Following on the heels of 2020’s massive anti-neoliberal street protests, Peruvians went to the polls on April 11 with no clear outcome expected. Seven presidential candidates, according to opinion surveys, were locked in a virtual tie.

The outcome, however, managed to shock observers throughout the region. The winner, by a four-point margin, was Pedro Castillo, a trade unionist and left-wing candidate for the Perú Libre (Free Peru) party. As recently as March, Castillo was polling at just 2 percent and, perhaps more importantly, he was still a complete unknown to most of the Peruvian left.

So unlikely was Castillo’s first round triumph that CNN failed to locate a photo of the candidate in time to announce his victory.