Latin America has got a new leftist star.

Pedro Castillo, a socialist and son of peasant farmers, is on the cusp of winning Peru's presidential election after rising from obscurity to all but beat a conservative rival, the daughter of a former president.

His rapid ascension may bode ill for conservatives across the region and herald a new "pink tide" of leftist leaders as raging poverty fanned by the coronavirus pandemic sways voters toward those who promise bigger government and higher social spending.