Peru's President Gets Significant Salary Increase Despite Citizen Criticism
Peru's government announced late on Wednesday, July 2, its approval to raise President Dina Boluarte's salary to 35,568 soles (equivalent to $10,067 monthly), after it had remained fixed at 15,600 soles ($4,400) since 2006.
The Peruvian Minister of Economy stated that the decision took effect immediately, noting that the increase aims to align the president's salary with the levels of her counterparts in Latin America, where her previous salary ranked eleventh among 12 countries in the region, according to official comparisons.
The decision sparked public outrage, as citizens criticized allocating a large sum to the president's salary at a time when the country is facing high poverty rates, demanding that these funds be directed towards improving social services.
It is worth noting that Boluarte's new salary is now 30 times higher than the minimum wage in Peru, according to official data. The former president, Alan Garcia, had reduced the presidential salary in 2006 from 42,000 soles to the previous level (15,600 soles).
According to an evaluation conducted by the "Rio Times" newspaper in 2024, the salaries of South American presidents range from 3,000 to 22,000 dollars monthly, with an average of around $9,600.
