Peru’s Congress votes to dismiss finance minister

Peru's Congress has dismissed the finance minister following revelations that he allegedly asked the comptroller to green light a controversial project, a fresh blow to centrist President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and his efforts to jumpstart the faltering economy.

According to Press TV, the single-chamber Congress voted 88-11 against embattled Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne, who had asked for a vote of confidence amid threats of censure and resigned within hours of the outcome.

"I thank Alfredo Thorne for his outstanding work in the Finance Ministry and lament the decision taken by Congress," Kuczynski said on Twitter.

The vote ended the crisis over one of Kuczynski's closest cabinet members, but the dispute further strained relations between the opposition-dominated Congress and the executive.

Lawmakers railed against Thorne for refusing to accept wrongdoing after an audio recording surfaced in which he appeared to ask the comptroller to approve a modification to a $520-million airport contract in exchange for a bigger budget.

Thorne, whom Kuczynski has defended, denied using funding for the comptroller's office to try to secure a favorable review of the contract modification, which the government had promised to rescind on the comptroller's recommendation.

The vote marked the first time in decades that Congress has rejected a finance minister — an embarrassing rebuke for Kuczynski after he campaigned on promises to strengthen the economy and clean up government as a former Wall Street banker and World Bank economist.

Thorne "decided not to step down and the government decided to prolong" the controversy, said Luis Galarreta with the right-wing party Popular Force, which has a majority of congressional seats. "This parliament must withdraw the confidence to a minister who doesn't want to join us in making the country better."

Kuczynski's party has 17 congressional seats out of 130 and his year-old government has been dogged by clashes with Popular Force, led by his rival in last year's election, Keiko Fujimori.

In a sign of growing political tensions, shortly after the vote on Thorne, opposition lawmakers began questioning the interior minister in a process that could lead to a censure motion.

ME