LIMA, Peru—Peruvian President Pedro Castillo may or may not be a socialist, but there is no denying that his political branding is rooted almost exclusively in his identification with Peru’s most marginalized citizens. His campaign slogan for the June presidential election, “No more poor people in a rich country,” was the least of it. What carried real weight with voters was his personal background as a campesino—a rural inhabitant usually with Indigenous heritage and ties to the land. For many, that made Castillo the living antithesis to the largely white Lima elites who have overseen a booming economy in a country still plagued by galloping corruption, inequality and injustice. But now, just five months into Castillo’s five-year term, a picture is emerging of a president who, by commission and omission, is proving to be anything but a friend to the most vulnerable Peruvians.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 28, 2021 13:55 UTC