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Castillo plans a leftward course for Peru
The new president faces a coronavirus-ravaged economy and deeply entrenched political opposition, but his ambitious social programmes are a cause for celebration, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
Peru's new President Pedro Castillo

PEDRO CASTILLO, a rural schoolteacher representing the left-wing party Peru Libre (Free Peru), scored a stunning victory in this year’s presidential election, but the struggle against powerful right-wing forces is now entering a new stage.

Castillo’s success was unexpected. Back in March he was at 5 per cent in the opinion polls but performed well in the candidates’ debates and secured 19 per cent in the first round of the election in April, topping 17 other candidates.

In the second round in June, he narrowly beat, by 50.13 per cent to 49.87 per cent, Keiko Fujimori of the right-wing Popular Force party. Fujimori is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, jailed in 2009 for 25 years for his role in death squad killings and kidnappings in the 1990s.

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