Peruvian government in crisis

Peru’s entire cabinet tendered their resignations to President Alan Garcia on October 9 in the wake of a corruption scandal involving kickbacks in return for oil contracts. The scandal has already forced out mining minister Juan Valdiva and two other high-ranking energy officials, Alberto Quimper and Cesar Gutierrez, and implicates other prominent members of Garcia’s ruling APRA party. The resignations came just days after thousands of Peruvians took to the streets across the country on October 7 to protest corruption and the economic policies of Garcia’s administration. The national day of action was organised by the Social and Political Coordinating Committee. The CSP unites Peru’s two largest trade union federations, the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) and the Unitary Confederation of Workers (CUT),... [read full story]