Peru's new president is controversial. Here's why scientists have high hopes for him
Pedro Castillo has pledged to create a science ministry and improve career prospects for young researchers
17 SEP 2021 5:55 PM BY DANIEL MEZA
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo stands on the back of a car waving to a crowd.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo arrives at a symbolic swearing-in ceremony in Ayacucho, the site of the battle that sealed Peru’s independence from Spain, on 29 July, the day after he was officially sworn in.AP PHOTO/ERNESTO ARIAS
The surprising victory of Pedro Castillo in Peru’s June presidential elections has worried many in the country’s business elite. Castillo, a former schoolteacher and union leader who defeated Keiko Fujimori, daughter of a former president, has promised major changes to reduce poverty and inequality, including increasing taxes on the mining sector, Peru’s economic backbone. Castillo has made controversial appointments, including Guido Bellido, the new prime minister, who is under preliminary investigation for posting a Facebook tribute to a deceased member of Shining Path, a Marxist terrorist group. But among Peruvian scientists, his early moves have raised hopes.
Castillo has appointed a leading scientist as a top adviser and said he will address systemic problems in Peruvian science, including low budgets, a weak governance system, and a lack of prospects for young researchers. He has also vowed to better manage the country’s response to the pandemic. With more than 6000 reported deaths per million inhabitants, Peru has one of the highest mortality rates in the world from COVID-19.
Peru spends only 0.12% of its gross domestic product on science, far below the 0.6% average in Latin America. The country has 0.2 scientists per 1000 people, compared with 1.3 for Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, and 12.7 on average among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In May, after he had won the first round of the elections, the amauta (the Quechua word for teacher, and Castillo’s nickname) promised to significantly increase health and education budgets, elevate science and technology’s role, and create a new science ministry. In a 22 May letter, 50 Peruvian scientists, most of them trained outside Peru, welcomed those proposals and urged him to adopt a new national science, technology, and innovation policy. Peru’s science system, the letter said, requires “profound changes that have been postponed by governments in recent decades and that the pandemic has brought to light.”
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https://www.science.org/content/article/peru-s-new-president-controversial-here-s-why-scientists-have-high-hopes-him
