Pedro Castillo

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Pedro Castillo
Born	19 October 1969 Puña, Cajamarca, Peru

José Pedro Castillo Terrones (born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian schoolteacher, union leader and politician serving as the 63rd President of Peru from 28 July 2021 until his overthrow in December 2022. He grew up in an impoverished peasant family and thus advocates for policies which will help the poor.

Political positions

Economic

Analysts described Castillo as an agrarian leftist, populist, and socialist. He has said that he is not a communist and that he is not a Chavista. Although he is described as far-left by multiple international news agencies, 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.

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."

He is frequently described as "socially conservative." 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.

Castillo proposed increasing the education and health budgets to at least ten percent of Peru's GDP. Castillo believes that internet access should be a right for all Peruvians. He proposed a science and technology ministry that would immediately be tasked with combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.

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."

International

Castillo defended the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, describing it as "a democratic government," while his Free Peru party has shared praise for the policies of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez.

2021 presidency

Castillo has appointed Guido Bellido to the position of Prime Minister, the second most powerful position in government. Bellido is a socialist and a member of the Free Peru party.

Castillo has warned the gas sector that if they don't pay higher taxes, they might face nationalization. This will hopefully coincide with efforts to preempt a CIA coup, as policies like nationalization threaten the business interests protected by the CIA.

In April 2022, right-wing protests began in Peru against inflation caused by NATO and EU sanctions against Russia. The protests resulted in at least nine deaths.

In December 2022, the Peruvian congress impeached Castillo, and security forces arrested him.