Deadly protests last month lead to opposition deamands for cabinet changes
The Peruvian president has named a member of his pro-business ruling party as prime minister after bowing to opposition pressure to shake up his cabinet. Saturday's appointment of Javier Velasquez came as Alan Garcia faced the worst crisis of his term in office with his approval rating plunging to 21 per cent. Velasquez, a member of the APRA party and the head of congress, will take over leadership of the cabinet.
"The country wants order and social inclusion and I am sure the cabinet that Velasquez leads will meet these objectives," Garcia said at the presidential palace.
He retained Luis Carranza, the finance minister and a favourite of investors, who is in the middle of rolling out a $3.2bn stimulus programme to boost the economy. As prime minister, Velasquez will face growing calls from unions, indigenous groups and the poor for the government to increase social spending... Al Jazeera>>
