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Betssy Chávez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Chávez and the second or maternal family name is Chino.
Betssy Chávez
Chávez in 2022
Member of Congress
In office
27 July 2021 – 22 March 2023
ConstituencyTacna
Prime Minister of Peru
In office
25 November 2022 – 7 December 2022
PresidentPedro Castillo
Preceded byAníbal Torres
Succeeded byPedro Angulo
Minister of Culture
In office
5 August 2022 – 25 November 2022
PresidentPedro Castillo
Prime MinisterAníbal Torres
Preceded byAlejandro Salas
Succeeded bySilvana Robles
Minister of Labour and Promotion of Employment
In office
6 October 2021 – 29 May 2022
PresidentPedro Castillo
Prime MinisterMirtha Vásquez
Héctor Valer
Aníbal Torres
Preceded byÍber Maraví
Succeeded byJuan Lira Loayza
Personal details
Born (1989-06-03) 3 June 1989 (age 36)
Ciudad Nueva, Tacna, Peru
Political partyIndependent (2014–2020, since 2022)[citation needed]
Other political
affiliations		Free Peru (2020–2022)
Democratic Peru (2022)
Alma materJorge Basadre Grohmann National University (LLB)

Betssy Betzabet Chávez Chino (born 3 June 1989) is a Peruvian attorney and politician, who served as prime minister of Peru from 26 November until 7 December 2022, when she resigned. She was Peru's seventh female prime minister. She has been a member of congress since July 2021 and served as Minister of Culture from August 2022 to November 2022.[1] She previously was Minister of Labour and Employment Promotion, from October 2021 until May 2022, when a censure measure was approved against her.[2][3] She later held the position of Minister of Culture, before being appointed prime minister.[4]

Chávez was the fifth Prime Minister to be appointed by President Pedro Castillo. Her appointment was seen by political observers as evidence of ongoing political instability.[5] After two weeks in office, she announced her resignation.[6]

Early life and pre-political career

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Chávez was born on 3 June 1989 in Ciudad Nueva District, Tacna, Peru.

Education

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Chavez studied law at Jorge Basadre Grohmann National University, and was a student leader, holding positions in the student government. She graduated from law school in 2016, and holds a master's degree, with focus on Constitutional Law, from José Carlos Mariátegui University.[7][8]

Career

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Chávez worked as a lawyer in the Regional Government of Tacna (2020), a technician and assistant in the Congress of the Republic (2017–2020) and head of practices at the Jorge Basadre Grohmann University School of Law.[9]

Political career

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Chávez said that her interest in politics arose from her father's work as a social leader for families that settled in the northern cone of Tacna.[citation needed]

In 2013, she was a candidate for the regional council of Tacna, for Alliance for Progress but she was not elected.[citation needed]

Congresswoman

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She was elected congresswoman in the 2021 parliamentary elections with 8,472 votes; she represented Tacna, for the Free Peru party. She took her oath as congresswoman on 27 July that year. She is also part of the Democratic Peru parliamentary group.[10]

Castillo swearing in Chávez as minister

Ministries

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Work and Employment Promotion

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On 6 October 2021 she was appointed and sworn in by President Pedro Castillo, as Minister of Labour and Promotion of Employment of Peru.[3]

In April 2022, various media outlets denounced that the minister had authorized a strike by air traffic controllers, which caused the cancellation of internal and international flights on the occasion of Holy Week. After that, she was questioned by the Congress of the Republic of Peru on 13 May. On the 19th of that month, in Congress, various congressmen presented a motion of censure against Minister Chávez. The following 26, Congress approved the censorship with 71 votes in favor due to her inability to manage and negligence in her performance.[11]

Culture

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On August 5 of the same year, she was appointed and inaugurated by President Castillo, as Minister of Culture of Peru. In statements to the press, the new minister mentioned that having been censured as Minister of Labour does not prevent her from assuming the portfolio of Culture. Minister Diana Miloslavich said at the time: "Her censorship does not mean that she does not do an excellent job", and Minister Alejandro Salas stated: "She is a great professional... and, if at any moment (the president) considers that she should be premier". She held that position until the following November 25, being replaced by Silvana Robles Araujo.[12]

President of the Council of Ministers

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On 25 November 2022 she was appointed and sworn in by President Pedro Castillo as President of the Council of Ministers of Peru; after the acceptance of the resignation of Prime Minister Aníbal Torres.[2] On 7 December 2022 she resigned from office following President Castillo's attempted self-coup. On 20 June 2023 the Peruvian National Police arrested her for alleged crimes of rebellion and conspiracy against the state. The Supreme Court ordered her to be detained for 18 months. The charges against Chávez stem from ousted former President Pedro Castillo's attempt to dissolve Congress and rule by decree in December 2022.[13]

Chávez, then Minister of Culture, through her TikTok account, described the Peruvian Attorney General Patricia Benavides as a "coup plotter" and referred to her as "Blanca Nélida Colán 2.0", a reference to a prosecutor aligned with Fujimorism who failed to prosecute Vladimiro Montesinos.[14] This compounded problems after the initiation of a preliminary investigation against her, related to the favoring of her relatives in public office.[15]

Post-premiership

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On November 3, 2025, Chávez sought asylum in the Mexican embassy amid an investigation against her on charges of rebellion relating to her role in President Castillo's self-coup. After her asylum request was granted, Peru severed diplomatic relations with Mexico.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Betssy Chávez jura como nueva ministra de Cultura en reemplazo de Alejandro Salas Gabinete Ministerial Pedro Castillo RMMN". Peru21 (in Spanish). 6 August 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Peru's Castillo names Betssy Chavez as new prime minister". Reuters. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Peru: Congress censures Labor minister". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Betssy Chávez jura como nueva ministra de Cultura en reemplazo de Alejandro Salas Gabinete Ministerial Pedro Castillo RMMN". Peru21 (in Spanish). 6 August 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Pedro Castillo swears in Betssy Chávez as Peru's new prime minister". MSN. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Betssy Chavéz presentó su renuncia irrevocable a la PCM tras golpe de Estado de Pedro Castillo". La Republica (in Spanish). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Otorongo CHAVEZ CHINO, BETSSY BETZABET - 2021". otorongo.club. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Betssy Chávez Chino: hoja de vida, biografía, perfil y quién es la nueva ministra de Trabajo". Infomercado (in Spanish). 7 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Betssy Chávez Chino jura como ministra de Cultura". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Betssy Betzabet Chávez Chino". www.congreso.gob.pe. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Congreso censura a ministra de Trabajo Betssy Chávez". Comunicaciones. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Silvana Robles Araujo es la nueva ministra de Cultura". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Poder Judicial: Betssy Chavez continuará con prisión preventiva". Gestión (in Spanish). 5 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Bettsy Chávez calificó de golpista a la fiscal de la Nación y la llamó 'Blanca Nélida Colán 2.0'". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Betssy Chávez, Abel Sotelo y sus familiares aún no asisten a cita del Ministerio Público". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Peru breaks diplomatic relations with Mexico over asylum claim of former prime minister". AP News. 4 November 2025. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Peru
2022 		Succeeded by
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