Pedro Castillo
José Pedro Castillo Terrones (born October 19, 1969 in Puña , Tacabamba District , Cajamarca Region ) is the 64th President of Peru since July 28, 2021 . Previously he worked as a school teacher and union leader. He is a member of the Perú Libre party .
career
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Pedro_Castillo_%28cropped%29_3.jpg/220px-Pedro_Castillo_%28cropped%29_3.jpg)
Castillo was born the third of nine children into a farming family in the small town of Puña, in the Cajamarca region. His parents were illiterate. Despite being home to South America's largest gold mine, Cajamarca has remained one of Peru's poorest regions. During the armed conflict in Peru , Castillo worked as a patrolman in defense against the Shining Path in his youth . He completed his elementary and high school education at a teacher training college and obtained a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in educational psychology from the University of César Vallejo. Castillo worked as a teacher in his hometown's elementary school from 1995 and joined the teachers' union. In 2002, Castillo ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Anguía with the centre-left Perú Posible party . In 2017, he led a teachers' strike in Peru and negotiated with the government, gaining national notoriety.
Castillo announced his candidacy for the Peruvian presidential office in October 2020. But in December 2020 only 0.2% of voters polled said they would vote for him, compared to 2.3% in January 2021. In the first round of the election, he surprisingly received 19% of the votes and competed against Keiko Fujimori in the runoff. During the election campaign, he used posters such as "I'm voting for a Peruvian, not a foreigner" (Spanish: Yo voto por un Peruano, no por una extranjera ) also on xenophobic reservations about his Japanese-born competitor. Conversely, his mostly indigenous followers were met with racism. At an election rally in Sicuani a few days before the run-off, Castillo threatened not to recognize the election result if he lost: "Should something go wrong" (Spanish: si algo negro se trabaja ), he would "call the people together" so that "the vote of the people prevails". In the runoff on June 6, 2021, he was just ahead of Keiko Fujimori with 49.875% with 50.125% of the vote. The official election result was confirmed by the national electoral court (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones) on July 19, 2021 and Castillo was declared the new President of Peru. The inauguration took place on July 28, 2021, the 200th anniversary of independence from Spain. He heads the Castillo cabinet .
political positions
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Ballot_paper_%E2%80%93_2021_Peruvian_presidential_election.jpg/220px-Ballot_paper_%E2%80%93_2021_Peruvian_presidential_election.jpg)
Castillo was a member of the Perú Posible party from 2005 to 2017 and has been a member of the Free Peru party since 2020 , which is considered Marxist-Leninist . He does not define himself as Marxist, but represents left-wing to left-wing populist positions in economic policy. He advocates the nationalization and partial nationalization of infrastructure and raw material extraction and an increase in spending on education and health. Some analysts have compared him to the former Bolivian president, calling him "Peruvian Evo Morales ". At the same time, he is accused of having connections to a sub-organization of the Shining Path . He distanced himself from communism and Chavismo , but reiterated that Nicolás Maduro 's government in Venezuela is a democratic government "because there is an opposition" and believed that Venezuelans should solve their country's problems themselves, without interference from third parties.
Another of his proposals is the election of a constituent assembly to replace the 1993 constitution inherited from Alberto Fujimori 's authoritarian regime , as its purpose is to "defend large-scale corruption."
In an interview with CNN, he said that if elected, he would hold talks with multinationals to ensure "70% of the profits stay in the country and they take 30%, not the other way around like it is today." Regarding mining in Peru, Castillo said he supports the extraction of minerals throughout Peru "where nature and people allow" and welcomes international investment in these projects. At the same time, he called for stricter regulation of mining in Peru.
Castillo also called for stricter media regulations in Peru. In socio- political terms, he supports the death penalty, Peru's withdrawal from the American Convention on Human Rights , is against the introduction of the recognition of same-sex partnerships and against the legalization of abortion and euthanasia. Other policy proposals include the creation of paramilitary groups and the militarization of Peruvian youth to promote a revolutionary experience. He called on citizens to arm themselves in order to ensure justice through a "socialist administration".
personal
Castillo is married to Lilia Paredes, a teacher. The couple have two children. Castillo is Catholic while his wife and children are Evangelical. His family lives on a farm in Chugur District .
web links
itemizations
- ↑ Marco Aquino, Marcelo Rochabrun: PERFIL-Pedro Castillo: el hijo de campesinos que salta a la presidencia de Perú . In: Reuters . June 16, 2021 ( reuters.com [Accessed July 22, 2021]).
- ↑ a b Students' struggles pushed Peru teacher to run for president. Retrieved April 24, 2021 .
- ↑ amerika21: Surprise in the elections in Peru: left-wing candidate wins first round. April 12, 2021, retrieved April 24, 2021 .
- ↑ Carlos Páucar: Izquierda en el Perú: la primera vez en el Gobierno . In: La República , July 28, 2021, retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ↑ a b c Tjerk Brühwiller, São Paulo: Big election surprise: Will a Leninist become President of Peru? In: FAZ.NET . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed 24 April 2021]).
- ↑ Annette Brox: Fear and racism shaped the election campaign , June 20, 2021, retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ↑ Castillo no aceptaría derrota y advierte con “convocar al pueblo”. Llama a “hacer prevalecer el grito de la población” si pierde comicios. In: La Razón (Lima), June 2, 2021, accessed June 4, 2021.
- ↑ ONPE al 100% de actas contabilizadas: Pedro Castillo obtiene 50.125% and Keiko Fujimori, 49.875%. In: La República , June 15, 2021, retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ↑ NYT: Pedro Castillo, Leftist Political Outsider, Wins Peru Presidency , July 19, 2021
- ↑ Inés Santaeulalia, Jacqueline Fowks: Perú se encamina a una lucha por la presidencia entre el radical Pedro Castillo y Keiko Fujimori. 12 April 2021, retrieved 8 June 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Este documento confirma nexo de Pedro Castillo con el Movadef. In: Noticias Peru21. 29 June 2018, retrieved 24 April 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Pedro Castillo arremete contra Nicolás Maduro: "que primero arregle sus problemas internos y que se lleve a sus compatriotas que vinieron a delinquir". 22 April 2021, retrieved 24 April 2021 .
- ↑ NOTICIAS EL BOCÓN: Elecciones: Pedro Castillo, el candidato que liberaria a Antauro Humala y asegura que Venezuela es democrático [VIDEO]. TRENDS. 7 April 2021, retrieved 8 June 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Pedro Castillo, el maestro con el que se identifica el otro Perú. April 12, 2021, retrieved June 8, 2021 .
- ↑ Oswaldo Palacios: Pedro Castillo: "Vamos a desactivar el Tribunal Constitucional en el acto", porque sirve para defender la gran corrupción. April 6, 2021, retrieved June 8, 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Inés Santaeulalia, Jacqueline Fowks: Perú se encamina a una lucha por la presidencia entre el radical Pedro Castillo y Keiko Fujimori. 12 April 2021, retrieved 8 June 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Quién es Pedro Castillo? The great sorpresa of the elección in Perú | El maestro de izquierda que aspira a la presidencia. In: Página 12. 13 April 2021, accessed 8 June 2021 (Spanish).
- ^ a b Energiminas : Pedro Castillo: Habrá minería «donde la naturaleza y la población la permitan». In: Energiminas. April 8, 2021, retrieved June 8, 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Inés Santaeulalia, Jacqueline Fowks: Perú se encamina a una lucha por la presidencia entre el radical Pedro Castillo y Keiko Fujimori. 12 April 2021, retrieved 24 April 2021 (Spanish).
- ↑ Who is Peru's frontrunner Pedro Castillo? Retrieved April 24, 2021 (English).
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Castillo, Pedro |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Castillo Terrones, José Pedro (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Peruvian school teacher, union leader and president |
BIRTH DATE | October 19, 1969 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tacabamba District , Cajamarca Region |