Castillo takes 1st steps in Lima’s Government Palace ahead of inauguration
Lima, Jun 21 (EFE).- Peru’s president-elect Pedro Castillo set foot in the Government Palace of Lima for the first time Wednesday to meet with interim president Francisco Sagasti and begin the transfer of power ahead of next week’s inauguration.
After patiently waiting a month and a half for all the legal challenges presented by the right-wing presidential contender Keiko Fujimori to be resolved and rejected, Castillo and his team have just a short week to organize the handover.
The president arrived at his appointment with Sagasti having not yet revealed the names of the ministers who will make up his cabinet, his best kept-secret and the hot topic of debate.
Wearing his characteristic and symbolic Chotano hat, a traditional item worn by those of the northern Andean region of Cajamarca, the rural teacher and trade unionist was received in the parking lot of the Government Palace by Sagasti, who showed him some of the premises before the meeting.
In addition to the transfer process, Castillo and Sagasti also discussed issues of national interest, according to the Peruvian presidency on social media, but did not specify which topics.
The meeting, which lasted for more than two hours, was also attended by Prime Minister Violeta Bermúdez and vice president-elect Dina Boluarte, who has been appointed by Castillo as the head of his team to lead the transfer of portfolios.
Castillo was elected president of Peru for 2021-2026 and will assume the leadership of the country on July 28, the day the country will commemorate 200 years of its independence.
Despite being an unknown candidate for a large part of the population at the beginning of the campaigning, Castillo was the most voted-for candidate in the first round, and in the second round he beat Fujimori, who failed for the third consecutive time to become the first woman to preside over Peru.
Throughout the electoral contest, Castillo promoted a reform of the state including a new constitution, considering that the notorious economic progress of the last decades has not benefited everyone equally and has not managed to close the deep inequality gaps. EFE
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