In Peru, the socialist teacher and union leader Pedro Castillo was sworn in as president on Wednesday as the country marked 200 years of independence. In a speech to the nation, Castillo vowed to be a champion of the poor.

President Pedro Castillo: “A person who belongs to, as many Peruvians do, to sectors that have been oppressed for centuries, it is the first time a political party formed in the country’s interior wins the elections democratically and that a teacher, specifically a rural teacher, is elected constitutional president of the republic. It is difficult to express the high honor this means to me right now.”

Pedro Castillo also pledged to heal the wounds of colonialism and announced he would not live in the government palace in Lima.