Caught in a crossfire, Castillo offers more government spending

PERU - Report 21 Sep 2021 by Alfredo Thorne

After seven weeks in government, the new president has proven difficult to read. Pedro Castillo’s indecisiveness may be explained by his being caught in the crossfire between his own supporters and the opposition parties in Congress. Castillo has so far kept a low profile: he has delivered only one nationwide address, and has granted no media interviews. In compensation, his ministers have become his spokespeople.

But since the Cabinet is divided, and responds to the alliance that won the election, these messages have failed to lay out a clear roadmap for governance. In our August essay, we argued that the simultaneous election of the radical left-wing Castillo of the Perú Libre party to the presidency, and the center-right Congress, would result in political brinkmanship between the two.

However, the truth is that neither group has sufficient political power to open fire on the other. This explains Congress’s rejecting the no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Guido Bellido and his Cabinet on August 27th. It is a political conundrum.

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