International
Peru’s new president promises constitution change
AFP
Leftist Pedro Castillo was sworn in as Peru’s fifth president in three years Wednesday on the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence, promising an end to corruption and a new constitution.
The 51-year-old rural schoolteacher, who has vowed to upend a quarter-century of neo-liberal government, enters the job with a lengthy to-do list: tame the coronavirus epidemic, reactivate a flagging economy and end years of political turmoil.
“I swear by the people of Peru for a country without corruption and for a new constitution,” he declared before Congress, coming back to a campaign promise to change Peru’s free market-friendly founding law.
The existing charter is a relic of ex-president Alberto Fujimori, serving jail time for corruption and crimes against humanity, and father of Castillo’s main presidential rival, right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori.
Insisting Peru could not “remain a prisoner” of the 1993 constitution, Castillo said he would send a bill to parliament with a view to organizing a referendum on replacing it.
Castillo’s Free Peru party does not enjoy a majority in a fragmented congress, holding 37 of the 130 seats.
He was declared the election victor on July 19, more than six weeks after a runoff race against Fujimori, whose allegations of voter fraud then had to be reviewed by an electoral jury.
For her part, Fujimori said on Twitter that her Popular Force party “will be a firm wall against the latent threat of a new communist constitution.”
“We will make a responsible democratic defense,” she added.
Wednesday’s swearing-in was attended by Spanish King Felipe VI, five Latin American leaders, former Bolivian president Evo Morales and the United States education secretary, among other guests.
Some 10,000 police officers were deployed in the capital Lima, and Castillo voters came out waving banners in a show of support.
– ‘New deal’ with investors –
“This is the first time this country will be governed by a peasant,” Castillo told guests, sporting his trademark, traditional white sombrero and a typical black Andean suit.
He also sought to calm fears among the business community, who had sought to portray him as a communist who would turn Peru into a new Venezuela.
“During the election campaign it was said that we are going to expropriate (assets). It is totally false. We want the economy to have order,” the new president said, adding, however, that he would be looking for a “new deal with private investors.”
Castillo is Peru’s first president in decades with no ties to the country’s political or economic elite.
He has promised reform to ensure there are “no more poor people in a rich country,” but has softened his initial campaign talk of nationalization.
He is a devout Catholic opposed to gay marriage and abortion.
Peru has been hard-hit by the coronavirus epidemic. With nearly 200,000 deaths among its 32 million population, it has the world’s highest reported mortality rate.
An extended pandemic lockdown in 2020 is blamed for the loss of millions of jobs and dumping the country into recession. GDP dropped more than 11 percent.
– President of all Peruvians –
It is widely hoped Castillo will bring an end to years of political upheaval in Peru.
A series of corruption scandals saw three different presidents in office in a single week last November.
Seven of the country’s last 10 leaders have either been convicted or are under investigation for graft.
Now that she has lost, Fujimori faces a corruption trial for allegedly taking illicit campaign funding for two previous presidential bids.
The election campaign has also been deeply polarizing, with often vehement public support on both sides of the political spectrum for the final two contenders.
“Castillo must rapidly position himself as a president of all Peruvians and not as a president of half of Peruvians,” political analyst Jessica Smith told AFP.
Shortly after Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza arrived in Lima, according to the Andina news agency.
This marked a turning point in relations, with Peru among dozens of countries — including the United States — to have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader over President Nicolas Maduro.
Free Peru is one of few left-wing Peruvian parties to defend Maduro’s regime.
Castillo, who has vowed to renounce his presidential salary, said Wednesday he would not govern from the official presidential residence, Pizarro Palace, in a “break with the colonial symbols,” and said he would return to his schoolteacher’s job at the end of his five-year term.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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