Richard Hancco Soncco he is certainly new to politics, but not to law. He is a man formed in the National University of the Altiplano (UNA) of Fist, where he graduated as a lawyer. At the age of 44, in October 2022, his countrymen gave him broad support in the elections to make him their regional governor without having to resort to a ballot.
But who is Richard Hancco, the authority that has responded to both Dina Boluarte and her prime minister, Alberto Otárola, every time they have eluded him And with respect to the fatal consequences that the repression has left in the Puno region, with 18 civilians dead and a policeman burned? The first thing that can be said is that in his university days he was a student leader eager to demand the rights of young people and, later, he became a specialized prosecutor. Knowledgeable about the law, he finds quick answers when interviewed by the national press.
In a profile prepared by Liubomir Fernández, a journalist from The RepublicZenón Apaza Quispe, who was Hancco’s partner in Sociology and Law, he remembers the now regional governor “as the typical young man from the province, wanting to excel, spirited and vehement.”
Although he was a quiet and formal young man, in 2003 he actively participated in the marches to reject the murder of the student Edy Johny Quilca Cruzshot by soldiers during the government of Alejandro Toledo.
Upon completion of law school, In 2006, he entered the Public Ministry as an assistant to the prosecutor’s office until he became a specialized anti-corruption prosecutor. from Puno. After 12 years he resigned in search of becoming a judge. After being evaluated by the National Council of the Magistracy, he was disapproved. Now it is an anecdote, but on that occasion his evaluator was none other than Iván Noguera Ramos, a superior magistrate involved in the scandal of the audios of the corruption of Los Cuellos Blancos.
In 2018 he entered other conflicts: politics. With the endorsement of his brother Edwin Hancco, he ran for Regional Government of Puno with the Broad Front for the Development of the People (fadep), but did not reach enough votes even for the second round. The support of the voters was for his contender Walter Aduviri, who left Hancco in second place. But the former prosecutor did not give up and for the 2022 electoral campaign he returned to the political scene with a new strategy: silence. That was his way of responding to his detractors, and he succeeded in generating buzz.
How did Richard Hancco respond to Dina Boluarte?
On the night of Friday, January 13, in his message to the nation, Dina Boluartein front of millions of Peruvians, questioned the governor of Fist, Richard Hancco, asserting how the authority intended to solve the problems of poverty in the altiplano region when it does not talk to the Executive.
“You have to be clear, my parents have taught me not to be traitors. The people have trusted me to carry out development”, began and, immediately, the journalist from The Republic Liubomir Fernández asked him if he considers that Dina Boluarte is a traitor. “Of course,” he replied, while in another interview he explained that he was never called by the Executive.
“She said yes to the constituent assembly, with which I do not agree. She spoke wonders about Evo Morales and now she is his enemy. She said here that she was not going to stay if Pedro Castillo was vacated and what did she do? That is a bad sign, a bad example for citizens and for children, how can we talk about values when the president lies, ”he expressed indignantly.
In his statements he has been clear. He understands the claim of the Puno people and supports them. He maintains that he does not agree with either the extreme left or the extreme rightsince it considers that both have polarized the country with their own interests.
In an interview with Rene Gastelumendi, he details that the people of Puno do not forget when Dina Boluarte called the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales his brother. Nor do they forget that in Pedro Castillo’s electoral campaign, Dina Boluarte said yes to the constituent assembly, much less that it was in Juliaca where she said that if Pedro Castillo was removed from power, she would go with him. For these reasons, she explained, that the population does not believe in the current president.
