Peru's new first family leaving behind rural, Andean home

CHUGUR – The humble two-story, adobe location of the Castillo family, located successful 1 of the poorest districts of Peru heavy successful the Andes, feels a small bare now. Lilia Paredes packed up the family’s belongings wrong the past week, neatly folding her husband’s shirts and picking immoderate plates and silverware successful betwixt visits from farmers from adjacent villages stopping by to accidental goodbye.

A neo-baroque statesmanlike palace awaits Paredes, her hubby and Peruvian President-elect Pedro Castillo, and their 2 children — should the household chose to unrecorded successful the historical building.

Castillo, volition beryllium sworn successful arsenic president Wednesday, little than 2 weeks aft helium was declared the victor of the June 6 runoff election. The leftist agrarian teacher, who has ne'er held office, defeated his opponent, right-wing vocation person Keiko Fujimori, by conscionable 44,000 votes.

Paredes is not definite wherever she, her hubby and 2 children volition unrecorded starting Wednesday. She besides does not cognize wherever the children volition spell to schoolhouse erstwhile classes begin.

Ad

“We don’t person immoderate spot successful Lima,” she told The Associated Press past week connected her foggy patio successful Chugur portion she rubbed her hands amid the acold of the Andean winter. “We are radical from the countryside, and astir always, the provincial person to hold years to person a spot successful the capital. If they archer maine to unrecorded successful different place, it would besides beryllium the same, we are not kings to unrecorded successful a palace, we spell to work.”

Castillo’s supporters included the mediocre and agrarian citizens of the South American nation. He popularized the operation “No much mediocre successful a affluent country,” and stunned millions of Peruvians and observers by advancing to the runoff.

The system of Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer, has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, expanding the poorness level to astir one-third of the colonisation and eliminating the gains of a decade.

The emblematic statesmanlike modulation process was derailed aft Fujimori tried to overturn the result, asking predetermination authorities to annul thousands of votes alleging fraud, an accusation she could ne'er prove. That near the Castillo household small clip to marque plans and accidental their goodbyes.

Ad

Unlike each of Peru’s erstwhile presidents of the past 40 years, the Castillos person nary location successful Lima. Paredes, besides a teacher, said she and her hubby person to determine whether they volition unrecorded successful the statesmanlike residence, but it is apt they volition telephone it home. She has seen it from the extracurricular but has ne'er stepped inside, not adjacent connected guided tours that were offered during pre-pandemic times.

Choosing their location is simply a important determination fixed Castillo’s anti-elite rhetoric. His run slogan could beryllium called into question if the household moves into the ornate statesmanlike palace.

Paredes is taking to Lima immoderate bags with food, including peas, beans, saccharine maize flour and food that the household makes astatine location aft milking their cows astatine dawn. The family’s location - which Castillo built much than 20 years agone - volition beryllium successful the attraction of Paredes’ elder sister.

The household has besides packed survey materials for Arnold, 16, and Alondra, 9. Paredes would similar her children to be a assemblage and a authorities college. She said Arnold wants to survey civilian engineering due to the fact that helium likes math.

Ad

“Alondrita volition proceed studying successful a nationalist school, but I would similar it to beryllium 1 of nuns,” Paredes said. If that happens, it volition beryllium the archetypal clip successful decades that the children of a president enroll successful nationalist education. The almighty successful Peru person agelong preferred backstage schools.

Some section media outlets had suggested that Paredes would deterioration an haute couture formal from a Lima-based designer, but she categorically denied that option. She chose Lupe de la Cruz, a seamstress from a municipality adjacent Chugur, to marque 2 suits for her.

“I similar simple... My hubby likes what I wear, and I similar what helium wears,” she said.

Paredes precocious brought de la Cruz 2 cuts of brownish and greenish wool fabric. The seamstress showed her a manner magazine, and the adjacent archetypal woman chose the designs of 2 discreet suits.

“She does not similar embellishments nor scandalous colors,” de la Cruz said days aboriginal astatine her workshop, cluttered with fabrics, scissors, needles, threads and rulers.

Ad

Before leaving for Lima, Paredes and her household attended a work successful the Nazarene religion that is located a fewer yards (meters) from their home. Pastor Victor Cieza invited dozens of pastors from different evangelical churches from the surrounding villages.

The religion with yellowish walls and a tin extortion filled up with neighbors dressed successful hats and woolen ponchos similar those worn by Castillo. Some sang accompanied by a guitar; others reflected connected vanity and the value of humility.

“Everyone knows us, we volition ne'er hide wherever we are from and wherever we person to instrumentality due to the fact that the positions are not forever,” Paredes said astatine the extremity of the service.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.