Free Peru Explained

Free Peru
Native Name:Perú Libre
Native Name Lang:es
Abbreviation:PL
General Secretary:Vladimir Cerrón
Leader1 Title:Parliamentary spokesperson
Leader1 Name:Waldemar Cerrón
Headquarters:Huancayo, Junín
Breña, Lima
Membership Year:2020
Membership:5,204
Position:Left-wing[1] to far-left[2]
Regional:São Paulo Forum
Colours: Red
Slogan:Spanish; Castilian: ¡No más pobres en un país rico![3]
('No more poor in a rich country!')
Seats1 Title:Congress
Seats2 Title:Governorships
Seats3 Title:Regional Councillors
Seats4 Title:Province Mayorships
Seats5 Title:District Mayorships
Country:Peru
Flag:Flag of Perú Libre.svgborder

Free Peru (Spanish; Castilian: Perú Libre), officially the Free Peru National Political Party (Spanish; Castilian: Partido Político Nacional Perú Libre), is a Marxist political party in Peru. Founded in 2008 as the Free Peru Political Regional Movement, the party was officially constituted as a national organization in February 2012 by the name of Libertarian Peru. It was registered as a political party in January 2016 and adopted its current name, Free Peru, in January 2019.[4] Its presidential candidate Pedro Castillo won the 2021 Peruvian general election against Popular Force nominee Keiko Fujimori. Free Peru has the second most seats in the Congress of Peru, with 22 out of 130 total representatives;[5] however, its opposition continued to rule Congress after forming a larger alliance of seats led by the Popular Action party.[6] [7] Free Peru is a participant in the São Paulo Forum, an annual conference of leftist parties in the Americas.[8]

History

The party was founded in August 2008 by former Junín governor Vladimir Cerrón, who is serving a four-year and five-month prison sentence after being found responsible for crimes of incompatible negotiation and for taking advantage of his regional position to the detriment of the Peruvian State during the management of sanitation work in La Oroya, from 2011 to 2014. The Superior Court of Junín issued the sentence on 5 August 2019.[9] Cerrón had been elected in 2018 for a second non-consecutive term as governor, but his tenure was cut short due to the sentence. Still, he formally leads the party in his position of Secretary-General. Cerrón ran as a presidential candidate in the 2016 Peruvian general election, and registered his candidacy on 11 January 2016 but withdrew from the race two months later due to little support in his candidacy and also to prevent the party from losing its electoral registration.[10] In the 2018 regional and municipal elections, Cerrón took the businessman, journalist, and radio host Ricardo Belmont as a candidate for the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima, obtaining 3.89% of the votes validly cast in Lima.[11] [12]

In the 2020 Peruvian parliamentary election held on 26 January, the party won 3.4% of the popular vote but no seats in the Congress of the Republic of Peru, as the party failed to reach the electoral threshold.[13] [14] Months before the election, the party was in talks with the Together for Peru coalition and New Peru in order to run allied in the parliamentary election; however, due to Cerrón's criminal profile and many prominent New Peru members quitting their party as the union materialized, the alliance fell through and the parties ran separately in the election, in which neither achieved representation.[15] [16] Their presidential nominee Pedro Castillo unexpectedly took the lead in the first round of the 2021 Peruvian general election after seeing a surprise surge in support starting around one month before the election. After his victory in the first electoral round, Castillo asked to dialogue with other Peruvian political forces in order to achieve political agreement;[17] however, he ruled out making a roadmap as Ollanta Humala did, maintaining ideological discourse.[18]

In January 2022, vice president Dina Boluarte was expelled from Free Peru by Vladimir Cerrón after she stated during an interview with La República that she had never embraced the party's ideology. Cerrón said that Boluarte's comments threatened party unity.[19] Her departure was followed by President Castillo's several months later, in June 2022, when he resigned from the party following a request by Cerrón. The latter accused Castillo of implementing policies out of step with Free Peru.[20]

Ideology

The party describes itself as "a left-wing socialist organization" that supports anti-imperialism, democracy, decentralization, federalism,[21] [22] humanism, internationalism, Latin American integration,[23] and sovereignty. The party claims to uphold the works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and José Carlos Mariátegui.[24] Free Peru's political position has been variously described by observers as left-wing,[25] [26] to far-left,[27] [28] and the party's ideology has been described as Marxist,[29] [30] [31] Marxist–Leninist,[32] [33] and socialist.[34] [35]

Both Pedro Castillo and Vladimir Cerrón have taken conservative stances on social issues,[36] [37] as did their right-wing opponents,[38] including opposing same-sex marriage, but supports the decriminalization of abortion.[39] Following his success in the first round of the 2021 presidential election, Castillo said that he opposes Chavismo and Nicolás Maduro, distanced himself from those on the far-left in the party,[40] would not nationalize industry, and would honor the rule of law to placate market alarmism,[41] adding that he would lead the party instead of Cerrón.[42]

Domestic

In domestic affairs, Free Peru is opposed to neoliberalism and states that their party seeks "to rescue the minimized, almost imperceptible and dying State from the subjugation of market dictatorship". Free Peru says that when Peru adopted neoliberalism and markets were deregulated, foreign companies assumed control of the economy, exploitation of labor increased, inequality grew and the country was led "to a neocolony condition". Initially, the nationalization of mines, gas, oil, hydroelectricity, and telecommunications in order to fund social programs was a goal of Free Peru; however, in an attempt to appease foreign business interests, Castillo promised that his government would not nationalize industry within Peru. At the same time, he reaffirmed his party's position of defending the distribution of wealth.[41]

Cerrón initially said that Free Peru is opposed to Fujimorism, though IDL-Reporteros reported that the party has formed an alliance with Fujimorists in the government due to their widespread power with Peru's institutions.[43] While initially supportive of decriminalizing abortion, the party later came out in support of existing restrictions.[24] In December 2019, Cerrón said he changed his mind about discussing gender in school curriculum and accepted it.[44]

International

Internationally, Cerrón has emphasized the party "defends revolutionary processes in the world, especially in Latin America: Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia".[45] Free Peru has shared praise for some of the policies of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez for their foreign policy and regional solidarity.[46] The party also opposes the Lima Group.

In an article published on the party's website, Cerrón praised the rule of Russian president Vladimir Putin.[47]

During his candidacy for the 2021 presidential elections, Castillo defended the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, describing it as "a democratic government".[48] [49] He would later retract his statements, stating that "[t]here is no Chavismo here", and saying of President Maduro, "if there is something he has to say concerning Peru, that he first fix his internal problems".[50] The party described the Venezuelan refugee crisis as a human trafficking issue,[51] with Castillo saying that Venezuelans were in Peru "to commit crimes".

Electoral history

Presidential

ElectionCandidateFirst roundSecond roundResult
Votes%Votes%
2016Vladimir Cerrónalign=center colspan=4Withdrawn
2021Pedro Castillo867,025 18.928,836,38050.13

Congress of the Republic of Peru

ElectionLeaderVotes%Seats+/–RankGovernment
2020align=left rowspan="2" Vladimir Cerrón502,898 3.40bgcolor=lightgrey13th
20211,724,35413.41 37 1st

Regional and municipal elections

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Peru's Yearslong Political Crisis Shows Little Sign of Easing. 21 May 2024.
  2. Web site: Peru's Castillo names far-left PM; no finance minister in cabinet. 30 July 2021.
  3. News: Arribas I. . Guillermo . 'No más pobres en un país rico' . 12 June 2021 . Enfoque Derecho . . 1 June 2021 . Spanish . 24 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171901/https://www.enfoquederecho.com/2021/06/01/no-mas-pobres-en-un-pais-rico/ . live .
  4. Web site: Aquino. Marco. 10 June 2021. Peru's Castillo Closes In On Victory In Presidential Election. live. 10 June 2021. Reuters. 23 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210623182518/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/victory-sight-perus-castillo-with-70000-vote-margin-fraud-claims-muddy-water-2021-06-10/.
  5. Web site: Lopez . Diego . 2022-05-13 . Peru Libre ruling party loses power: 10 of its congressmen resign . 2022-05-13 . Perú Reports . en-US . 24 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171859/https://perureports.com/peru-libre-ruling-party-loses-power-10-of-its-congressmen-resign/9441/ . live .
  6. News: Aquino. Marco. 2021-07-26. Peru opposition to lead Congress in setback for socialist Castillo. en. Reuters. 2021-11-14. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171938/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-opposition-lead-congress-setback-socialist-castillo-2021-07-26/. live.
  7. Web site: Radiografía del voto a nivel nacional en elección entre Castillo y Fujimori.. 2021-11-14. Ojo Público. 21 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210621215848/https://ojo-publico.com/especiales/resultados-onpe-elecciones-2021/. live.
  8. Web site: Foro de São Paulo Partidos. Forodesaopaulo.org. 4 November 2021. 20 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180220045944/http://forodesaopaulo.org/partidos/. dead.
  9. News: Junín: Vladimir Cerrón fue condenado a 4 años y 8 meses. TV Perú Noticias. 18 June 2021. 19 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019220203/https://www.tvperu.gob.pe/noticias/politica/junin-vladimir-cerron-fue-condenado-a-4-anos-y-8-meses. live.
  10. Web site: Vladimir Cerrón desiste de participar en elecciones presidenciales. 26 May 2021. Agencia Peruana de Noticias. es. 26 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210526092912/https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-vladimir-cerron-desiste-participar-elecciones-presidenciales-604773.aspx. live.
  11. Web site: Ricardo Belmont dice que aceptará los resultados electorales. 11 May 2021. Agencia Peruana de Noticias. es. 5 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210505205032/https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-ricardo-belmont-dice-aceptara-los-resultados-electorales-727721.aspx. live.
  12. News: ONPE publica resultados de Lima al 100%. 11 May 2021. ONPE. es. 11 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411210556/https://www.onpe.gob.pe/sala-prensa/notas-prensa/onpe-publica-resultados-lima-al-100/. live.
  13. Web site: 11 partidos pasarán la valla, al 99.09 % del conteo de ONPE. Agencia Peruana de Noticias. 26 September 2020. 12 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412043306/https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-juntos-por-peru-y-otros-11-partidos-no-pasaran-valla-al-9909-del-conteo-onpe-783181.aspx. live.
  14. Web site: Boca de urna: Estas serían las nuevas bancadas del Congreso. Diario Oficial El Peruano. PERÚ. elperuano.pe. 26 September 2020. 27 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200627032844/https://elperuano.pe/noticia-boca-urna-estas-serian-nuevas-bancadas-del-congreso-89096.aspx. live.
  15. Web site: Marisa Glave e Indira Huilca renuncian a Nuevo Perú tras alianza de Verónica Mendoza. Diario La República. PERÚ. larepublica.pe. 25 October 2019. 26 September 2020. 2 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210802112928/https://larepublica.pe/politica/2019/10/24/nuevo-peru-marisa-glave-e-indira-huilca-alistan-renuncia-al-movimiento/. live.
  16. Web site: Richard Arce renuncia a Nuevo Perú ante una eventual alianza política con Perú Libre. RPP Noticias. PERÚ. rpp.pe. 19 October 2019. 26 September 2020. 12 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412180623/https://rpp.pe/politica/actualidad/richard-arce-renuncia-a-nuevo-peru-ante-una-eventual-alianza-politica-con-peru-libre-noticia-1225450. live.
  17. Web site: Welle (www.dw.com). Deutsche. Candidato más votado en Perú ofrece dialogar con otros partidos DW 14 April 2021. 11 May 2021. DW.COM. es-ES. 21 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210421224358/https://www.dw.com/es/candidato-m%C3%A1s-votado-en-per%C3%BA-ofrece-dialogar-con-otros-partidos/a-57191653. live.
  18. Web site: GESTIÓN. NOTICIAS. 14 April 2021. Pedro Castillo descartó la posibilidad de una hoja de ruta para la segunda vuelta nndc PERU. 11 May 2021. Gestión. es. 20 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420122930/https://gestion.pe/peru/politica/pedro-castillo-descarto-la-posibilidad-de-una-hoja-de-ruta-para-la-segunda-vuelta-nndc-noticia/. live.
  19. News: Perú Libre expulsa a Dina Boluarte por declarar que nunca abrazó el ideario de ese partido . 6 July 2022 . Infobae . 23 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220416160725/https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/01/23/peru-libre-expulsa-a-dina-boluarte-por-declarar-que-nunca-abrazo-el-ideario-de-ese-partido/ . 16 April 2022 . live. es.
  20. News: President Pedro Castillo resigns from Peru Libre party . 6 July 2022 . Radio Havana Cuba . 1 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220702084119/https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/292245-president-pedro-castillo-resigns-from-peru-libre-party . 2 July 2022 . live. Lima.
  21. Web site: Redacción. 1 April 2021. Pedro Castillo de Perú Libre, el outsider en estas elecciones, fue el virtual ganador en el Debate Presidencial %. 9 June 2021. Aeronoticias.com.pe. es. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171859/https://aeronoticias.com.pe/noticiero/pedro-castillo-de-peru-libre-el-outsider-en-estas-elecciones-fue-el-virtual-ganador-en-el-debate-presidencial/. live.
  22. Web site: Redacción. 30 March 2021. Julián Palacin: Perú Libre defiende una Constitución Federal %. 9 June 2021. Aeronoticias.com.pe. es. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171942/https://aeronoticias.com.pe/noticiero/julian-palacin-peru-libre-defiende-una-constitucion-federal/. live.
  23. Web site: FIDEL ALMA DE LA NACIÓN LATINOAMERICANA . Perú Libre . 24 April 2021 . es . 1 July 2020 . 21 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210421192548/http://perulibre.pe/fidel-alma-de-la-nacion-latinoamericana/ . live .
  24. Web site: Ideario y Programo. 12 April 2021. Perú Libre. 23 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210423224122/https://apisije-e.jne.gob.pe/TRAMITE/ESCRITO/2108/ARCHIVO/FIRMADO/9716.PDF. live.
  25. Web site: 2021-06-12. Peru's Fujimori leads protest to annul votes as Castillo nears win. 2021-11-15. euronews. en. 15 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211115133222/https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/12/us-peru-election. live.
  26. News: 2021-04-13. Peru election: Pedro Castillo to face Keiko Fujimori in run-off. en-GB. BBC News. 2021-11-15. 7 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210507000548/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56720780. live.
  27. News: Aquino. Marco. Rochabrun. Marcelo. 30 July 2021. Peru's Castillo names far-left PM; no finance minister in cabinet. en. Reuters. 11 November 2021. 29 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729184723/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/peru-president-castillo-names-member-far-left-party-prime-minister-2021-07-29/. live.
  28. Web site: Peru election heads for a run-off as far-left candidate Pedro Castillo leads. 11 November 2021. NBC News. 12 April 2021 . en. 11 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211111172238/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/peru-election-heads-run-far-left-candidate-pedro-castillo-leads-rcna653. live.
  29. News: Pedro Castillo: The primary school teacher who became Peru's president . 31 July 2021 . BBC News . 28 July 2021 . Casting himself as a man of the people, Mr Castillo was rarely seen without the traditional white, broad-rimmed hat of his Cajamarca region, and a huge inflatable pencil, the symbol of his Marxist Free Peru party which also represents his background in education. . 28 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210728220146/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57941309 . live .
  30. Web site: 14 October 2021. Peru president challenged by his own party over Cabinet. 11 November 2021. AP NEWS. en. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171900/https://apnews.com/article/peru-environment-biden-cabinet-cabinets-8744cfa5dc72d5812e40b8b13230843a. live.
  31. News: Havana-Trained Marxist Pushes Peru's New President to the Left. live. 11 November 2021. Bloomberg.com. 23 August 2021. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171906/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-23/havana-trained-marxist-pushes-peru-s-new-president-to-the-left.
  32. News: 25 October 2021. Peru's Congress postpones Cabinet confirmation vote to next week. en. Reuters. 11 November 2021. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171902/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/perus-congress-mulls-whether-confirm-new-moderate-left-cabinet-2021-10-25/. live.
  33. Web site: Peru confirms new moderate-left cabinet. 2021-11-15. www.aljazeera.com. en. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171902/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/5/peru-appoints-new-cabinet-in-blow-to-presidents-opponents. live.
  34. News: Rochabrun. Marcelo. 2021-11-10. Peru protesters block Las Bambas copper transport road again. en. Reuters. 2021-11-14. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171907/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/peru-protesters-block-las-bambas-copper-transport-road-again-2021-11-10/. live.
  35. News: Aquino. Marco. 2021-06-13. Peru's socialists cheer election win as conservatives pledge to fight on. en. Reuters. 2021-11-14. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124171907/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/perus-socialists-cheer-election-win-conservatives-pledge-fight-2021-06-13/. live.
  36. Web site: Puente. Javier. 14 April 2021. Who is Peru's Frontrunner Pedro Castillo?. 17 April 2021. North American Congress on Latin America. en. 17 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417063919/https://nacla.org/peru-elections-pedro-castillo. live.
  37. Web site: Peru polarized by two social conservatives in presidential runoff . 2022-08-11 . The World from PRX . en . 19 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220819162157/https://theworld.org/stories/2021-04-16/peru-polarized-two-social-conservatives-presidential-runoff . live .
  38. Web site: Peru polarized by two social conservatives in presidential runoff. 21 April 2021. Public Radio International. en. 20 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420184903/https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-04-16/peru-polarized-two-social-conservatives-presidential-runoff. live.
  39. Web site: Plan de gobierno de candidato presidencial de Perú propone despenalizar aborto . www.aciprensa.com . es.
  40. Web site: 8 April 2021. Castillo, de extrema izquierda, gana fuerza en las presidenciales de Perú. live. 14 April 2021. EFE. es. 13 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210413015836/https://www.efe.com/efe/america/politica/castillo-de-extrema-izquierda-gana-fuerza-en-las-presidenciales-peru/20000035-4507310.
  41. Web site: 22 April 2021. 'No Chavismo here': Peru socialist candidate Castillo seeks to calm jittery markets. live. 23 April 2021. Reuters. 25 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210425213559/https://www.reuters.com/world/no-chavismo-here-peru-socialist-candidate-castillo-seeks-calm-jittery-markets-2021-04-22/.
  42. News: 22 April 2021. Pedro Castillo arremete contra Nicolás Maduro: "que primero arregle sus problemas internos y que se lleve a sus compatriotas que vinieron a delinquir". 23 April 2021. Diario Expreso. 7 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210607123804/https://www.expreso.com.pe/elecciones-2021/pedro-castillo-arremete-contra-nicolas-maduro-si-hay-algo-que-tiene-que-decir-que-primero-arregle-sus-problemas-internos-y-que-se-lleve-a-sus-compatriotas-que-vinieron-a-delinquir/. live. Redactor_Ym .
  43. Web site: 2023-05-22 . Ni siquiera topo: apenas tapón . 2023-05-26 . . es.
  44. News: Vladimir Cerrón cambia de discurso y ahora dice que sí acepta enfoque de género en currícula escolar. Radio Cutivalù. es. 10 December 2019. 25 June 2022. 31 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220331030614/https://www.radiocutivalu.org/vladimir-cerron-cambia-de-discurso-y-ahora-dice-que-si-acepta-enfoque-de-genero-en-la-curricula-escolar/. live.
  45. Web site: Cerrón Rojas. Vladimir Roy. Diferencias entre Perú Libre, nuevo Perú y frente amplio. 12 April 2021. Perú Libre. Spanish. 12 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210812033709/https://perulibre.pe/diferencias-entre-peru-libre-nuevo-peru-y-frente-amplio/. live.
  46. News: 11 April 2021. Peru Stocks Tumble as Presidential Vote Spooks Investors. en. Bloomberg.com. 13 April 2021. 14 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210714003255/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-11/peruvians-vote-for-president-after-months-of-chaos-and-scandal. live.
  47. Web site: DE LA DICTADURA DEL PROLETARIADO DE JOSÉ STALIN A LA DICTADURA DE LA LEY DE VLADIMIR PUTIN – Perú Libre Partido Político Nacional . 2022-07-14 . es . 21 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220921223206/http://perulibre.pe/de-la-dictadura-del-proletariado-de-jose-stalin-a-la-dictadura-de-la-ley-de-vladimir-putin/ . live .
  48. Web site: 12 April 2021. Pedro Castillo, el maestro con el que se identifica el otro Perú. live. 13 April 2021. France 24. 13 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613183848/https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20210412-perfil-pedro-castillo-elecciones-izquierda-peru.
  49. Web site: 11 April 2021. Pedro Castillo califica de "democrático" el Gobierno de Nicolás Maduro. live. 13 April 2021. Exitosa Noticias. es-PE. 12 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412040218/https://exitosanoticias.pe/v1/pedro-castillo-en-venezuela-hay-un-gobierno-que-para-nosotros-es-democratico/.
  50. Web site: 22 April 2021. Candidato peruano marca distancia de gobierno de Venezuela. live. 23 April 2021. Associated Press. 22 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210622071838/https://www.chicagotribune.com/espanol/sns-es-candidato-peruano-marca-distancia-de-gobierno-de-venezuela-20210422-7fbhxfht2vhizbozgipsznqxhm-story.html.
  51. Web site: Puente. Javier. 14 April 2021. Who is Peru's Frontrunner Pedro Castillo?. live. 17 April 2021. North American Congress on Latin America. en. 17 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417063919/https://nacla.org/peru-elections-pedro-castillo.

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