Rich vs poor: Peru's Castillo lays down socialist marker for election runoff [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

April 18, 2021
11:34 PM CDT
Marco Aquino

3 minutes read



Pedro Castillo of Peru Libre party looks on after casting his vote, outside a polling station in Cajamarca, Peru April 11, 2021. Vidal Tarqui/ANDINA/Handout via REUTERS


Peruvian socialist Pedro Castillo, the shock winner of Sunday's presidential election first round, has laid down a marker as the defender of the poor ahead of a run-off vote in June.

The little-known union leader and teacher, who rode on a horse to vote and often wears a cowboy hat, rose from the back of the pack in pre-election polls to finish first. He has around 19% of the vote with of ballots 96% counted.

He will face conservative Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of ex-President Alberto Fujimori - imprisoned in 2009 over human rights abuses - and the heir of a powerful family that dominated Peru's political scene for decades in the presidency and in Congress.

"This is a battle between the rich and the poor, the struggle between the ... master and the slave," Castillo told reporters from Peru's north in comments broadcast on local TV channels.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/rich-vs-poor-perus-castillo-lays-down-socialist-marker-election-runoff-2021-04-13/