, but she is probably his best lifeline in times of crisis.

Before reaching the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Torres was head of Justice. In that office, the only action of his that is remembered of him was illegally firing the state attorney general, Daniel Soria. The reason? Having filed a criminal complaint against the president for the Puente Tarata III case. In this way, he established himself as Castillo’s main defender of all serious corruption complaints, confronting Congress and the Prosecutor’s Office.

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On November 8, he completed nine months in office. During this period, the entire country has witnessed his outbursts, insults, attacks on the press and on autonomous organizations. He leads the management of him without brakes and threatening left and right. The last threat was Congressby pointing out that he could present successive questions of confidence (to dissolve that power of the State?).

Look at the analysis of the specialists:

discourse of violence

The first flash of authoritarianism in Torres occurred on December 1, 2021, when he was the head of the Minjus. “A majority sector of the press permanently defamed President Castillo. Professional slanderers have no right to demand interviews”, he asserted.

On February 14, during his first press conference as chief of staff, he prevented journalists from asking about Juan Silva (former head of the MTC).

“The questions on this occasion have to be specified on the point of the vacancy (…). The questions are only about the topic that has been discussed today”, he warned.

His words stuck, because in 16 months of government, Castillo has only given interviews to CNN en Español, Exitosa and TV Peru, the official channel of the State.

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An attitude that was repeated later when he called a conference and discriminated against and locked up the national media in a contiguous environment, allowing access only to the foreign press.

For the social psychologist Jorge Yamamoto, those acts already represented signs of authoritarianism. “The premier’s attitude deteriorated and in recent months we have seen a rather harmful position on his part, with authoritarian traits, instead of being conciliatory”, he explained to Peru21TV.

A position that could start from his admiration for one of the greatest genocidal in history. “Italy and Germany were just like us. On one occasion Hitler visits northern Italy, and Mussolini shows him a highway built from Milan to Brescia, Hitler saw this and went to his country and filled it with highways, airports and made Germany the first economic power in the world”, he declared on April 7.

Yamamoto added that “If we analyze the minimum criteria of logic, (Torres) could be out of his boxes, but if we analyze psychological operations to deceive, his behavior could be a political strategy”.

The former Minister of the Interior agreed with this idea. Carlos Basombrio, who argued that the lawyer is the one who politically organizes Castillo’s defense. “All his management has focused on organizing it based on the defense of his government against specific complaints for acts of corruption”, he indicated to this newspaper.

He recalled that, in April, he attacked Cardinal Pedro Barreto. “I have talked with him (Barreto) in previous days and he believes that one is stupid, that he does not realize it. Of course, what is in favor of that power group in Peru” were the words of Torres after calling him “miserable”.

The National Board of Justice was not spared from Torres’s attacks either, because, according to its position, it must investigate the National Prosecutor, Patricia Benavides. “In exchange for what do we pay those succulent salaries (to the directors)?“, I ask.

Basombrío added that Torres “is not going to go down in history” because he has not had much significance in terms of political progress in Peru.

“Mr. Torres has already resigned at the time but I think Castillo keeps it because he has no one, apart from his group of “defenders”, the government crooks, Mr. Salas, Mr. Chero, Roberto Sánchez… Later there is no one… someone with a modicum of sympathy. Torres is what it is and it is functional, defends the indefensible, attacks insults. A man like Castillo feels comfortable with a premier who insults the press, who says he admires Hitler and so many other atrocities.“, lament.

Data

In July 2021, during the change of command, Aníbal Torres was acting as legal advisor to Peru Libre.
In August, Torres questioned the National Prosecutor for the Los Cuellos Blancos case. “How are we going to improve if we do not say that it is not right that the Prosecutor’s Office investigating Los Cuellos Blancos has been dismantled?”, he expressed.
Yamamoto said that the premier tends to personalize and generalize. “Swith positions that do not help to solve conflicts”, he stated.
This month –according to Ipsos for EC– 65% of the population disapproves of Torres’ management as head of the Cabinet of Ministers.