How a rural schoolteacher’s surprise presidential victory triggered a political earthquake in Peru
In short: When Pedro Castillo, a union-leading schoolteacher from a remote village, won Peru’s 2021 presidency, he promised to end poverty in a wealthy nation. Yet, his tenure collapsed in just seventeen months, leading to his arrest, mass protests, and a profound national crisis that left the country’s political future in turmoil.
Pedro Castillo’s rise was as improbable as his fall was swift. A teacher from the Cajamarca region, he gained national prominence leading a months-long teachers’ strike in 2017. By 2021, the socialist party Free Peru (Perú Libre) recruited him as their presidential candidate after their leader, Vladimir Cerrón, was barred from running due to corruption convictions. Campaigning in his signature wide-brimmed straw hat, Castillo tapped into deep-seated voter anger over inequality, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He promised to redistribute mineral wealth and rewrite the constitution, securing a narrow victory of roughly 44,000 votes against Keiko Fujimori in the June 2021 runoff.
His presidency, however, was plagued by instability from the start. Castillo faced multiple corruption investigations, constant cabinet turnover—with over 50 changes—and eventually, his own party expelled him. The opposition-controlled Congress launched failed impeachment attempts in December 2021 and March 2022. The breaking point arrived on December 7, 2022, when Castillo, facing a third impeachment vote, attempted to dissolve the legislature and rule by decree. Congress responded immediately, voting to remove him from office. He was arrested while attempting to reach the Mexican embassy, and Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as his successor.
Castillo’s removal ignited widespread unrest, particularly in southern regions like Cuzco. Protesters demanded his release and Boluarte’s resignation, leading to road blockades that forced the closure of Machu Picchu. The government’s aggressive response to these demonstrations resulted in nearly 60 deaths by the end of January 2023. The crisis underscored the deep fractures in Peruvian society, pitting rural supporters of the former president against urban centers. Today, the legacy of this short-lived administration remains a central point of contention in a nation struggling to reconcile its democratic institutions with intense political polarization and economic disparity.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Free Peru | political party, Peru | Britannica
- Also: Free Peru
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