Peru presidential election: Castillo’s health status puts first debate with Fujimori on hold

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The debate to which the Peruvian presidential candidates Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori challenged each other, scheduled for May 1st, 2021, is in doubt after the leftist leader suffered respiratory issues that forced him to suspend his activities in Lima and undergo medical examinations.

“Dear compatriots: I thank you for convening yourself today in different places in Lima. However, due to health issues, I inform you, with regret, that I will not attend. My hug and apologies to all those who came,” Castillo said in a message posted Thursday on Twitter.

The  far-left candidate’s party, Peru Libre, detailed that he suffered a “respiratory decompression” when he arrived in the Peruvian capital after carrying out various campaign activities in the north of the country.

Local media reported that the candidate was first transferred to a laboratory in Lima’s Breña district and then to a clinic in the capital, indicating that he is undergoing various medical tests.

DEBATE SUSPENSION

Castillo’s health condition has put on hold the possibility that the first debate with Keiko Fujimori, the leader of the right-wing authoritarian Fuerza Popular party, will be held this Saturday.

Shortly before leaving for Lima, Castillo proposed that this debate be held in the Plaza de Armas in Chota, his native province, a proposal accepted shortly thereafter by Fujimori. “I wait for her this Saturday at 1 PM in the Plaza de Armas de Chota to debate the points she wants,” the candidate remarked.

The challenge was accepted by Fujimori, who made it a condition that the meeting is held with rules established by the National Elections Jury (JNE), which has proposed that two official debates be held next May.

After learning about the health of his electoral rival, Fujimori said she hopes “that he recovers” and said that she already “had planned to travel to Cajamarca tomorrow to tour Amazonas and Cajamarca, and had agreed to the debate in Chota.“

On Wednesday, the candidates began to challenge each other to debate, with messages sent through the media in which they assured that they were not afraid to confront their government plans.

After having occupied first and second place in the general elections on April 11th, respectively, Castillo and Fujimori will contest the presidency of Peru in a second round on June 6th.

While the candidates carry out their campaigns in various parts of the country, the first opinion polls indicate that Castillo leads voter preferences with a difference between 20% and 12%, according to the company in charge of the poll.

Source: Efe