Pedro Castillo, a politician from a rural teacher, was appointed President-elect of Peru, six weeks after his right-wing competitor Keiko Fujimori (Keiko Fujimori) had a polarizing vote on suspected election fraud. .

Official statistics released on Monday showed that more than a month after the runoff took place CastilloIts supporters included impoverished and rural residents in Peru, defeating Fujimori by only 44,000 votes. She is now facing trial on corruption charges.

“On behalf of my family, I pay tribute to the electoral authorities… and to the political parties participating in this democratic celebration,” Castillo said to the hundreds of supporters gathered at his Peruvian Freedom (Free Peru) Party headquarters. horse.

“Dear compatriots, I bring an open heart to each of you,” he announced on the balcony, at the Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) election jury chairman Jorge Luis Salas in a short virtual ceremony to announce the card After Stillo won.

Hundreds of supporters who spent weeks outside the JNE headquarters supporting Castillo broke out in the news to celebrate. He will be sworn in on July 28.

“Finally, we have a president,” said Rosa Huaman, a 27-year-old Castillo supporter in the crowd, who chanted: “Yes, you can!”

Mariana Sanchez of Al Jazeera reported from Lima that although the new president has not held a political office before, he has become an excellent negotiator as a union leader.

“He doesn’t have any management experience,” she said. “But he won the election cleanly and transparently. Democrats in the area have always welcomed him.”

Castillo ran for office and promised to improve the lives of Peruvians in response to the economic recession worsened by the recession COVID-19 pandemicThe country has been devastated by the coronavirus, and about one-third of the people currently live in poverty. This disease has exposed the deficiencies of Peru’s public health system.The per capita mortality rate for COVID-19 in Peru is Tallest in the world.

Political outsider

As the son of a farmer, Castillo promised to redraft the constitution and increase taxes on mining companies, although he appeared to soften earlier calls for the nationalization of mining and gas companies. Peru is a major producer of copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc. The mining industry brings in 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and one-fifth of the corporate tax.

Historians say that despite the economic growth in the past 20 years, Castillo was the first person from outside the elite to become president.

“There is no case of someone who has nothing to do with professional, military or economic elites ascending to the throne,” Cecilia Méndez, a Peruvian historian and a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told a radio station.

Castillo works as an elementary school teacher in his hometown of San Luis de Puna, a remote village in Cajamarca in northern Peru. He is known for leading a national strike before running for president four years ago. In April, when he took the lead in the presidential race, it surprised many people—this was Peru’s fifth president in three years after experiencing a series of crises and corruption scandals.

Fujimori, a former congresswoman, is accused of taking money from the scandal-contaminated Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht (now known as Novonor) to fund two previous failed presidential elections. She campaigned with the support of business elites. According to Peruvian law, if Fujimori becomes president, the lawsuit against Fujimori will be suspended until the end of her term.

Keiko Fujimori, a right-wing competitor to the presidency, admitted defeat earlier. After the vote, she claimed fraud without evidence.The U.S., EU, and other countries all believe that voting is fair [Juan Carlos Guzman/Andina via AFP]

Fujimori said on Monday that after accusing Castillo of victory, she would accept his victory. Election fraud No evidence is provided.

The United States, the European Union, and 14 electoral colleges determined that the vote was fair. The United States called this election a “model of democracy” in the region.

Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University, told a radio station that Castillo’s presidency was “very weak” and, in a sense, his status was the same as when he came to power in Chile in 1970. Salvador Allende (Salvador Allende) and Joao Goulart (Joao Goulart) who became President of Brazil in 1962.

“He has almost the entire Lima institution opposed to him,” said Levitsky, a Latin American political expert.