Former general Prabowo Subianto sworn in as president of Indonesia

The former military man, accused in the past of human rights abuses, guarantees a continuous line with respect to his predecessor, Joko Widodo

Oct. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Former general Prabowo Subianto was sworn in this Sunday as the new president of Indonesia after spending the last nine months since his electoral victory building a large parliamentary coalition government under the auspices of his predecessor, Joko Widodo, whose son Gibran Rakabuming Raka will be the new vice president. .

The 73-year-old former general comes to power 26 years after his dismissal from the Army after being the subject of an investigation into his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of student activists and human rights abuses in Papua and East Timor, accusations that The former military man has always rejected.

To win the presidency, Prabowo has had to form an alliance with his predecessor — who defeated him twice in previous elections — and include Gibran as a candidate for the country’s Vice Presidency.

As part of this turnaround, the former general presented himself to the population with a new philanthropic image and was committed to continuing the country’s business-friendly economic policies established by his predecessor, in a campaign that won him a comfortable victory in February. with 60 percent of the votes.

The former general, Bloomberg experts point out, now governs with the support of the powerful ruling class and enjoys sufficient room for maneuver in Parliament to promote a doctrine that will have as its main objective the acceleration of economic growth, relatively stagnant for some time. this part in the country.

Specifically, the former general has set the goal of achieving 8 percent year-on-year growth from a current rate of 5 percent, the first of a series of measures that also target self-sufficiency in the production of basic foods.