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When Nuria Esparch was 14 years old, she went to a naval school to pursue her dreams of being a cadet, but she was told there was no room for women in the navy. Today, around 40 years later, she still remembers the words the officers said to her.

Esparch, an alumna of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, spoke about her experience as the first woman to serve as Peru’s Minister of Defense at an event hosted by SU’s Moynihan Institute and the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean on Wednesday afternoon.

When she first assumed the role in November 2020, Esparch reached out to Michelle Bachelet — the former president of Chile and also the first woman to be the country’s defense minister — to ask for advice on acting as the head of the ministry.

“She told me never to take a no for an answer… She told me to insist. This is the way to achieve changes, she said, and I insisted as much as I could,” Esparch said.

Esparch served as minister of defense from November 2020 to July 2021, during which Peru had one of the closest elections in its history. In 2021, former school teacher and union leader Pedro Castillo was named as president-elect by the National Jury of Elections after winning just over 50% of the vote, defeating right-wing opponent Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. Keiko Fujimori filed an appeal based on claims of voting irregularities that was dismissed by the NJE.

In December 2022, Castillo was removed from office after two previous impeachment attempts failed. On his last day in office, Castillo publicly announced he would dissolve Peru’s congress and that a new constitution would be written. He is currently being held in the same Peruvian prison as Alberto Fujimori on charges of rebellion.

With the election’s complications, Esparch said the Peruvian democratic state was weakened, with low levels of institutional and interpersonal trust. She emphasized that during all elections, it’s the government’s role to maintain free, transparent and orderly elections.

Since a radical leftist president had never been elected before, Esparch emphasized the importance of maintaining a stable public administration.

“The best thing that the president can do now is to regenerate the environment for our officers to do our jobs,” she said.

Esparch pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the most difficult issues she had to confront in her role.

“The pandemic was certainly one of the government’s main challenges around the world actually, and the MINDEF put all its logistical capabilities and the service of the country,” she said.

With her response to the pandemic and support of the armed forces’ logistical efforts, Esparch said she believes her overall impact on her country was positive, despite the difficulties she faced in her term.

“For this reason, I cannot avoid the feeling of mission accomplished,” Esparch said.

Reflecting on her term in office, Esparch said the elements she valued the most were seeking the feedback of predecessors, making feasible agendas and working with reliable and experienced teams of people.

She said her time at Maxwell exposed her to diverse perspectives that helped her in the position as well.

“This is what Maxwell gave me: the opportunity to see the world from different standpoints,” Esparch said.

Published on April 20, 2023 at 12:45 am

Contact Claire: charri39@syr.edu