Suzi speaks to
Nicolas Allen of
Jacobin America Latina about the June 6 nail-biter election in Peru. Socialist trade unionist
Pedro Castillo, from an indigenous background, has won the presidency by less than 1%. His victory represents a devastating defeat for Peru’s populist neoliberal politics, represented by his rightwing opponent
Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori – who sits in jail for corruption. Castillo’s campaign slogan was “No more poor people in a rich country.” The deeply unpopular Fujimori campaign resorted to relentless anti-communist scaremongering. We get
Nicolas Allen’s explanation of the surprise result, situating the rejection of Fujimori in the larger context of the crisis of neoliberal rule, popular revolt, and the raging pandemic.