Peru swears in new President Pedro Castillo
Peru has sworn in new President Pedro Castillo, a leftist former teachers’ union leader who already faces mounting challenges to build his government, tackle the coronavirus crisis and unite a deeply polarised country.
Castillo was sworn in at midday local time (1700 GMT) on Wednesday in the capital, Lima, after weeks of uncertainty following a hard-fought June presidential runoff that saw him edge right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori by about 44,000 votes.
Castillo, a 51-year-old former rural schoolteacher, becomes Peru’s first president in decades with no ties to the country’s political or economic elite.
Peru has been hard-hit by the pandemic, recording 195,000 COVID-19 deaths - the highest per capita in the world - and suffering an 11.1% fall in GDP last year after 20 years of uninterrupted growth.
The country, which has seen years of political upheaval and uncertainty, also remains deeply divided.
In an early setback for President Castillo, an opposition-led alliance won a vote on Monday to lead Peru’s Congress - a sign of challenges ahead to his plans to reform the constitution and increase mining taxes.
At: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/26/peru-opposition-to-lead-congress-in-setback-for-president-elect
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, in his trademark straw sombrero, delivering his inaugural address today.
The first smallholder (campesino) elected president of the nation of 33 million, Castillo spoke of tackling the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Peru, reforming the constitution and a highly unequal health system, economic stimulus and aid to the poor, making public college education tuition-free, and stamping out usury and corruption among other goals.
In a symbolic move, Castillo will not reside in the Pizarro House - pledging to instead cede the baroque palace to the Culture Ministry.
A right wing-dominated Congress will make his agenda an uphill battle however.
