César Manuel Quispe Luján, during his swearing-in ceremony as Minister of Production of Peru.
Photo: Produce.
Several days after Peru's Congress removed Dina Boluarte as President of the country and replaced her with the President of Congress, José Jerí, the latter, now the new President of the Republic, presented his new Council of Ministers, including a new Minister of Production, responsible for the department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
The new head of Peru's Ministry of Production (Produce) is César Manuel Quispe Luján, who, during the term of his predecessor, Sergio González Guerrero, had been serving as Viceminister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Industry.
About the new head of Produce, local media outlets such as Infobae, highlight that he combines technical management with a vision focused on social development and financial inclusion, which would fit in with the profile of President Jerí's new cabinet, which, they say, is characterized by incorporating technical profiles with experience in public management, reinforcing administrative efficiency, and moving away from political appointments.
According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Production announcing the appointment, at the time of his designation, Quispe Luján reaffirmed his commitment to promoting innovation, competitiveness, and sustainable development in the productive sectors, consolidating Produce's role as an engine of economic growth and national productive transformation in Peru.
César Manuel Quispe Luján holds a degree in Cooperative Management from the Federico Villarreal National University in Peru and a master's degree in Microfinance and Social Development from the University of Alcalá in Spain. With extensive experience in public and private management, the new Minister of Production has expertise in the SMEs, industrial, financial, and fishing sectors.
As mentioned, his last position before being appointed Minister was as Viceminister of SMEs and Industry, where, according to information provided by Produce, he led the formulation and implementation of public policies aimed at business strengthening, sustainable industrialization, innovation, and productive decentralization.
Likewise, he also chaired the Board of Directors of Agrobanco, the Peruvian government's main financial support instrument, whose fundamental objective is to promote and facilitate the granting of loans to small agricultural producers in the country. In this position, he led the process of transforming and consolidating the entity's finances, positioning it as a benchmark in financing small agricultural producers.
In addition, Quispe Luján was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cooperative Deposit Insurance Fund (FSDC), promoting the strengthening of the national cooperative system. In the cooperativism area, the new head of Produce has played a key role in promoting and approving various regulations, including the so-called Cooperative Act Law, contributing significantly to the strengthening and development of cooperatives in Peru.
Before taking up his last position as Viceminister of SMEs and Industry, César Manuel Quispe Luján had already held other roles within Produce, such as Director General of SMEs and Cooperatives, Director General of Citizen Services, Coordinator of Decentralization, Director of Artisanal Fishing, and Director General of Fishing Extraction and Production for Direct Human Consumption, where he promoted the formalization of artisanal fishing and the sustainable development of the fishing sector.
His experience in the field of artisanal fishing could prove decisive at a time when the Ministry has just brought an end to the jumbo flying squid crisis following protests, some of them violent, by artisanal fishermen over the management of this species, which brought fishing activity to a standstill for two days but also caused blockades on some of the country's main roads, particularly affecting the Piura region.
All this amid the crisis of violence that has been rocking Peru for some time and which, a few days after the fishermen's protests, led to the mentioned change in the country's presidency and, with it, this change at the helm of Produce.
Meanwhile, the Ministry is continuing with the plans drawn up by its previous head, and in accordance with the commitments reached at the dialogue table that ended the crisis, it has already called on artisanal fishermen to participate in 'Operation Jumbo Flying Squid IV'. This scientific initiative, which aims to contribute to the knowledge and sustainable management of this resource in Peruvian waters, will take place during the second week of November.
