The chaotic start of Pedro Castillo’s presidency has baffled Peruvians over who is in charge

During the swearing-in ceremony for the 200th anniversary of Peruvian independence, the first peasant president of Peru condemned the “racial regime“Imposed by the conquerors and ensures that this system continues to divide Latin American societies today.

To underline this point, Pedro Castillo promised not to use the presidential residence, known as “Casa de Pizarro” in honor of its founder, Francisco Pizarre, who led the subjugation of the Incas. The leftist president, a 51-year-old former schoolteacher from rural Peru, insisted it was time to “break with colonial symbols”.

But now, barely two weeks after his historic presidency, Castillo’s inexperience and appointment of die-hard Marxist leaders (some with criminal records) to high-level government positions have left this country, that last year saw three presidents, again on the verge of political collapse.

The chaos sparked a battle between the executive and an antagonistic, conservative-dominated legislature. There is more and more talk of the impeachment of the president or the dissolution of Congress.

The click came the day after Castillo’s inauguration, when he appointed Guido Bellido, 42, a struggling congressman from his party Free peru, as prime minister, a post for which even many on the left have said he was unfit.

Bellido is under criminal investigation for allegedly “defend terrorism“With social media posts that sympathize with Luminous path, the Maoist extremists who killed at least 28,000 Peruvians, mostly from remote and impoverished communities, in the 1980s and 1990s. He also came under heavy criticism for a Facebook post in 2019 in which he praised Fidel Castro for having prevented homosexuals from participating in the Cuban Revolution.

However, Bellido, who was only appointed after learning that another frontrunner for the post, also the lawmaker of Free peru, Roger najar, got a 14-year-old girl pregnant, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Hector Béjar, the 85-year-old foreign minister who is restoring diplomatic relations with the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, said that Luminous path he was “cia work”. The Minister of Defense, Walter Ayala, has previously been fired by the police for allegedly helping a prisoner escape. He was even investigated for human trafficking.

To make matters worse, during his first four days in office, Castillo, who has yet to hold a press conference and has not even allowed the media to attend many of his official events, worked in a private office without any official document from whom he met. After a storm of criticism and a possible legal denunciation, he backed down and is now based at the presidential palace.

Some of Castillo’s other populist policies may haunt him as well. Proposals to cut ministers’ salaries in half and make military service compulsory for young people who do not work or study have been widely criticized, including by scholars of progressive politics.

Hugo Ñopo, A development economist from the GRADE think tank in Lima warned that two-thirds of those eligible for military service are likely women, noting that this forced recruitment could lead to abuse of indigenous recruits and other vulnerable recruits. “It’s a bad solution to a misdiagnosed problem“said opo.”It is above all a question of gender”.

Meanwhile, Castillo insists on moving forward with plans to convene a constituent assembly, despite the lack of support from Congress and the general public, and despite the fact that there is no constitutional path. clear to do so.

The measure comes just as Peru, which has the highest number of deaths due to Covid-19 per capita in the world, is preparing for a third wave, a challenge critics say Castillo should focus all of his energy on.

To compound the plot, it’s unclear whether the president makes the decisions or follows the orders of his polarizing mentor. Vladimir cerron, the Cuban-trained neurosurgeon who founded Free peru.

Cerrón chose Castillo as the party’s presidential candidate after he himself was refused to run due to a conviction for Corruption. He is now the subject of 12 other criminal investigations, in particular for his alleged role in the financing of the electoral campaign of Free peru by extensive corruption fraud when he was governor of the Junín region. Still, Cerrón appears to be in daily, albeit secret, contact with Castillo, while tracking down political opponents, and even allies, online.

In recent days, Cerrón has called on North Korea to reopen an embassy in Lima and accused Pedro Francké, the Minister of Moderate Economy and former World Bank economist, to be a “chicago boy”. The appointment of Francke, whose policy is similar to that of Senator Bernie Sanders, was seen as key to preventing Peruvian markets from plummeting.

Cerrón also spoke of the Congressional vote of confidence, which will be delivered later this month, on Castillo’s cabinet, as a “collision of two worlds, European and Andean”. Under the Peruvian constitution, if lawmakers reject two of these votes, the president can dissolve Congress.

One explanation for Cerrón’s provocative tactics could be his own legal situation “extremely complicated“said the former anti-corruption prosecutor Cesar Azabache.

“Cerrón’s conviction means he cannot hold public office, not even as an adviser to the government, directly or indirectly“said Azabache.”Their presence calls into question the seriousness of the government’s commitment against terrorism and drug trafficking.”.

Richard Arce, a former congressman and one of the president’s most vocal left critics, said the president and his party need to understand that his narrow electoral victory was due in large part to Peruvians’ aversion to Keiko Fujimori, The opponent of Castillo contaminated by corruption.

“Castillo must start acting like a president and generate wider supportsaid Arce. “Some of his decisions so far have been incomprehensible. He has raised many expectations, especially among the poor, and it would be a tragedy if he did not respond”.

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