LIMA, Peru _ Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski reshuffled his Cabinet and turned to his vice president, Mercedes Araoz, to lead the ministerial team after Araoz's predecessor received a no-confidence vote from Congress.
Araoz, a governing-party lawmaker, was sworn in as Cabinet chief during a ceremony Sunday at the presidential palace in Lima to replace Fernando Zavala. Deputy Economy Minister Claudia Cooper was named finance minister, a post Zavala had also held since June. Kuczynski also appointed new education, justice, health and housing ministers.
Peru's entire cabinet was forced to resign after Zavala lost a Sept. 15 confidence vote he'd called to stop the opposition-controlled Congress from forcing out a fourth minister in less than a year.
Kuczynski is the nation's first leader to govern without a majority in Congress. The appointments are an attempt to address concerns that the previous Cabinet had too many technocrats who lacked political experience.
In addition to Araoz, who was finance minister and trade minister during the 2006-2011 term of former President Alan Garcia, Kuczynski appointed Carlos Bruce, another ruling-party lawmaker, to the post of housing minister.
Opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, who narrowly lost last year's presidential race, called on Kuczynski in July to make changes to his Cabinet amid a protracted teachers' strike that ended this month. That call was echoed by members of Kuczynski's own party this month amid a slump in the president's approval rating.
Kuczynski reappointed the remaining Cabinet members to their previous posts. Members of Fujimori's party struck a conciliatory tone as the new Cabinet was announced, after initially warning Kuczynski against reappointing any of the existing team. Hector Becerril, a Fuerza Popular lawmaker, welcomed Araoz's appointment and said she will be able to seek consensus and avoid confrontation with other parties, El Comercio newspaper reported.
As finance minister, Cooper will be responsible for shepherding Zavala's 2018 budget law through Congress. Before joining Kuczynski's administration, Cooper worked as manager for institutional clients at Compass Group in Lima and previously as head of research at Banco de Credito del Peru. She was a finance ministry adviser during Garcia's government.
