On day 52 of his administration, the government of Keiko Fujimori suffered his first loss. Rafael Rey left yesterday Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) after submitting his irrevocable resignation alleging health problems.
Hours later, at night, the head of state took the oath of office José Angello Tangherlini Casal as new owner of TCM. Until recently, he served as vice minister of Development of Family Agriculture and Agrarian Infrastructure and Irrigation, a position he assumed on August 6.
During the swearing-in ceremony, Fujimori invited Rafael Rey to accompany them in the official photograph, in which all the members of the Galarreta Cabinet also appeared.
Sources from El Comercio indicated that Rey’s departure began to take shape on Monday. One of them said that the “intense and demanding pace of ministerial management” would have weighed behind her decision.
At the close of this edition, the version circulated that Rey would be proposed for the position of ambassador, but a minister who preferred to keep his name confidential ruled it out.
The resignation letter was sent to the president of the Council of Ministers, Luis Galarreta, and the head of state. It bears the signature of King and is dated September 17.
In the document, he maintained that his resignation was due to health problems that prevented him from continuing to exercise the responsibilities of the position.
“I express to both of you my deep gratitude for the trust placed in me and for the opportunity to serve the country with this high responsibility,” he wrote.
Rey expressed that he was in charge of facilitating “an orderly and transparent transfer of management” and made available the necessary information to ensure the continuity of the MTC’s policies and projects.
Asked about the issue, the Minister of Health, Luis Dyer, highlighted the work that Rey undertook in the Executive during the almost two months of his administration.
“He is really a friend, a really decent, honest minister who was up to the task from the beginning, but (his resignation) is respected due to health issues,” he replied.
In turn, Jaime Delgado, senator from Ahora Nación, said that the future of the train from Lima to Chosica could generate some discrepancy.
He added that Rey was “a character with whom anyone could disagree ideologically,” but that he was a good professional.
When consulted by El Comercio, political analyst Enrique Castillo considered that Rey’s resignation was due to an accumulation of situations or events and that the last straw would have been his state of health, which he decided to prioritize.
“Rafael Rey seemed uncomfortable from the first moment. I think he did not like the disavowal that Fujimori gave him regarding the Chosica trains. From there a crack opens in the relationship between Rey and the Executive,” he said.
He did not rule out that “there have also been pressures of all kinds” in the Ministry of Transport and Communications
