The scandalous statements of Pedro Castillo on feminicides: “They are the product of the idleness generated by the state”

The presidential candidate of Peru Pedro Castillo He said on Monday that feminicides “are the product of state-generated idleness”, statements which have been criticized by women’s groups and which the union leader himself subsequently had to clarify. on his social networks.

Asked in front of the press in Puno (southern Peru), the rural teacher and candidate of Peru Libre argued that governments should focus on the participation of young people in productive development and linked this issue to domestic violence. “Because ill-treatment, because femicide is the product of the idleness that the state itself generates, of unemployment, of delinquency. If we generate development, we attract young people, we take them out of the city by promoting development, ”he said.

According to him, regional governments must promote development spaces to put an end to this type of discrimination. “Imagine the young people dedicating themselves to breeding, imagine the young people industrializing milk, imagine the ladies and young girls, the young ladies, dedicating themselves to this type of development”, added.

Less than a week before the ballot, each statement can have a significant weight in the result, as polls released on Sunday showed a technical connection between Castillo and his rival, Keiko Fujimori. Both campaigns are conservative, but the Fuerza Popular team has sought support from women in recent days.

The latest IPSOS survey reported that Castillo had 46% preferences among men, but only 38% support among women, a significant difference between the sexes. In contrast, Fujimori has 39% and 41% respectively.

In reaction to Castillo’s controversial statements, feminist group Manuela Ramos took to Twitter, where she regretted the affair: “Feminicides are the last step in gender-based violence, which is the consequence of a patriarchal society, where the woman is considered as the property of the man. Sanction for feminicides and zero tolerance for gender violence ”.

Ana María Choquehuanca, former Minister of Women, commented on the issue to the Perú21 newspaper. “These statements surprise me, I never expected to hear something like that from a presidential candidate. We are subjected to violence against women and feminicides on a daily basis. A presidential candidate cannot express himself in this way, ignoring a situation which has generated so many deaths, ”he said.

After the outcry, Castillo attempted to clarify the matter with a clarification on Twitter. “I reaffirm myself, never again an idle state that neither promotes nor protects women, and often ends up protecting feminicides, rapists and the corrupt,” he writes, trying to give more concrete meaning to the role of the authorities than ‘He had. critical.

The candidate also pointed to the “shield of Congress”, in reference to the former Supreme Judge César Hinostroza, accused of having released child rapists and who was protected by the Fujimori bloc. Finally, as throughout his campaign, he maintained that the solution lies in amending the Constitution. “Never again the armor of Congress, nor the lackeys of corruption like the former judge Hinostroza who negotiated the freedoms of the mafia and the corrupt for a few soles. Unfortunately, but this is the state we have and it represents us. It is urgent to change the Constitution ”.

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