Pressure mounts on Peruvian prime minister to resign after leaked audios spark harassment scandal

Alberto Otárola once said that a former high-ranking public official taught him that a self-respecting minister should always carry a letter of resignation in their pocket in case the president withdraws their support. But the current prime minister of Peru seems to have forgotten that lesson. According to different media sources, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte has asked him to resign over a leaked tape, in which Otárola appears to be taking advantage of his position of power to harass a woman.

The audio — released on the Sunday TV program Panorama — concerns a conversation between Otárola, 57, and Yaziré Pinedo Vásquez, 25. In the tape, Otárola calls her “love,” insists on seeing her, and repeatedly asks her if she loves him. He also asks her to pass him her resume so that she may receive a state job.

“And when are you going to let me see you? And when can I see you? Tell me love, so we can talk. You know that these things are annoying, they are upsetting, but you know that I love you too. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow? Listen to me. But send me now, as soon as you can, your CV,” says Otárola, who brags that he has a “very nice, very comfortable” job for her.

In the tape, Pinedo appears uncomfortable, she answers evasively, hinting that, more than a romantic relationship, it is a case of harassment. Panorama revealed that in December 2022, when Otárola was Minister of Defense, the woman visited his office in secret: there is no record of her in the official registry. Two months later, on February 2, 2023, she obtained two contracts in the Defense Ministry for 53,000 soles ($14,324). Pinedo also received an email from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), by that point led by Otárola, in which she was offered a job and asked about her salary expectations. In the end, Pinedo turned down the job offer.

“Do you want me? The only thing I want to know is if you love me or not. My love, that’s enough for me, I believe you and I love you. I adore you, my life,” Otárola tells Pinedo in another section of the audio.

In another tape, Pinedo complains that Otárola had used state resources to follow her. “He wanted to see who I went out with, who I arrived with. That’s why he wanted me to work with him so much,” she is heard saying in another conversation.

The prime minister — who presides over the Cabinet of Peru — is at a mining convention in Canada and was not scheduled to return to Peru until Wednesday. However, in the wake of the crisis, Boluarte demanded that he return as soon as possible. Otárola, meanwhile, has defended himself from the allegations. “I understand the seriousness of the political situation, but I reiterate that I have not committed any illegal act. In due course, I will specify where this infamy comes from and what dark interests it is after,” he said in a message on X (formerly Twitter). “My principles are greater than the hatred and baseness of the haters,” he added.

In a radical twist to the story, Pinedo has denied the authenticity of the audios and, as a result, any romantic relationship with Otárola. “The audio is from January 2021. In reality, it is not an audio but a video. The audio they have released is completely false, I assure you. It is edited,” she told the program Beto a Saber.

At the beginning of 2021, Otárola did not have any government position and Boluarte was not yet vice president, a position she took after Pedro Castillo — who is still in prison after carrying out a self-coup in 2022 — was elected. Pinedo said she sought out Otárola for “his services as a lawyer,” arguing the scandal is a plot orchestrated by Nicanor Boluarte, the president’s brother. “Mr. Nicanor offered $200,000 [for the audio]. They wanted to oust the prime minister, because if Mr. Otárola left the prime minister’s office, Mr. Nicanor Boluarte would be able to bring in his people.”

But Pinedo’s comments have not stopped the scandal from escalating. A group of 23 parliamentarians on Monday presented an interpellation motion against the prime minister. As stipulated in the regulations, at least 20 signatures are needed for the head of Congress to report the motion to the plenary. It is then submitted for debate, where Otárola will be called to explain his actions.

“Previously there were 50 reasons for him to leave office, but it is time for his presence to stop disrespecting Peru,” said legislator Susel Paredes, alluding to the 50 protesters killed during protests against the government. For a large sector of the public, it is quite revealing that the most influential man in government is close to losing his position for harassing a woman — a matter that should not be ignored — and not for being accused of being one of the main people responsible for the government repression that ended the lives of several dozen protesters.

“Otárola should have left the Cabinet on December 15, 2022 due to the massacre in Ayacucho perpetrated under his responsibility as Minister of Defense and Boluarte should have called general elections to open a democratic solution to the crisis. He will pay for his responsibilities,” said anthropologist and leftist politician Verónica Mendoza.

The right-wing Popular Renewal party also condemned the actions of the prime minister. “We are demanding the dismissal of the until-now prime minister, he should not remain in charge of such an important position in the executive branch. We demand that both the Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office present the corresponding criminal complaint against him, and those who are responsible for these heinous acts.”

Journalist Christopher Acosta, the head of the Latina Investigation Unit, doubts that the scandal is a plot by Boluarte’s brother, pointing out that the prime minister, “as a lawyer,” saved Boluarte from some serious legal cases. “Since then, they have established a relationship of dependency, which was later transferred to the government,” he explained. “It is easier to imagine an Otárola government without Dina, than a Dina government without Otárola.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition