Peru: rural teacher Pedro Castillo has taken office | Trade union leader and son of peasants in the Cordillera region of Cajamarca

From Lima

Since Wednesday, Peru has, for the first time in its history, a president from the poorest and most excluded sectors of the country. A rural farmer and teacher outside the elites and circles of power who raised hopes for change in a country of deep inequalities exacerbated by three decades of neoliberalism. And that he was the target of attacks by these elites who are losing power. Pedro Castillo’s swearing-in as President of Peru marks a historic event. And this happens on the bicentenary of the country’s independence. With the professor and trade unionist who became president, Peru joins the countries of the region with progressive governments. The swearing-in of the new Peruvian president took place in the presence of Argentine President Alberto Fernández, with the government of which Castillo feels close. The two then had a bilateral meeting (see separate note).

Straw hat

The new president took office and gave his first message wearing his inseparable wide-brimmed straw hat and high crown typical of the rural areas of the Andean region of Cajamarca where he is from. He was not wearing the classic suit and tie that all his predecessors wore for the occasion, but a black jacket with a stand-up collar with pinstripes of colorful Andean figures. Very similar to that used by the former Bolivian president Evo Morales, present at the ceremony. A gesture of authenticity and claim to its roots. “Castillo does not give up his identity, but shows it and respects it,” he said. Page 12 the historian Nelson manrique. Besides President Fernández and Evo Morales, the leaders were also present Luis Arce from Bolivia, Ivan Duque Columbia, Sebastien Piñera from Chile and Guillermo Lasso from Ecuador and King Felipe VI of Spain, as well as the Vice-Presidents of Brazil and Paraguay, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, among others.

Castillo took an oath “for the peoples of Peru, for a country without corruption and for a new Constitution”. He did it in front of the President of Congress, the opposition Maria del carmen alva, of the center-right Popular Action. “This time a government of the people has come to rule with the people and for the people, to build from the bottom up. It is the first time that our country will be ruled by a peasant, a person who, like many Peruvians, belongs to sectors oppressed for so many centuries. It is also the first time that a political party formed in the interior of the country has won the elections democratically and that a teacher, more precisely a rural teacher, has been chosen to be so. It is difficult to express the immense honor that this means for me ”, said the new Peruvian president, who began his message, just over an hour, with an account of Peruvian history, justifying the indigenous populations.

He proposed to Congress the convocation of a Constituent Assembly to change the current Constitution which comes from the dictatorship of incarcerated Alberto Fujimori. At that time, the party in power had applauded him standing. The conservative opposition has fallen silent. This is the most politically significant announcement. He stressed that the change of the Constitution is one of his main flags. He questioned the fact that the current Magna Carta “benefits big companies so that they can take away our wealth” and stressed that a new one was necessary “which allows us to change the face of our economic reality and social ”.

Constitution

Faced with the controversy that exists on the convening of a Constituent Assembly, the newly assumed government proposes that a referendum be called for the population to vote. “We will vigorously respect what the people decide,” said the president. But, as Castillo admitted, the president does not have the power to call this referendum, which must go through a prior modification of the current Constitution which must be decided in Congress in order to allow the referendum. In the legislative, there is a conservative majority which opposes a Constituent Assembly and firmly defends the Fujimori Magna Carta and does not want the issue to be decided democratically by referendum. In his first act of government, the president announced the presentation to Parliament of a project to allow the referendum and asked to agree on positions. “We hope it can be approved,” he said. It will be difficult for him.

“We’re ready to regain sovereignty over all our natural resources because many today are in foreign hands. This is one of the main reasons which oblige us to seek a new Constitution ”, he indicated.

Priorities

The new president noted that your first priority will be to fight against the pandemic of the coronavirus and ensure the vaccination of the population. With over 196,000 deaths, Peru is the country with the highest death rate relative to its population in the world. The pandemic has highlighted the precariousness of the health system, a problem facing Castillo, who announced a significant increase in investments in the sector. Infections and deaths have seen a significant and constant decline for several weeks, but the arrival of a third wave is feared. “We must rule at a time of enormous gravity for Peru. We must maximize our efforts to achieve the vaccination of our entire population as soon as possible. Health is a fundamental right that the state must guarantee“, he underlined.

He assured that he would keep his promise to bring changes to the neoliberal model imposed three decades ago and announced that it will be “a change with responsibility”. “Today, the people are asking for changes and do not want to give them up. I will not disappoint you, ”he promised.

He proposed greater state action in the economy, its participation as a partner of private enterprise in the exploitation of natural resources, but ruled out possible nationalization. “We do not even intend to nationalize our economy or to make a policy of exchange control. We just want the economy of families, especially low income ones, to be more stable and prosperous. What we advocate is the end of monopoly abuses ”. Applause on one side and silence on the other.

He announced redistribution and public investment policies to reduce the huge gaps that exist in the country. He reiterated that his government will pay special attention to health, education and rural populations, as he had announced in previous statements. He indicated that programs will be launched to create temporary jobs, he proposed to create a million jobs in the first year of his government. The economic impact of the pandemic has left more than two million unemployed. He also announced credits for farmers and micro and small enterprises, and the delivery of an economic support voucher of approximately $ 180 for the population in vulnerable situations.

Colonialism

On a date loaded with symbolism like the bicentennial of independence day, the president of indigenous roots announced that he would not rule from the government palace, known as “Casa de Pizarro” by the conqueror Francisco Pizarro. It surprised everyone. “We must break with colonial symbols end the ties of domination, ”he said. It is not yet clear what the new center of government will be. The president announced that the Government Palace will be transformed into a museum. He spoke about the importance of celebrating the bicentennial of independence, but said it had not improved the lives of the majority who remained marginalized.

Pulling

The big absence in his message was foreign policy, of which he did not say a word. Their announcements of “Deport foreign criminals within 72 hours” and young people who do not work or study must do their military service.

Castillo has entered his first day in government without a ministerial cabinet. The cabinet swearing-in announced for Wednesday has been surprisingly postponed. It has been announced that the chief of staff will be appointed on Thursday and the rest of the ministers on Friday. A delay which generates uncertainty and is linked to negotiations and tensions between the party in power, Free peru, who would push for the largest number of ministers and for radical policies, and the president, who seeks to moderate these proposals and open his cabinet to other sectors.