To the surprise of many, Pedro Castillo arrives this Thursday in his first year as president of Peru, after surviving two vacancy attempts due to “moral incapacity” (a faster removal process, different from impeachment), having been led to exchange dozens of ministers and remained at war with Congress and even with the party for which he was elected, Peru Libre.
Despite having held out so far, his political situation is not good at all. Only 19% of Peruvians approve of it. His popularity is only higher than that of Congress – which wants to overthrow him at all costs. Parliamentarians have only 12% approval, according to the IEP (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos).
Castillo turned out to be the winner of a very particular electoral process, in which Peruvians cast their vote of rejection to traditional politicians, after a troubled term, with protests, closing of Congress and presidential vacancy.
The president left the table to beat veteran Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the country’s former autocrat, by just 40,000 votes. So unknown, international media did not have a photo of her to put on the polls on Election Day.
His personal story touched peasants who lived in regions devastated by the violence between Sendero Luminoso and the Armed Forces in the 1970s-80s-90s. Some of his closest supporters, in fact, took up arms in this struggle. He calls himself a “rondero”, a member of the peasant militias who tried to protect the population of the camp from violence. Rural teacher and trade unionist, he ended up being the nominee of his party, Perú Libre, because his boss, Vladimir Cerrón, is convicted of corruption. The ideological line of Perú Libre is that of an old-fashioned Marxism, which seems stuck in the 1970s.
The president reaches the end of his first year with five corruption investigations. Castillo defends himself: “One year and my rivals, so far, have not been able to find any proof. I am here for the will of the people, the time has come for the regions to be heard.”
Unlike two of his predecessors, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and MartÃn Vizcarra, Castillo seems to be protected from vacancy processes because the Congress is fragmented and has not managed, so far, to gather the 87 votes (out of 130 deputies) necessary to remove him. about the game.
Castillo has shown himself to be a weak ruler, who has not even managed to fulfill part of his promises, to direct policies of social justice and more education to the corners of the country. In his defense, however, it is necessary to say that there is immense pressure from Lima’s urban elite, the business community and traditional politics for his resignation or removal. Former President Francisco Sagasti, without any respect for his country’s democracy, is suggesting, for example, that new elections be called.
Since he was elected by the Peruvian people, it would be interesting to give him a truce and a vote of confidence, before simply removing him from power without the necessary evidence and votes. Peru has already wasted a year trying to do this. Or, that the Justice, independently, actually gather evidence about his alleged acts of corruption and he responds for these through institutional channels. So much noise and so much instability are holding back the country’s development.
