Governments around the world are scrambling to shore up economies hard hit by rising oil and wheat prices as a resut of the Ukraine war. Ghana has opened talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for emergency relief after angry protesters flooded the streets of the capital Accra last week. Clashes with police left several wounded and some 30 arrested on June 29. Protests were called under the slogan “Arise Ghana” to pressure President Nana Akufo-Ad to address a dramatic spike in the cost of food and fuel. (Reuters, Al Jazeera, AfricaNews)
Meanwhile, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru is to raise its key interest rate in a bid to quell inflation, after freight shipping was briefly paralyzed across the country. The truckers’ union, the National Council of Terrestrial Transport, announced an “indefinite” strike to begin June 27; it was suspended a day later following a pledge by the government of President Pedro Castillo to bring soaring fuel prices under control. (Bloomberg, InfoBae, EFE, EFE, TeleSur)
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Another cabinet shake-up in Peru
Peru’s President Pedro Castillo accepted the resignation of his prime minister Nov. 25, and will reshuffle his cabinet yet again, amid a lengthy battle between the executive and legislative branches. Outgoing prime minister Aníbal Torres had challenged the opposition-controlled Congress to a confidence vote, which was declined. Opposition legislators have now launched a third round of impeachment (or “vacancy“) proceedings against Castillo. (Al Jazeera, Reuters)
Castillo’s former labor minister Betssy Chávez now becomes his fifth prime minister. A perceived moderate within his administration, she is calling for dialogue between the two opposed blocs in Congress. (El Comercio)