Peru's new president sworn in surrounded by Ivy League aides

Peru's new president sworn in surrounded by Ivy League aides

Franklin Briceno, Associated Press

Updated 11:07 pm, Wednesday, July 27, 2016

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Pedro Pablo Kuczynski assumes Peru's presidency Thursday with a Cabinet that shares his Ivy League, pro-business pedigree — a reliance on technocrats that could become a liability as he deals with an unfriendly congress and a resurgent left.

The conservative Kuczynski has economics degrees from Oxford and Princeton and worked for decades on Wall Street and at the World Bank. His Cabinet reflects his preference for brains and the boardroom: It's full of PhDs from foreign universities and former captains of Peruvian industry.

"I can't remember in the country's history such a pro-business Cabinet," said Francisco Durand, who teaches political science at Lima's Catholic University.

But with Peru being a big, hard-to-govern country with deep social divisions, analysts say the lack of political operators could become a problem for Kuczynski as he struggles to reverse an economic slowdown and build support beyond the capital's elite. It doesn't help that Peruvians call him the "gringo," a reference to the U.S. passport and accent he acquired while living abroad.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Peru-s-new-president-sworn-in-surrounded-by-Ivy-8481345.php

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141533715