In April, a presidential decision inflamed tensions in Torre Tagle. Isabel Soria Reátegui, a Peruvian teacher who lives in Sweden, had been proposed by the government of Pedro Castillo as Peru’s ambassador to Norway. Soria, 62, worked as coordinator of Pedro Castillo’s electoral campaign in Sweden, but she has not completed university studies or a recognized career. Currently, the chancellery is waiting for the acceptance of the Nordic country.
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With Soria, there are four proposals from ambassadors affiliated with the ruling party. Of these, two have been rejected and only one has been approved by the country of destination.
The first appointment that generated controversy was that of Richard Rojas Garciaconfidant of Vladimir Cerron and a member of Peru Libre since 2017. In September, he was proposed to occupy the Panamanian embassy, despite not having completed higher education. Regarding his work experience, Rojas served as press officer for peter castle during the presidential campaign and, in a Facebook post from June of last year, he said he was an electronic technician in the Paruro jirón.
The questions about Rojas’s appointment did not come only because of the lack of credentials to carry out diplomatic work. In fact, the militant had gained prominence in August 2021, when El Comercio revealed that Cerrón tried to withdraw S/376,930 from a savings account through a cashier’s check in his name.
In an unusual event -sources in the Foreign Ministry assure that it is “almost impossible” for it to happen-, Panama rejected the proposal the way it is done in diplomacy: with silence. After the 30-day period in which Panama usually grants the approval – a term used to describe the formal acceptance of the ambassador of the country of destination – the lack of response is interpreted as rejection.
After that, Rojas was appointed ambassador to Venezuela, but an order preventing him from leaving the country issued by the Judiciary -in the framework of the investigation into money laundering- forced the government to back down.
But the case of Rojas, as unusual as it may be, is not the only one in which there has been a refusal from the country of destination. The same thing happened with Eliseo Soria Reateguibrother of Isabel Soria, who was proposed as ambassador to Sweden. This State, however, rejected the appointment. Ferdinand Vivas has reported that the reason was that the teacher had Peruvian and Swedish nationality, which was an impediment to exercising the diplomatic mission in Stockholm.
Who was accepted by the country of destination is Carina Palacios Quinchoex-official of the regional government of Junín during the cerronista administration and founder of Free Peru.
In September, Palacios was proposed as ambassador to Bolivia. According to El Comercio, Peru had not sent a political ambassador to that country since at least the 1950s. This is because, being a neighboring country, diplomatic work is more complex, so chooses to send members of the diplomatic service who can deal with relations between the two States in an appropriate manner.
Palacios, far from having experience in activities related to diplomacy, is an agricultural engineer by profession. During the cerronista administration in Junín, she held two positions: director of the Jauja Agrarian Agency and, later, director of the Junín Regional Directorate of Agriculture (DRAJ). At that time, the newspaper “Correo” revealed that the militant of Free Peru She had signed documents as an “engineer” despite not having, at that time, a university degree.
Waiting for the ‘yes’
Norway has a period of approximately 40 days to give approval to the ambassadors proposed by other countries. Isabel Soria was proposed in mid-April.
From the government, however, there has been some pressure for acceptance. According to sources from the Foreign Ministry, on April 26, after the ceremony for the presentation of the credentials of concurrent ambassadors, the Norwegian ambassador, Jostein Leiro, met with the president peter castle and the chancellor Cesar Landa, in the latter’s office. In addition to Leiro, the only ambassador who met -at a different time- with the Executive was that of Angola.
If Soria’s appointment is accepted by Norway, Gustavo Otero, a career diplomat who has occupied the embassy since 2020, will be displaced.
Three CVs and unusual management
During the wait, however, the spirits have not been peaceful within Torre Tagle. Sources from this newspaper point out that, after the controversy generated by Soria’s lack of suitability for the position – she has not completed university studies, but rather technical studies in the Clothing Industry – she tried to hold the Foreign Ministry responsible for trying to “boycott” her appointment. , after the entity made changes to his curriculum vitae.
According to diplomatic officials, Soria’s CV that was sent to Norway and circulated in the media is a summarized and edited version of the original, as it had misspellings and elements without relevance to the diplomatic function.
Original version of Isabel Soria’s curriculum vitae:
Edited and summarized version of the Soria curriculum vitae:
According to diplomatic sources, Soria complained to President Castillo himself about the edited version of his CV and accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of having discredited it. The president, in turn, sent the foreign minister Cesar Landa a third version of the resume sent by Soria and asked him to send it to Norway. In an unusual practice, this week diplomatic officials had to send a cable with the new document.
The new version of the curriculum vitae, which was sent to Norway without changes, includes new elements, such as having passed a hostess and table etiquette workshop, a “3D” eyelash extensions course and others related to fashion and clothing.
On the other hand, the document states that Soria has a basic level of English. According to Torre Tagle sources, in order for diplomatic work to be possible, it is preferred that the person designated in an embassy speak the language of the country of destination – in this case it would be Norwegian – or, failing that, have a advanced English. Indeed, one of the requirements to enter the diplomatic service is to pass an international exam that certifies command of English at an advanced level.
Latest version of the curriculum vitae sent by Soria:
What does the law say?
According to the Diplomatic Service Law, political ambassadors –those who, without being part of the diplomatic service, are appointed in embassies or international organizations– cannot exceed 20% of the total number of heads of diplomatic missions and permanent representatives abroad. The fee also includes retired diplomats. With this, the Executive can appoint a maximum of 14 political ambassadors.
Currently, the Peruvian government has five acting political ambassadors: Carina Palacios (Bolivia), Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros (UN), Harold Forsyth (OAS), Oswaldo de Rivero (United States), and Alberto Massa (Nicaragua). Except Palacios, they are all retired diplomats.
Another political ambassador that Peru has proposed is the former foreign minister and retired diplomat Oscar Maurtua, who would be sent to Spain, according to sources from El Comercio to the Foreign Ministry. Currently, the Peruvian State is waiting for the Spanish approval.
Although political ambassadors do not have to be career diplomats, the rule establishes five requirements for the position: to be Peruvian by birth, to have notable capacity and versification, to render or have rendered outstanding services to the nation, to observe correct public and private conduct and no criminal record.
Due to the continuous controversies over the appointment of political ambassadors without credentials for the position, various proposals have been presented over the years that seek to raise the fence of appointments. The last one was approved in the first vote on April 28.
According to the initiative, to be a political ambassador, additional requirements must be met, such as having a professional degree issued by a university and registered with the Sunedu and lack judicial or administrative sanctions. To enter into force, the proposal must be approved by the plenary session of Congress in a second vote.
previous governments
Despite having only 5 political ambassadors in office –that is, accepted by the country of destination–, the government of peter castle It is the one that has proposed the most officials of this type in the first 10 months of management. The Castilista management, moreover, is the only one in which two appointments of political ambassadors have been rejected by the country of destination (Richard Rojas in Panama and Eliseo Soria in Sweden).
In the last 20 years, the government that appointed the most political ambassadors throughout the administration was that of Allan Garcia. The APRA came to name 23 of these officials. Ollanta Humala appointed 15 throughout his government and Alexander Toledo 14. For its part, Peter Paul Kuczynski appointed five and Martin Vizcarra two. The only president who did not appoint a political ambassador was Francisco Sagasti.
Some of the cases of political ambassadors that generated the most controversy were that of the ambassador to France, Christina Velitaa gynecologist by profession and a friend of Nadine Herediaduring the management of Ollanta Humala; and that of the brother-in-law of Alberto Fujimori, Victor Aritomiappointed in Tokyo in the Fujimori mandate.
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