He is officially the new president of Peru.

Former schoolteacher Pedro Castillo was sworn in on Wednesday July 28, saying he wanted to end corruption in the country and start a process for a new Constitution.

"I swear before God, in front of 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.

Pedro Castillo then received his 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.

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", stressed to AFP analyst Hugo Otero.

Peru has been dramatically affected by the Covid-19 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%.

"This country is going to be 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 Pedro Castillo during his first speech as head of state.

"During the election campaign, it was said that we were going to expropriate. This is totally false. We want the economy to be in order," he continued, in a new attempt to reassure the business community, who fear a possible radical turn to the left in this country marked by 25 years of ultraliberal economic policies.

Friday, Pedro 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.

On Monday, Pedro Castillo also received a call from the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, who sent him his congratulations and told him to expect from him "a constructive role" concerning relations with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. .

Limited room for maneuver

The future president's room for maneuver remains a challenge, after a campaign polarized between two extremes and a five-year term marked by strong institutional instability which saw three presidents succeed one another in one week at the end of 2020.

"Pedro Castillo must position himself quickly as the president of all Peruvians and not as that of half the population," said political scientist Jessica Smith to AFP.

A week ago, this novice in politics, who should quickly announce the names of the members of his government, had launched an appeal for all goodwill.

"We appeal to all specialists, the most qualified and most committed people for the country" to join the team of the new government, he said.

The new president will have to work with a fragmented Parliament, where no less than ten parties are represented.

His Peru Free party holds the most seats (37), but without an absolute majority, and that of his opponent, Fuerza Popular, 24.

With AFP

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