LIMA (Reuters) -Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on Thursday named Guido Bellido, a member of his Marxist party, as prime minister, in an indication of the pressure likely to be brought to bear on the new head of state by the far-left party that backed him.
Bellido is a member of the self-described Marxist-Leninist Free Peru party, with which Castillo won the presidency this year. Bellido is also an elected congressman with Free Peru.
Bellido’s swearing in took place in the Southern Andean city of Ayacucho, where Castillo won by a landslide. The son of peasant farmers, Castillo was sworn in as president on Wednesday and is set to govern the Andean nation until 2026.
Bellido, 42, a native of the nearby Andean region of Cuzco, spoke in the indigenous quechua language as part of his swearing in. He’s little known in Lima-centric political circles and has a masters in economics, most recently working for Peru’s government statistics agency INEI.
Bellido’s appointment is likely to further scare investors who were hoping that Castillo would look away from his far left party for political leadership.
Peru’s stock exchange and sol currency have plummeted since Castillo became a likely winner of the election, although the key finance ministry post remains vacant.
Sources have told Reuters that the role is likely to be filled by Pedro Francke, a moderate left-wing economist.
The Free Peru Party is led by Vladimir Cerron, a neurosurgeon and Marxist who was trained in Cuba. Cerron was unable to run for the presidency or take a cabinet role due to past corruption charges.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; editing by Diane Craft and Nick Macfie)
