"New Peru": Pedro Castillo sworn in as President

The political newcomer wants to turn things around: In the market-liberal country, he promises jobs, free access to education and financial aid for the poor.

He needs allies for his left agenda.

Lima - Exactly 200 years after Peru's declaration of independence, the new President Pedro Castillo wants to put the South American country on a new course.

"We are a government of the people," said the left-wing politician after being sworn in at the Congress in Lima.

“Peru is now ruled by a farmer.” The former village school teacher promised “a new constitution and a new Peru”.

In his inaugural address, he also announced the creation of one million jobs in one year, government aid for poor families and investments in the education sector.

"We want to build a more prosperous and fairer country." He also promised to reform the health system and build new hospitals in rural areas of Peru.

Political newcomers are facing massive challenges

The teacher, farmer and trade unionist Castillo had never held a political office until he was elected president.

The challenges for the new head of state are enormous: Peru is suffering particularly badly from the corona pandemic.

It is one of the countries with the highest mortality rate in the world, and the economy collapsed by 12.9 percent.

The past year has been marked by a bitter conflict between the government and Congress.

The close election result also made it clear how deeply divided Peru is.

Castillo called on his compatriots to start over together.

"We have to put aside the ideological differences, political positions and interests in order to lead our country out of the serious crisis that is burdening us."

Castillo only narrowly prevailed against right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori in a runoff election.

The daughter of ex-ruler Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), who was imprisoned for human rights violations, then lodged a series of complaints.

It was only last week that Castillo was officially declared the election winner.

However, it is unclear whether Castillo can implement his political ideas.

His Marxist-Leninist party, Perú Libre, does not have a majority in Congress.

So Castillo has to forge alliances to get his agenda through.

Support for farmers and indigenous people

When he took office, however, a different wind could actually blow in the government district of Lima.

Despite a large proportion of indigenous people in the Peruvian population, the country has so far been largely controlled by the white elites.

Castillo, on the other hand, grew up on a farm in Cajamarca in the Andes; his parents were illiterate.

He knows from his own experience that the farmers and indigenous peoples have hardly benefited from the considerable economic growth in Peru in recent years and often still live in abject poverty.

In the future, profits from mining, for example, should benefit the regions more, said Castillo.

"If a project does not generate any social gains, it will not be implemented."

The left-wing politician also used his inaugural address to dispel fears of an overly radical agenda: “We do not want to nationalize any branches of the economy, private property is guaranteed.” According to reports, the more moderate economist Pedro Francke will be the economics minister in his cabinet.

Castillo also wants to distinguish himself symbolically from his predecessors.

He announced that he would not rule from the presidential palace.

“We have to break with colonial symbols in order to break the shackles of rule that have existed for so many years.” The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro already resided in a building on the site of today's presidential palace.

dpa