Peru election: Leftwinger Pedro Castillo takes surprise lead

·3 min read
Peruvian presidential candidate Pedro Castillo (C) from the Peru Libre party arrives to vote in the town of Tacobamba, Cajamarca department, Peru, 11 April 2021
Pedro Castillo has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Peru's presidential poll

Trade unionist Pedro Castillo has taken a surprise lead in the presidential election in Peru.

With more than half of the votes counted, Mr Castillo had 16.3%.

Eighteen candidates competed in the first round and the election looks certain to go into a run-off on 6 June in which voters will have to choose between the top two candidates.

Currently in second place is right-wing economist Hernando de Soto with 13.5%, followed by Keiko Fujimori with 12.9%.

Who is Pedro Castillo?

The 51-year-old is a primary teacher from the Cajamarca region in Peru. He started his political career in 2002, when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor.

Pedro Castillo of Peru Libre party participates in a presidential candidates debate, in Lima, Peru March 30, 2021
Pedro Castillo ran for the Free Peru party

In 2017, he became a prominent figure in a teachers' strike over pay and in October 2020 he announced he would run for president for the left-wing Free Peru party.

In opinion polls ahead of the election, he had failed to make it into the list of top six candidates, barely registering 3% in a poll taken in mid-March.

His lead in the counting therefore came as a surprise to many.

His support seems to have come in particular from remote rural areas, which pollsters rarely reach. Mr Castillo thanked them in a brief speech on Sunday, saying he wanted to greet those "who have ben forgotten, who live in the corners of our homeland where there is no state presence".

What does he stand for?

Mr Castillo managed to appeal to many Peruvians who are fed up with the corruption scandals which have overshadowed politics for years.

He has said that he is not out to enrich himself and that if elected, he will only draw the salary equivalent to what he is paid as a teacher. He also wants to lower the salary paid to lawmakers.

He argues that Peru has not been governed in the interest of the vast majority of Peruvians and has called for "drastic changes".

He has backed calls by anti-government protesters for a new constitution and says that under his leadership a constituent assembly will be created to draft a constitution that "has the colour, smell and flavour of the people".

During his campaign, Mr Castillo proposed nationalising companies in a number of "key" economic sectors such as mining, oil, hydroelectric and gas.

What's the background?

Peru has been through a series of political crises in recent years causing great instability at the very top of the political system.

In November last year, Peruvians were led by three presidents within the space of a week as then-leader Martín Vizcarra was impeached.

It has also been badly hit by the Covid pandemic. It is the country in South America with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

Trust in politicians, while already low, was further eroded by the so-called "vaccinegate", the revelation in February that previous and current government officials secretly got vaccinated early against Covid-19.

Peru's economy has also felt the impact of the pandemic, contracting by 11% in 2020. More than 2.2 million people have lost their jobs.

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