Peru Leader Calls for New Constitution in Inaugural Speech

  • Bonds dropped during Castillo’s first speech as president
  • Castillo postponed the ceremony to swear in his cabinet
Pedro Castillo rides a horse holding a giant pencil during the closing rally of his campaign in Lima on April 8, 2021.

Photographer: Gian Masko/AFP/Getty Images

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Peru’s new president Pedro Castillo took office on Wednesday calling for a new constitution and a crackdown on monopolies in financial services and utilities. Bonds dropped.

He said Peru needs to recover sovereignty over its natural resources, renegotiate its free trade deals and said he’ll turn the official presidential residence -- which is named after the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro -- into a museum.