The day that should mark the beginning of a new stage in the Executive ended up becoming an unexpected turn in the leadership of the Government. The president of the Council of Ministers, Denise Mirallesrevealed the details behind the frustrated appointment of Hernando de Soto like jandfaith of the Cabinet, an appointment that had been officially announced on Sunday by the Presidency of the Republicbut that did not come to fruition due to disagreements over the final makeup of the ministerial team.
According to Miralles, the morning of the ceremony began normally. The summoned ministers were summoned in Government Palace to 8:00 a.m., with confirmation that the swearing-in would take place at noon. Expectations were high and the protocol was practically ready. However, a few hours after the official ceremony, the process stopped abruptly. The reason, explained the now premier, was the lack of a definitive agreement with De Soto regarding the list of ministers.
According to his version, the president José María Balcázar He informed the team that the economist had proposed additional modifications to the already agreed upon payroll. “He had informed that he wanted to make additional changes“said Miralles, citing what the president said. The situation generated uncertainty at a particularly delicate moment for the country, which faces a severe climate emergency product of Child Phenomenon.
The stage was not minor. With heavy rainsfloods and regions in state of emergencythe Executive had pending the signing of emergency decrees key to accelerate interventions in affected areas. In this context, the lack of definition regarding the ownership of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) It implied an operational risk. As Miralles explained, the need to guarantee continuity in management forced them to seek an immediate solution to avoid the paralysis of strategic decisions.
The chancellor Hugo de Zela He publicly supported the prime minister’s version and provided a central element in the political equation: it was the cabinet itself that urged the president to adopt a quick definition. “A quick decision had to be made about who was going to be prime minister given the position that Mr. De Soto had taken of not wanting to continue being prime minister, because the new changes that he had proposed had not been accepted by the president.”, explained the head of Foreign Relations.
De Zela made it clear that De Soto’s refusal to take office under the conditions established by the head of state created a vacuum that needed to be filled urgently. The country, he stressed, could not afford delays while thousands of citizens face the ravages of overflows, landslides and damage to basic infrastructure. Along these lines, Miralles agreed to assume leadership of the PCM under the premise that the priority should be the response to the crisis.
The new Chief of Staff also clarified that the list of ministers who was finally sworn in is practically the same as the one that had been convened hours before, with only one variation: the incorporation of Gerardo Lopez as the new Minister of Economy, replacing herself after assuming the presidency of the Council. This detail, as he indicated, shows that the disagreement did not revolve around a general restructuring of the team, but rather specific changes that De Soto intended to introduce at the last minute.
The controversy was amplified after Hernando de Soto offered statements from his home in Surco, where he questioned the presidential decision. The economist suggested that the cabinet included cadres linked to Alliance for Progress and sectors that he described as “Cerronistas”, insinuating the existence of partisan influences in the ministerial makeup. In response, Miralles categorically rejected any political affiliation.
“I am a career public official, I have no political activism, I never have and I respond to my country“said the prime minister, seeking to close the way to speculation about alleged party quotas. She defended her technical career within the State and asked to focus the discussion on the management of the national emergency, not on political disputes.
The official version of the Presidency of the Republicreleased through a statement, maintains that it was not possible to reach the necessary consensus to materialize the “ambitious government plan” proposed by De Soto, mainly due to the transitory nature of the constitutional mandate.
For his part, De Soto raised the tone of his statements. He stated that President Balcázar did not pass what he called a “litmus test,” consisting of accepting changes in the composition of the cabinet.
“When I subjected him to the test of fire, which is to change the ministers, he did not pass the test of fire.“He stated. In addition, he warned that the final composition of the team could generate political instability and announced that he would present records to support his position on the alleged influences in the presidential environment.
