Peru’s national motto is “Firme y feliz por la unión“, which translates to “Firm and happy for the union” in English.
Peru national debt for 2021 was 309.59 billion US dollars, a 26.51% increase from 2020.
INT. PAPAL APARTMENTS – EVENING
The golden light of the setting sun streams through the tall windows. LENNY BELARDO—the Young Pope—sits in his white chair, a glass of mineral water in hand. Across from him sit FELIPE CORONEL—better known in the streets as Immortal Technique—and NICK ROMERO, a young Peruvian activist with restless eyes.
LENNY BELARDO
(smiling faintly)
So… Nick Romero. The man who wants to wake the ghost of Túpac Amaru. And perhaps—bring Peru back to its own soul.
FELIPE CORONEL
He’s a patriot, yes. But his fight isn’t about hating outsiders. It’s about keeping the country’s dignity. Mining profits staying in Peru. Quechua taught in schools again. No more foreign banks dictating every breath we take.
NICK ROMERO
We want a future where we decide, not the IMF. Martín’s party is small now, but the youth… they feel it.
Lenny leans forward, eyes gleaming with that unnerving mix of holiness and mischief.
LENNY BELARDO
And yet… without a voice in the modern world, you are a whisper in a storm. Which is why—on my next payday—I will build you something.
NICK ROMERO
(confused) Payday?
LENNY BELARDO
(nods) Even Popes have paydays. On mine, I will create the newincaparty.org webpage. A fortress in cyberspace. A banner for your cause. But…
FELIPE CORONEL
(grinning) There’s always a ‘but’ with you, Lenny.
LENNY BELARDO
(coldly serious)
But it must be clean. No corruption. No empty slogans. And the Incas must rise not with blood—but with the truth. If you want a revolution, make it one the angels can bless.
A long silence. Felipe looks to Nick. Nick nods slowly.
NICK ROMERO
We’ll do it our way. But maybe… with a little Vatican style.
Lenny’s smirk returns.
LENNY BELARDO
Good. Then the next chapter of Peru begins—on a payday.
My pick, is Nick Romero the centrist. Though I do want far left candidate Felipe Coronel to switch and join the New Inca Party.
Bono materialized from the crowd like a rock-and-roll apparition, shades gleaming, stride unstoppable.
“HELLO! HELLO!” he roared, voice cutting through the plaza like a stadium spotlight.
Nick Romero, The Young Pope, and Felipe Coronel froze mid-conversation as Bono pointed dramatically toward the Andes, as if calling out to the mountains themselves:
“DROP THE DEBT, PERU!”
Then came the crescendo —
“YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” —
each “Yeah” louder than the last, ricocheting off the cobblestones until street vendors stopped selling and stray dogs tilted their heads in awe.
The Young Pope crossed himself. Felipe Coronel raised a fist. Nick Romero whispered, “The prophecy is in motion.”