A former school teacher in a rural area, born in modest upbringings rises from obscurity to the presidency. Pedro Castillo was elected as the first president of Peru who has no ties to the elites that have governed the Andean country for decades.
The 51-year-old far-left trade unionist was largely unknown until he led a national strike four years ago that forced the then-government to agree to pay rise demands. What he has shown through grit and determination is democracy in perspective, in fact, another perspective, breaking the cycle of the rich and elite dictating terms.
“This is the first time that this country will be governed by a peasant, someone who belongs to the oppressed classes,” he said on the day of his investiture, for which he donned the trademark white sombrero of his beloved Cajamarca, and a black, Andean suit.
Pedro Castillo from modest beginnings that developed character and principles
He was born to peasants in the tiny village of Puna in the historic Cajamarca region, where he worked as a teacher for 24 years.
He grew up helping his parents with farm work, and as a child, had to walk several miles to school.
For less formal occasions, Castillo likes to don a poncho and shoes made of recycled tires.
He travelled on horseback for much of his presidential campaign, as he vocalised the frustration of struggling Peruvians and cast himself as a man of the people. He is a man from the people who is for the people.
Castillo burst onto the national scene four years ago when he led thousands of teachers on a near 80-day strike to demand a pay rise.
It left 3.5 million public school pupils without classes to attend and compelled then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who initially refused to negotiate, to relent.
In a bid to delegitimize the protest, then-interior minister Carlos Basombrio claimed its leaders were linked to Movadef, the political wing of the defeated Shining Path Maoist guerrilla group dubbed a “terrorist” organization by Lima.
“No more poor people in a rich country,” he said, as he campaigned for the Peru Libre (Free Peru) party.
He has said he would renounce his presidential salary and continue living on his teacher earnings, and described himself as “a man of work, a man of faith, a man of hope.”
Castillo, according to analyst Hugo Otero, is “the first poor president of Peru.”
Democracy in perspective – The new president of Peru
In April, Castillo surprised many by taking the lead in the race to become Peru’s fifth president in three years, edging out 17 other candidates.
He then faced off against right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori in the run-off, promising radical change to improve the lives of Peruvians contending with a recession worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, rising unemployment and poverty.
#COMMUNIQUÉ | President @NicolasMaduro congratulates the Republic of Peru on the Bicentennial of its Independence. This luminous day carries the heroic burden of indigenous resistance, the precursor struggle of Tupac Amaru and Micaela Bastidas. At the pace of Victors! pic.twitter.com/sv3Pk6K6S8
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) July 29, 2021
One thing unlikely to change under a Castillo presidency is the Peruvian state’s socially conservative character: he is Catholic and vehemently opposed to gay marriage, elective abortion and euthanasia.
He frequently quotes from the Bible to drive home his points, and at his two-story brick home in the hamlet of Chugur in Cajamarca hangs a picture of Jesus surrounded by sheep and a caption, in English, that reads “Jehovah is my shepherd.”
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