LIMA: Prime Minister of Peru Alberto Otarola has resigned from his post after an audio recording surfaced on social media over the weekend allegedly an official attempt to improperly influence government contracts.
Otarola told media on Tuesday that the recording was made in 2021, when he was not an official of the government and was manipulated as part of a conspiracy by his opponents.
He had previously dismissed committing any crimes after the recording was made public.
According to Peruvian law, after Otarola’s exist, the other 18 members of the cabinet must also resign. Under the law President Dina Boluarte can reinstate each cabinet member or swap them out for a new minister.
The audio, released on local media, appears to be of Otarola talking to a woman who later went on to work in various government positions.
Otarola has just returned from Canada, where he was representing Peru at convention on mining.
Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea stated that Boluarte would make changes to her cabinet as part of a new government’s general policy.
