The keys to Pedro Castillo’s assumption speech: economy, education, military service and constitutional reform

the the newest president of Peru, leftist Pedro Castillo, delivered his first speech to the nation on Wednesday, in which he outlined his priorities as the chief executive of the South American country.

The 51-year-old rural teacher promised deep reforms but he insisted that it does not seek to “nationalize” the economy of the mining country.

One of the axes of the president’s speech, which assumed during a sober ceremony, was to reaffirm its will to send to Congress a draft reform the Constitution promulgated in 1993 by then President Alberto Fujimori.

After declaring that Peru cannot be “condemned to remain a prisoner of this Constitution of 1993”, Castillo declared: “Announcement that we will present to the Congress of the Republic […] a bill to reform it ”.

“We will present to Congress, in accordance with the constitutional reform procedure, a law Project. We hope that it can be approved and ratified by referendum ”, He pointed out after noting that the Constituent Assembly will devote itself to the preparation of a draft Constitution produced from the political debate.

“We will insist on this proposal, but within the legal framework provided for by the Constitution. We will have to reconcile positions with Congress“said the new president, whose Peru Free party it has only 37 of the 130 seats in Parliament.

In economic matters, Castillo said that “Not even from a distance” does he intend to nationalize the economy, as many of his political rivals have warned, and that he will seek to carry out reforms “in a responsible manner”. Between them promised that he will seek to improve free exchange giving priority to “the interests of the country”.

Although the tone of his initial comments was moderate, Castillo announced that his government will try to carry out mining projects that contribute more to the local economy and to an increase in tax expenditures for education and health., with clear rules.

“What we recommend is the end of abuses by monopolies, consortia that corrupt and charge artificially high sums for basic goods and services, such as domestic gas and drugs», He indicated.

Castillo’s plans, put forward during his election campaign, rocked the economic elite after more than three decades pro-market policies that have made the country a relatively safe haven in volatile Latin America.

Unlike previous presidents who had formed their cabinet on the eve of their inauguration, Castillo kept the composition of his team under lock and key. This information is expected to be released on Friday.

Crown corporation PetroPerú, announced the president, will participate in the whole chain of the petroleum industry, “in the search for a regulation of the final price of fuels”. But, he clarified, It will not be funded by grants but the state enterprise must participate in the market and generate profits.

He also said he will promote the creation of a State “agrobank”, with the aim of reactivating the agricultural sector, in which it will also allocate public funds to organized farmers.

Castillo also spoke about the education situation and announced that he will declareto public education “in educational emergency”, which will double the budget allocated to the sector. In addition to announcing the creation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, he indicated that he will change the name of the Ministry of Culture to Ministry of “cultures”.

In one of the passages which aroused the surprise, the leftist claimed that these young people who do not work or study, also called “Ni-ni”, they must perform compulsory military service. In addition, he added that he planned to strengthen voluntary military service programs.

Castillo further announced that He will not rule the country from Pizarro Palace, the house of government, as he plans to turn it into a museum.

“I will not rule from the house of Pizarro, because I believe that we must break with colonial symbols. We will cede this Palace to the new Ministry of Cultures to turn it into a museum retracing our history.“, He said.

The rural teacher from Cajamarca also promised in his speech of nearly an hour, before the authorities and foreign dignitaries, that At the end of his term on July 28, 2026, he will resume his “usual teaching duties”.

Finally, he closed his speech urging to put aside ideological differences. “I summon all Peruvians, men and women of this country to tell you that it is time for a great national unity “

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