Peru's entire cabinet resigns over scandal

[Judi Lynn]

Peru's entire cabinet resigns over scandal
Luis Jaime Cisneros, AFP
Published: Friday, October 10, 2008

LIMA - Peruvian President Alan Garcia accepted Friday the resignation of his entire 13-member cabinet, in a bid to avert an opposition censure resolution in Congress over a oil-industry kickback scandal.

"The president has accepted our resignations presented to him on Thursday, and will proceed to reshuffle the cabinet," outgoing prime minister Jorge Del Castillo told reporters at government headquarters.

The kickback scandal has been roiling since nine audio tapes were leaked to news media covering backroom negotiations between government officials, a former congressman and a top oil baron, in a bid-rigging scheme to have Norway's Discover Petroleum win five oil exploration concessions last month.

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The political crisis coincides with Garcia's very low, 20 percent approval rating in opinion polls. Garcia is mid-way through his second five-year term in office, which ends in 2011, after serving as president in 1985-1990.

More:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d9bb56cf-df7e-4673-aae6-424655035c65