By admin 
Peruvians are heading to the polls on Sunday in what is expected to be a tight presidential runoff, with the model behind one of Latin America’s most stable economies at stake.
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Voters will decide whether they finally give a shot to three-time runner-up Keiko Fujimori, a conservative seen as the guarantor of a successful economic model instituted in the 1990s under her father’s presidency but also the heiress to his polarizing administration. The alternative is leftist lawmaker Roberto Sánchez, who wants to overhaul Peru’s market-friendly constitution to redistribute wealth more fairly, particularly when it comes to the country’s critical mining industry.
The winner will begin a five-year term on July 28.
The ballot is a rematch of 2021, when Fujimori lost by only about 40,000 votes against former president Pedro Castillo, whose torch is now being carried by his protege Sánchez. Castillo’s ouster after an attempted power grab was followed by three presidents over the next nearly four years. Still, Peru remains one of the region’s fastest-growing economies, with growth outpacing most of its peers and a stable currency.
More than 30 candidates competed in the first round of voting in April, with the eldest daughter of late former President Alberto Fujimori securing just 17% of the vote and Sánchez getting 12%.
In the Andean nation, where voting is mandatory, many Peruvians headed to the polls on Sunday caught between fear and resignation, ultimately casting ballots for who they considered the “lesser evil,” a recurring feature of the country’s presidential runoffs.
“Clearly nobody wants Keiko to be president, but there’s no other choice,” said Cintia Rabínez, 41, a voter in the capital Lima, where Fujimori enjoys stronger support. “We have to preserve the economic model or we’ll become the next Venezuela.”
As insecurity tops voters’ concerns, Fujimori’s supporters also see her as the tough-on-crime candidate, largely because of the legacy of her father, who fought a bloody war against Maoist groups in the 1990s. She has pledged to deport undocumented immigrants who commit crimes, militarize borders and replicate the high-security mega-prison El Salvador built under President Nayib Bukele.
“She could restore the order we need from day one, more or less because of what her father did,” said voter Valery Arce, 40.
But her father’s conviction for corruption and human rights abuses still hangs over her, as does her role in Peru’s political instability as a major power broker in an unpopular Congress.
“Fujimorismo has been running the country pretty much since 1990 and we need a change,” said voter Juan Carlos Sánchez Lozano, 69, one of the rare Sánchez supporters in Lima. The left-wing candidate, whose backing comes mainly from rural and Andean Peru, finished ninth in the capital in the first round, with just 2.8% of the vote. “If you put Keiko up against a rock, the rock wins,” Sánchez Lozano said.
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Voting proceeded smoothly across the country, despite some usual delays in setting up polling stations and the invalidation of dozens pre-marked ballots, which led to the arrest of two people, electoral authorities said.
Constitution in the Spotlight
Financial markets would likely see a Fujimori win favorably, given her promises to cut red tape, boost private investment and lower the burden on small businesses to promote formalization. The 51-year-old is seen as a safeguard of Peru’s 1993 constitution, enacted under her father and hailed for having laid the foundations for the country’s transformation into a major exporter of everything from copper and gold to blueberries and grapes.
In contrast, Sánchez’s promises to overhaul Peru’s constitution and economic model have rattled investors while resonating in the country’s poorer rural regions. So too have his plans to give the state a more active role in sectors like mining and energy, and to increase social spending.
Ambitious constitutional changes, though, require legislative support that Sánchez’s coalition Together For Peru lacks, so a victory for him would likely maintain the status quo amid continued political instability, Luis Ramos, head of equity research at brokerage LarrainVial, said in a a note.
“The same congressional arithmetic that constrains disruption under a Sánchez administration could create a more favorable environment for governability and policy execution under Fujimori,” Ramos said. Fujimori’s Popular Force party will hold the largest minority in both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate, enough to block any attempt to remove the president as is common in Peruvian politics.
Sánchez’s has also been criticized for failing to condemn Castillo’s attempted power grab.
Ahead of the runoff, Sánchez has softened his tone in a bid to reassure markets and broaden political support. His team unveiled a new platform pledging to respect Peru’s macroeconomic stability, free-trade agreements, taxes and existing contracts. Sánchez’s plan also vows to promote private investment and preserve central bank independence. He has recently said he would reappoint the central bank’s veteran head Julio Velarde, whom he had previously criticized.
The leftist candidate has also said he would fight public insecurity, make reforms to the police force and deepen ties with both China and the US.
Polling stations will close at 5 p.m. across Peru. Exit polls and quick counts are expected later in the evening, while final official results aren’t expected until mid-July.
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-With assistance from Marcelo Rochabrún and Antonia Mufarech.
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