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José Pedro Castillo Terrones (born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian schoolteacher, union leader and politician serving as the 63rd President of Peru since 28 July 2021, following the 2021 general election. He grew up in an impoverished peasant family and thus advocates for policies which will help the poor.[1]
Political positions
Economic
Analysts described Castillo as an agrarian leftist, populist, and socialist.[2][3][4] He has said that he is not a communist and that he is not a Chavista.[5] Although he is described as far-left by multiple international news agencies,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Castillo has distanced himself from the far-left Marxist faction of the Free Peru party that chose him as a candidate, stating that "the one who is going to govern is me" and there will be "no communism" in Peru under his government.[13][14][15]
Farid Kahhat of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru stated that Castillo has a limited relationship with Free Peru and separated himself from the party's leader, adding that "it is important to remember that Castillo is a candidate but not a party member. ... we might even say he is more conservative than the ideals of Perú Libre would suggest."[16]
He is frequently described as "socially conservative."[17][18][19][20][21] which will likely be used by Western intelligence agencies to demonize him in the eyes of western progressives, as was done against Ecuador's leftist Correísta movement.[22]
Castillo proposed increasing the education and health budgets to at least ten percent of Peru's GDP.[23][24] Castillo believes that internet access should be a right for all Peruvians.[25] He proposed a science and technology ministry that would immediately be tasked with combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.[26]
Social
Proposed social policies from Castillo include creating paramilitary groups and militarizing Peruvian youth in order to promote a revolutionary experience, calling for citizens to arm themselves in order to provide justice through "socialist administration."[27]
International
Castillo defended the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, describing it as "a democratic government",[28][29][30] while his Free Peru party has shared praise for the policies of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez.[31]