The National Congress passed the Ministry of Youth. The bill now passes onto the Presidency for approval. The mission of the new government department is to foster activities destined to improve the quality of life of the younger segments of the population. El Siglo newspaper says that the designated new minister of Youth will be Tony Peña Guaba, a son of the late PRD leader, Jose Francisco Peña Gomez. This is the second ministry passed during the transition period. Earlier, the PRD-majority Congress approved the Ministry of Culture. The president of the PRD, Tony Raful is expected to be the first Minister of Culture. Also expected to be approved by Congress is the Ministry of Transport (supposedly to be head by Miguel Vargas) and the Ministry of Environmental Affairs.
