The “Shadowy Figure” Behind Peru’s Likely Next President
Vladimir CerrónPaco Sanseviero/Grupo El Comercio
He’s been called the man behind Peru’s likely next president.
As the founder and leader of the far-left party Perú Libre, Vladimir Cerrón has been described by some as the real architect of Pedro Castillo’s rise to power. For many critics, Castillo, a teacher and union leader with no experience in elected office, is just a Trojan horse for Cerrón, a Marxist former governor whose conviction on corruption charges kept him from running for president himself.
Castillo is expected to take office in July, pending official results and his opponent’s attempts to prove electoral fraud, but it’s unclear whether Cerrón will be the one really pulling the strings – or a liability for a president with little room for errors.