Pedro Castillo

José Pedro Castillo Terrones (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse ˈpeðɾo kasˈtiʝo teˈrones] (listen); born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian elementary school teacher, union leader, and politician. Since 28 July 2021, he is serving as the president of Peru, having won the 2021 Peruvian general election.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 and ran in the 2021 presidential election as the candidate of the Marxist 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 was inaugurated on 28 July, after his victory was confirmed on 19 July.Since taking office, Castillo has played in between naming far-left and moderate left-wing cabinets, seemingly under the strong influence of the leader of his party, Vladimir Cerrón, and at the same time from more progressive left-wing politicians. Going through four cabinets in a little over six months and his choice of appointing close acquaintances as officials led to his government facing the most unstable beginning in more than twenty years, with questions arising about his apparent inexperience for office. He has faced two impeachment proceedings in the Peruvian Congress, although both failed to reach the necessary votes to remove him from office.Following the second failed impeachment vote, the 2022 Peruvian protests took place due to the rising fuel prices and instability generated by Castillo's administration, which largely affected transportation workers. His administration has not been able to find a solution to the political crisis, as it escalates in addition to mining protests as the country's economy plummets. He ultimately quit Free Peru in June 2022, and currently governs as an independent.