Peru: Invested Pedro Castillo promises a country without corruption and a new Constitution

The new Peruvian President Pedro Castillo (d) swearing, next to Congress President Maria del Carmen Alva during his investiture ceremony at the National Congress in Lima, July 28, 2021. AFP - HANDOUT

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4 min

Former teacher Pedro Castillo was sworn in on Wednesday July 28 as the new president of Peru, saying he wanted to put an end to corruption in the country and launch a process for a new Constitution.

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"

 I swear before God, before my family, the peasants, the indigenous peoples [...], the fishermen, the doctors, the children, the teenagers that I will exercise my office of President of the Republic 

", declared the new left-wing president in front of Parliament.

"

 I swear to the people of Peru, for a country without corruption and for a new Constitution, 

" he added, wearing a black Andean costume and wearing his now famous white hat.

He then received the two-tone scarf from the hands of the new President of Parliament, the centrist opponent Maria del Carmen Alva.

The swearing-in of the new left-wing president takes place on the day the Andean country of 33 million people celebrates the bicentenary of its independence.

Pedro Castillo Terrones (@PedroCastilloTe),

President of the República del Perú.

2021-2026 # AsunciónPresidenteCastillo pic.twitter.com/GMXTBSUIf3

- Presidencia del Perú 🇵🇪 (@presidenciaperu) July 28, 2021

Festivities are scheduled until Friday. King Felipe VI of Spain, six presidents of the region, US Secretary of State for Education Miguel Cardona, and former Bolivian leader Evo Morales were present at the ceremony.

" 

Pedro Castillo's biggest challenge is going to be not to disappoint people who need quick answers, because they no longer have a job, are hungry or risk their lives due to Covid-19 

", underlined analyst Hugo Otero.

Peru has been dramatically affected by the coronavirus epidemic, with more than 195,000 deaths, the highest death rate in the world relative to the population.

Long months of confinement in 2020 caused the loss of two million jobs and a drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 of 11.12%.

►Also read: Peru: Pedro Castillo, a novice and Métis president facing many challenges

 "

 Ruled by a peasant 

"

The 51-year-old former trade unionist, who has spent his entire career in a rural school in the north of the country, was only officially declared the winner of the second round of the presidential election on June 6 ten days ago. The multiplication of appeals by his opponent, the candidate of the populist right, Keiko Fujimori, in this particularly tight ballot, had delayed the proclamation of the results by several weeks. " 

This is the first time that this country will be ruled by a peasant 

", also declared Mr. Castillo during his first speech as head of state.

“

 During the election campaign, we said we were going to expropriate.

This is totally wrong.

We want the economy to be in order, 

”he continued, in a new attempt to reassure business circles who fear a possible radical turn to the left in this country marked by twenty-five years of ultra-economic policies. -liberal.

Friday July 23, Mr. Castillo had already ruled out any inclination to copy foreign "

 models 

", insisting that he was neither "

 Chavist 

" nor "

 Communist 

", in reference to the powers in place in Caracas and Havana.

A difficult start to the mandate

According to Lissell Quiroz, professor of Latin American studies at the University of Cergy Paris questioned on RFI, Pedro Castillo will also have to deal with an Assembly where he has no majority: “

The start of Pedro Castillo's mandate is particularly difficult because it is necessary to reassure and to compose with the opposition of the Peruvian right which accepted the result of the ballot box without conviction.

Peruvians in particular expect that we remain on the economic model Peru has had since the end of the twentieth century.

And that he does not switch to a Chavist model or a Castroist model. 

"

► To read also: Journal of Haiti and the Americas - Pedro Castillo, invested president in Peru: "His challenge, to bring together"

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• Pedro Castillo

• Peru