Peru’s new president to take charge of divided country ravaged by Covid

Pedro Castillo saw off an ugly, Trump-style revolt against his victory and must now try to unite the country

After nearly two months of waiting, amid baseless claims of fraud and even rumblings of a military coup, Pedro Castillo will on Wednesday become Peru's president. The son of illiterate peasant farmers, Castillo's rise to the top on Peru's 200th anniversary of independence is hugely symbolic, but he will face huge challenges to unite the country.

Castillo's razor-thin win has split the country between those who back his pledge to overhaul politics and the economic system to tackle poverty and inequality, and others who fear his presidency will upturn Peru's market-friendly economy and even threaten its democracy.