Pedro Castillo is on the verge of becoming Peru’s president

PEDRO CASTILLO often began his campaign rallies by saying, “I come from el Perú profundo [the heartland, in effect], from a modest family.” He went on to tell his life story. Born in a remote village in the Cajamarca region of the Andes to illiterate peasant farmers, he paid for his studies to become a teacher by selling ice creams on city streets. As a union leader, he travelled to forgotten towns and villages. That story resonates with the poorer half of the country. And it has taken him to the verge of his country’s presidency—but only by the narrowest of margins.

With the count in the presidential run-off election held on June 6th almost complete, Mr Castillo (pictured above, centre) had won 50.2%, a lead of just 70,000 out of 17.5m votes over his conservative opponent, Keiko Fujimori. She claims fraud, but has presented little evidence. International observers found none. The electoral authority has still to adjudicate some 300,000 disputed votes and will take days to arrive at an official result.