Rural teacher and trade unionist Pedro Castillo was sworn in Wednesday as Peru's new president for the 2021-2026 term.

Lima.- The first leftist ruler elected in the 200 years of independent life of the Andean nation listened to the official oath formula, recited by the president of the Congress of the Republic, Maria del Carmen Alva.

Immediately, he added an oath: "For God, for my family, for my Peruvian sisters and brothers, peasants, native peoples, rounders, fishermen, teachers, professionals, children, youth, and women."

He also swore "For the people of Perú, for a country without corruption and for a new Constitution" -- a synthesis of the proposals of his electoral campaign that culminated in his victory.

Castillo's success came against all odds, in the first round on April 11, and his hard-fought victory, despite a campaign against him, in the June 6 runoff. The new president arrived on foot from the nearby headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accompanied by the presidents who had arrived for his inauguration and other invited personalities, and was acclaimed on the way by the public.

When he entered the chamber, legislator Isabel Cortez, dressed in the uniform of the sweepers, of which she is a union leader, left her seat and hugged him, breaking the protocol, and then the president continued amid applause. (RHC)