Six of the 18 ministers of the Peruvian government announced their resignations on Monday, in the midst of an investigation against President Dina Boluarte for alleged acts of illicit enrichment linked to Rolex watches that she is suspected of possessing.
“I'm leaving because I asked her and Mrs. (Boluarte) accepted
,” declared Interior Minister Victor Torres leaving the presidential palace and the council of ministers. In office since November 21, he cited
“family problems”
. A few hours later, the ministers of Education, Women, Agrarian Development, Production and Foreign Trade also announced their departure.
This wave of resignations occurred on the eve of the inauguration vote, by Parliament, of the new Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen and his government. In the middle of the night, President Dina Boluarte administered the oath to the six new ministers appointed to replace the departing ones.
The police who, alongside the prosecution, searched Ms. Boluarte's home and the presidential office on Saturday in the context of
“Rolexgate”
, were theoretically led by Minister Victor Torres. According to several media, part of the government asked the minister to dismiss the colonel who led these surprise searches.
The dismissal of the president requested
The government thus records its first defections since the Rolex scandal broke out on March 15. That day, a local news site published a series of photos showing Ms. Boluarte wearing different luxury watches, which she allegedly did not mention in her asset declaration, while in government in 2021 and 2022.
The opposition calls for the impeachment of the president, but does not have a majority in Congress.
“If Mrs. (Boluarte) leaves, Peru will sink
,” commented the resigning Minister of the Interior.
“Madame has nothing to hide. I leave in peace, with clean hands
,” added Victor Torres.
After the searches on Saturday, the prosecution ordered Ms. Boluarte to present the watches in her possession during a summons scheduled for Friday. The president's defense claims that the police found a few watches during the operations at the government palace, but no Rolexes. Dina Boluarte, 61, also assured that she had
“clean hands”
and only owned one watch. She became president after the impeachment in early December 2022 and the arrest of left-wing head of state Pedro Castillo, of whom she was vice-president.