Cablegate: New Labor Minister

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS LIMA 004548

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PE
SUBJECT: NEW LABOR MINISTER

REF: A. LIMA 3778

B. LIMA 3735
C. LIMA 3337

Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly.

1. (U) President Alejandro Toledo, on 10/7, swore in Carlos
Alberto Almeri Veramendi as Minister of Labor and Job
Promotion. A bio for Minister Almeri follows.

2. (U) Almeri was elected to Congress in 2001 as a
representative from Loreto Department for the ruling Peru
Posible (PP) party. In the current session, he was Vice
President of the Justice and Human Rights Commission and
served on the Constitution and Rules Commission. From 2002
to 2003 he was President of the Congressional Labor
Commission. Almeri is a lawyer by training specializing in
tax law. He became a member of PP in 1999 and currently
serves as legal representative for the party. He worked as a
court-appointed attorney in Callao,s Superior Court in 1991,
and as a court-appointed attorney in the Navy,s 13th Court.
He graduated from San Marcos National University in 1989. He
worked as a taxi driver in 1981 and a private chauffeur in
1983. Almeri was born in Lima on Sept 16, 1962. Almeri took
over as Labor Minister from Juan Sheput who resigned in order
to run for political office.

3. (SBU) On 10/19 Almeri told the Ambassador that his
priorities for his remaining 9 months in office are to
promote debate on labor reforms (firing and vacation) and the
transition of small and micro enterprises to the formal
economy.

4. (SBU) COMMENT: Almeri is widely viewed as a party
stalwart put in office to quiet the demands from provincial
PP legislators for higher level posts with patronage
opportunities. Given President Toledo's and Prime Minister
Kuczynski's signals that labor reform will not/not move
forward at this time (Ref A, B, and C), it appears that
Almeri will be little more than a place-holder for his term
of office. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE

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