| Waldemar Cerrón | |
| Office: | Second Vice President of Congress |
| Term Start: | 26 July 2023 |
| President: | Alejandro Soto Reyes Eduardo Salhuana |
| Office1: | Parliamentary Spokesman for Free Peru |
| Term Start1: | 2 August 2021 |
| Predecessor1: | Álex Paredes |
| Office2: | Member of Congress |
| Term Start2: | 26 July 2021 |
| Constituency2: | Junín |
| Birth Date: | 19 March 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Chupaca, Junín, Peru |
| Party: | Free Peru |
| Relatives: | Vladimir Cerrón (brother) |
| Alma Mater: | National University of the Center of Peru |
Waldemar José Cerrón Rojas (19 March 1972) is a Peruvian professor and a politician.[1]
Cerrón was born on 19 March 1972 in Chupaca, Junín.[2] He is the son of Jaime Cerrón Palomino and Bertha Rojas López, two university professors. His brother is politician Vladimir Cerrón.[3] [4] Cerrón is licensed to teach both pedagogy and humanities. He received a doctorate in the educational sciences at the National University of the Center of Peru.
Cerrón joined the Socialist Party in 2007. In 2008, he was one of the founders of the Free Peru party, where he was the national economic secretary. After Free Peru member and congressman Álex Paredes González retired, Cerrón was elected as the spokesman of the party.[5]
After Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve congress Waldemar Cerrón stayed quiet in the immediate aftermath, although he did vote to remove Castillo,[6] and later voiced support for Dina Boluarte.[7] In March 2023, Cerrón introduced a bill which proposed that preventive detention be limited to only 12 months, which was seen as some to be an attempt to free Castillo, who was in prison for 12 months.[8]
In the 2021 Peruvian general election, Cerrón was elected to the Congress of the Republic of Peru with 25,281 votes.[9] Cerrón criticized Pedro Castillo's cabinet, with Mirtha Vásquez as the president of the Council of Ministers.[10]
An investigation was opened in April 2021 into Waldemar Cerrón and his brothers Vladimir and Fritz's finances, specifically looking for evidence of money laundering.[11] Waldemar and Vladimir were found guilty, being sentenced to four years in prison. They stand accused of accepting money for an airport without government authorization. They escaped to an unknown location, with Interpol releasing a Blue notice.[12] Waldemar joked on social media that "they won't capture me in Peru".[13]