NEW LABOR MINISTER

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