Advice for Peru’s New President

More than a month after citizens went to the polls, Pedro Castillo has been named the winner of Peru’s presidential runoff. The former teacher ran as a champion of the populist left. As well as complaining of election fraud (despite evidence to the contrary), his opponents have played up fears that he will lead the country toward expropriations and communism. He should aim to prove them wrong by choosing moderation, however difficult this might be. Otherwise, the country’s prospects are bleak.

Today Peru is more divided — along geographic and ideological lines — than it has been in decades. Better-off coastal regions and the urban elite are at odds with Castillo’s rural strongholds. There are 10 political parties in a splintered 130-seat legislature. Last year, the country managed three presidents in a week. Castillo has to contend with this institutional fragility and the resentments that entrench it. His party is the largest in Congress, but has only 37 seats.