The prime minister of Peru, Gustavo Adrianzén, has resigned hours before facing a vote of no confidence in Congress.
Members of Peru’s Congress asked for a no-confidence vote following the recent kidnapping and murder of 13 mining workers, which shook the country.
Adrianzén’s resignation is another blow to the ailing president, Dina Boluarte, who has seen her support ratings sink as crime rates in the country have surged.
The departure of the prime minister, the third to serve under Boluarte, causes the president to replace her entire cabinet, exacerbating Peru’s political crisis.
According to Peru’s constitution, if the prime minister resigns, all ministers must stand down.
While the president has the authority to rename those who have resigned from their positions, she can only do so once a new prime minister is appointed.
The dissolution of the administration comes at a difficult period in Peruvian politics.
Boluarte reshuffled her cabinet shortly before Prime Minister Adrianzén announced his retirement, appointing new finance, interior, and transport ministries.
All three will now have to resign, barely hours after being sworn in by the president.
The already poor support rating of Boluarte – who was sworn in when the previous president, Pedro Castillo, was impeached – has plummeted further as Peruvians grow increasingly impatient at what they think is her failure to confront crime.
In recent months, hundreds of people have come to the streets in protest at the growing problem of extortion, as gangs increasingly demand payments even from the tiniest enterprises, including transport workers.
They requested “an immediate answer to combat extortion and targeted killings” while dressed in white.
