“I’m leaving because I asked her and Mrs. (Boluarte) accepted,” Interior Minister Victor Torres said as he left the presidential palace after a cabinet meeting. He had been in this position since November 21 and cited “family problems”.
A few hours later, the ministers responsible for Education, Women, Rural Development, Production and Foreign Trade also announced their resignations without giving reasons.
This wave of resignations came ahead of a vote of confidence tomorrow, Wednesday, by parliament in new Prime Minister Gustavo Andriansen and his government. Andriansen, a 57-year-old center-right diplomat, replaced Alberto Otarola, who is under investigation for undue influence.
Overnight, President Dina Bolluarte appointed six new ministers to replace those who resigned.
The withdrawal of one-third of the government team also came two days after the search of Boluarte’s residence and presidential office by about 40 police officers and magistrates, who were looking for Rolex watches that the president is suspected of not having declared on her property declaration.
The scandal erupted on March 15 when a local news website published a series of photos showing Bolluarte wearing various luxury watches while in government in 2021 and 2022.
The new prime minister described this investigation as “an intolerable insult to the dignity of the presidency of the Republic and the nation it represents”.
Peru: No Rolex
The police who, together with the prosecutor’s office, carried out the surprise investigations in the context of “Rolexgate”, were theoretically led by the minister Victor Torres. According to media reports, some in the government had asked him to remove the colonel who led the operations.
After the investigations that took place on Saturday, the prosecution invited Boluarte to show the watches in her possession on Friday, when she has been summoned to appear before them. The president’s defense says police found a few watches during operations at the government building, but no Rolex.
The opposition calls for the removal of the president, but does not have a majority in Congress, which is controlled by right-wing parties.
“If Mrs. (Boluarte) leaves, Peru will sink,” commented the resigned interior minister. “The lady has nothing to hide. I leave peacefully, with clean hands,” added Victor Torres.
The new Secretary of the Interior, Walter Ortiz Acosta, is a retired police general and has been the first in the hierarchy in the fight against organized crime.
Dina Boluarte, 61, also assured that she has “clean hands” and only owns a watch.
She became president after the ouster, in early December 2022, and the arrest of left-wing head of state Pedro Castillo, whose vice president she was.
She is already being investigated for “genocide, aggravated manslaughter and inflicting serious injuries” after more than 50 people died during the two months of social unrest that accompanied her rise to head of state.
If she is prosecuted, the president of Peru will not be able, under the Constitution, to stand trial before July 2026, when her term ends.
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