Ántero Flores Aráoz

Ántero Flores-Aráoz Esparza (born 28 February 1942)[1] is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who briefly served as the Prime Minister of Peru in November 2020. Once a prominent member and leader of the Christian People's Party, he left and founded the Order Party in order to run for the presidency at the 2016 general election, in which he placed tenth and last with 0.4% of the popular vote.[2][3][4]

Ántero Flores-Aráoz OSP
Prime Minister of Peru
In office 11 November 2020 – 15 November 2020
President	Manuel Merino
Preceded by	Walter Martos
Succeeded by	Violeta Bermúdez
Minister of Defense
In office 20 December 2007 – 11 July 2009
President	Alan García
Prime Minister	Jorge Del Castillo Yehude Simon
Preceded by	Allan Wagner
Succeeded by	Rafael Rey
President of Congress
In office 26 July 2004 – 26 July 2005
Preceded by	Henry Pease
Succeeded by	Marcial Ayaipoma
Member of Congress
In office 26 July 1995 – 26 July 2006
Constituency	Lima
Member of the Democratic Constituent Congress
In office 26 November 1992 – 26 July 1995
Constituency	National
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 26 July 1990 – 5 April 1992
Constituency	Lima
Lima City Councilman
In office 1 January 1987 – 31 December 1989
President of the Order Political Party
In office 23 April 2009 – 13 July 2017
President of the Christian People's Party
In office 18 December 1999 – 18 December 2003
Preceded by	Luis Bedoya Reyes
Succeeded by	Lourdes Flores
Personal details
Born	Ántero Flores-Aráoz Esparza 28 February 1942 Lima, Peru
Nationality	Peruvian
Political party	Independent (2017-present)
Other political affiliations	Order (2009-2017) Christian People's Party (1980-2007)
Spouse(s)	Ana María Cedrón Brandariz
Children	3
Alma mater	Pontifical Catholic University of Peru National University of San Marcos (LL.B.)
Occupation	Lawyer politician

Education

Flores-Aráoz studied in the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and the National University of San Marcos.

Political career

Congress of Peru

He first ran for the Congress of Peru in 1985 as a member of the Christian People's Party, but was not elected. In 2004 he was elected President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru,[5] the only opposition Congress President during the presidency of Alejandro Toledo. On 2 December 2006, he received the post of Permanent Representative of Peru to the Organization of American States. Beginning in 2007 he has served as Defense Minister of Peru as well.[6]

Minister of Defense

Flores-Aráoz is recognized for being Alan García's Minister of Defense during the 2009 Baguazo massacre.[7] Following the massacre of revolting natives that resulted in the deaths of thirty-three, he resigned from office.[7]

Prime Minister of Peru

Following the removal of Martín Vizcarra, Flores-Aráoz was named prime minister by Manuel Merino on 11 November 2020.[8][9] After Merino resigned and was replaced by Francisco Sagasti as president, Sagasti appointed Violeta Bermúdez, a constitutional lawyer, to replace Flores-Aráoz as prime minister on 18 November 2020.[10]

The succeeding government of Francisco Sagasti announced following Merino's resignation that the attorney general would investigate if Flores-Aráoz was responsible for possible human rights violations.[11]

Political positions

Flores Aráoz holds conservative political positions, and although he was known as a pragmatist and a moderate christian democrat early in his political career, he eventually shifted to far right politics since his exit from the Christian People's Party in 2007.[12] He also has been active in denouncing terrorism in Peru.[13]

Education

Regarding education, Flores-Aráoz supported the low-quality and potentially fraudulent private universities that were closed by government regulators, stating they "deserve a second chance".[12] In one exchange with a reporter in 2006 about discussing a free trade agreement with Peruvians that was reported by Página/12 as having "exposed his racism", he described voters as "llamas and vicuñas", stating "You can't ask them a technical issue. It's outrageous. You can't ask all citizens. Those who can't read and write, you're not going to ask that".[7][12][14]

Sexual rights

The stances of Flores-Aráoz on sexual rights have been described as conservative.[15] In 2016, he stated "I am absolutely against gay marriage", explaining that he believed "in what is natural, what God did".[15] He also prosecuted dancer and model Leisy Suarez for taking photos of herself naked while sitting on the Peruvian flag.[16]

References

1. "Ántero Flores-Aráoz Esparza" (in Spanish). Congress of Peru. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
2. Política, Diario Perú 21. "Ántero Flores-Aráoz lanza su candidatura a la Presidencia por el partido Orden". peru21.pe.
3. PERÚ, Diario Gestión. "Antero Flores-Aráoz completa su plancha presidencial". gestion.pe.
4. La Mula, Redacción. "Este es el pasado político de Ántero Flores Aráoz que debes conocer (y no da risa)". redaccion.lamula.pe.
5. http://www.congreso.gob.pe/participacion/museo/congreso/presidentes/antero_flores
6. "Del Castillo, Flores Araoz to attend Honduras President-elect inauguration ceremony". Andina. 2010-01-23. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
7. ""No sé qué les fastidia", dice el primer ministro de Perú ante las masivas protestas". EFE (in Spanish). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-13. Spanish: ... un Ejecutivo de "ancha base" pero que finalmente es de corte conservador, con miembros de derecha y ultraderecha. English: ... an Executive with a "broad base" but that is ultimately conservative, with members of the right and far right.
8. "Flores-Araoz confirms he will become Prime Minister of Peru". Andina. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
9. Aquino, Marco (11 November 2020). "Peru's new PM pledges stability as political turmoil threatens recovery". Reuters. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
10. Aquino, Marco (19 November 2020). "Peru President picks new Cabinet to ease protests, market fears". Reuters. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
11. Burt, Jo-Marie (19 November 2020). "Can Francisco Sagasti Hold Peru Together?". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
12. Noriega, Carlos (12 November 2020). "Perú: la ultraderecha copó el gobierno | Bajo la presidencia de Manuel Merino tras el derrocamiento de Martín Vizcarra". Página/12. Retrieved 2020-11-13. Spanish: El gabinete ministerial del nuevo presidente Manuel Merino ... es encabezado por un miembro de la descreditada vieja guardia política, vinculado a la extrema derecha. English: The ultra-conservative right wing has taken over the Peruvian government . The ministerial cabinet of the new president Manuel Merino ... is headed by a member of the discredited political old guard, linked to the extreme right.
13. "Flores Aráoz confirma que fallecidos en emboscada terrorista aumentó a 14". Red del Grup RPP. 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
14. "Ántero Flores-Aráoz y la vez que tildó de "llamas y vicuñas" a los peruanos". Líbero (in Spanish). 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
15. PERU21, NOTICIAS (2016-02-17). "Ántero Flores-Aráoz: "Estoy absolutamente en contra del matrimonio gay" [Video] | POLITICA". Peru21 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-11-14.
16. "Ministro de Defensa descarta retiro de denuncia por ultraje a Bandera". Andina. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2020-11-19.