Pedro Castillo

José Pedro Castillo Terrones (Latin American Spanish: [xoˈse ˈpeðɾo kasˈtiʝo teˈrones] ; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the president of Peru from 28 July 2021 until he was removed from office after attempting a self-coup on 7 December 2022. Born to a peasant family in Puña, Cajamarca, Castillo began working in Peru's informal economy as a teenager to earn funds for his studies in education and later returned to his hometown to become a primary school teacher. He attained political prominence as a leading figure in a school teachers' strike in 2017. He ran in the 2021 presidential election as the candidate of the socialist Free Peru party. Castillo announced his presidential candidacy after seeing his students undergo hardships from the lack of resources in rural Peru, with the election occurring amidst the country's COVID-19 pandemic and a period of democratic deterioration in the nation. With the support of individuals living in rural and outlying provinces, he placed first in the initial round of the presidential vote and advanced to the second round where he won against his opponent Keiko Fujimori. Castillo's victory in the presidential race was confirmed on 19 July 2021 and he was inaugurated on 28 July. Characterised as conservative-left, Castillo was described as a left-wing candidate with conservative tendencies. After taking office, Castillo named far-left and left-wing cabinets, due to the influence of Free Peru leader Vladimir Cerrón and other more left-wing politicians. A social conservative, Castillo ultimately began to align his policies with Congress and Evangelical groups on social issues, including his opposition to same-sex marriage, gender studies and sex education. He left the Free Peru party in June 2022 to govern as an independent. In attempts to appease the right-wing Congress,...