- Mirelis Morales Tovar
- BBC News World
image source, Getty Images
The support of his compatriots was reflected at the polls. Castillo obtained 70% of the votes in Cajamarca during the second round once morest Keiko Fujimori.
Minutes following former President Pedro Castillo announced the dissolution of Congress and the emergency government last week, a young man stood in the Plaza de Armas in Cajamarca yelling that the president, who was ousted shortly following, left the people of Cajamarca in a bad light.
“Ridiculous shock, you leave the cajachos bad,” he shouted with a banner ..
This scene is recounted by Rosario Chuquiruna, a rural communicator who assures that that act of rage that was disseminated through social networks reflects the feelings of a part of the inhabitants of Cajamarca, one of the poorest departments in the country and birthplace of the teacher who became president of Peru in July 2021.
The indignation comes, on the one hand, from the group of Cajamarquinos from the capital who have always been once morest the rise to power of a peasant.
“There is in Cajamarca a class very similar in thought to the people of Lima, with their same prejudices and feelings of discrimination, who felt that a cholo, brown, with a marked accent was a figure that did not represent them“explains Chuquiruna.
On the other side, there are the less favored Cajamarquinos, who had placed their hopes in Castillo to reach requests that for years have been ignored.
“When Castillo won, there was a feeling of pride in many. It was thought: ‘It was time for a peasant to represent us’; ‘finally someone who comes from the educational sector'”, adds the rural communicator.
image source, Getty Images
Castillo appeared at the beginning of his administration with the typical hat of Cajamarca, as a symbol of his origin.
Cajamarca is one of the poorest departments in Peru (39.7%), followed by Amazonas (30.1%) and La Libertad (26.8%), according to figures from the 2021 National Household Survey.
Almost 60% of the population lives in rural areas, and 9 out of 10 Cajamarca residents work in the informal sector, which means that they do not have access to social security, according to reports from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI).
Hence the famous message of Castillo (“no more poor in a rich country”)became so pervasive during the presidential campaign.
His speech called for a reform of the constitution and the recovery of national wealth, which was well received in a region that has spent years protesting abuses by mining companies.
The support of the Cajamarquinos, in the end, was reflected at the polls, where Castillo obtained 70% of the votes in the department in the second round once morest Keiko Fujimori.
“Castillo’s triumph was a symbolic victory,” says Chuquiruna. “An advance, a gain. Finally, a teacher, a farmer and someone from the interior of the country had reached the presidency. The figure of Castillo represented many of the Peruvians“.
image source, Getty Images
Cajamarca is one of the poorest departments in Peru (39.7%). Almost 60% of the population lives in rural areas.
“The charge was too big for him”
In Cajamarca a “deep sadness” is felt. That is the perception of these last days that Dina Mendoza, an activist known for her opposition to the extraction project of the large Conga gold deposit, has.
“We feel sad and disappointed. We had high hopes, because Pedro Castillo offered that international companies would be reviewed and that laws would be enacted in favor of the people. We thought things were going to change. We had a voice of hope.”
Castillo came to government by popular election, following Peru came from dragging a chain of dismissals that began with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, continued with Martín Vizcarra and ended with Manuel Merino.
They are mandate meant first the restitution of political tranquilityin the midst of a context of the health crisis that hit the country hard.
However, Castillo had everything once morest him from the beginning of his administration. And this is recognized by those who supported him.
“We have a Congress behind the back of the people, who did not let it govern,” says Mendoza. “A legislature that only served individual interests. A shame. But Castillo also did not know how to put on his pants to defend his constituent. He did not put trusted ministers. He did not have the political forces to close Congress.”
image source, Getty Images
During his campaign, Castillo’s speech advocated a reform of the constitution and the recovery of national wealth.
Even within the circle of the peasant rounds, of which Pedro Castillo was a part, these objections regarding his management have an echo.
The rounds are a communal defense organization that has been operating in Cajamarca since 1976 and is known as the army of the peoples.
“Castillo did not meet expectations because it had to face a systematic attack from Congress,” says Santos Saavedra, president of the National Single Central of Rondas Campesinas.
“He distanced himself from the proposals. He allowed himself to be convinced by opportunistic people. And, in the end, both powers failed to agree to advance the changes that the people longed for“.
Despite the fact that the hope of his term only lasted 18 months, many of his followers continue to believe in the ideal that Castillo painted of breaking with the elites that have governed the country.
“He tried,” adds Saavedra. “He promoted more than 50 bills. He insisted on holding a consultation to change the constitution. The Congress men what i didcieron was to block it. Now we have to raise our heads and demand a closure of Congress. They don’t represent us.”
In the ranks of the Peru Libre party, they do not give up everything. There are those who recognize that Castillo complied with various unions, especially educators.
For this sector, the vindication of their wages was achieved; the payment of a social debt for the evaluation and preparation of classes that they had stopped receiving since 1993, the compensation of the time of service and the progressive increase of the budget for the education sector from 3.2% to 10% by 2026.
image source, GD Olmo
The streets of Tacabamba were filled with posters supporting Castillo during the 2021 electoral campaign.
“He achieved a historic aspiration, as a leader of popular origin who rose to the presidency,” says Jorge Spelucin, regional leader of the party. “But this was a demonized and persecuted government. We will fight so thatthe town recover the power they gainedfrom on July 28, 2021“.
“Wasted Opportunity”
Castillo’s claim to establish an emergency government did not seem surprising to many in Cajamarca. The Peruvian sierra is accustomed to the authoritarianism of the ronderos, whose fundamental task is to bring order to that town.
“Wanting to impose their authority was not unreasonable for many, and even less with the accumulation of discontent that exists in the country,” says Chuquiruna.
image source, Getty Images
The ronderos constitute a force of order in Cajamarca. Pedro Castillo belonged to his ranks and shares his authoritarian ways.
However, what they are not willing to forgive Castillo is that the accusations of corruption turn out to be true.
“We are not saying that he is not investigated. But he deserves to be done under due process. If he committed acts of corruption, let him be judged. Here we are not going to endorse corruption,” says the activist Mendoza.
So far, Castillo’s fate remains uncertain. The former president might be investigated for the crimes of rebellion and conspiracy. In any case, the early termination of his management constitutes an irreparable loss for his compatriots and for a good part of the country that I trust “the first poor president from Peru“.
“Castillo’s fall strengthens centralism and that belief that the interior is not prepared to govern“, laments Chuquiruna. “It reinforces the idea that only big businessmen can successfully run the country. Castillo’s was a lost hope and a betrayal that leaves a wound in the town.”
