Bogotá, Colombia – Keiko Fujimori assumed the presidency of Peru today, becoming the country’s ninth president in ten years.

The first woman elected president of Peru, she defeated little-known left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez in last month’s runoff by fewer than 50,000 votes.

Fujimori is a controversial figure in Peru, having been a fixture of public life since becoming the “first lady” to her father, late autocrat Alberto Fujimori, in 1994. 

The presidents of neighboring Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia attended the inauguration at the Legislative Palace, alongside King Felipe VI of Spain.

Fujimori campaigned on a promise to wage “war” on criminal gangs while maintaining the free-market economic policies that have underpinned Peru’s growth despite years of political instability. Her administration will also have to navigate intensifying U.S.-China competition in Latin America and the growing threat of El Niño.

A fourth attempt

The 2026 election was Fujimori’s fourth presidential runoff after narrow defeats in 2011, 2016, and 2021.

The campaign reflected Peru’s fragmented political landscape. With 35 candidates on the ballot, Fujimori won the first round with just 17% of the vote, well short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

Following a contentious recount, she faced former trade minister Roberto Sánchez – who cast himself as the political heir to jailed former president Pedro Castillo – in the second round. Sánchez pledged to raise the minimum wage and review mining licenses.

Fujimori, meanwhile, sought to trade off the divisive legacy of her father, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity, but is still revered in some parts of the country for controlling hyperinflation and defeating the leftist Shining Path insurgency in the 1990s. 

Despite compulsory voting and a deeply polarized campaign, 28% of eligible voters stayed home, while more than one million voters spoiled their ballots. Fujimori’s victory ultimately depended on overwhelming support among roughly 300,000 Peruvians living abroad.

Peru joins Chile, Honduras, and Colombia in electing a hard-right president within the past year. While Honduras’ Tito Asfura and Colombia’s Abelardo de la Espriella secured explicit backing from Donald Trump, Peru’s next president faces a more delicate balancing act between Washington’s renewed engagement in Latin America and the country’s economic dependence on China.

Fujimori has proposed closer military cooperation with the United States, including joining the Shield of the Americas, and has appointed a foreign minister known for criticism of Beijing, signaling a possible shift toward Washington.

At the same time, Chinese state-owned shipping company Cosco has invested US$1.3 billion in a major port near Lima and is reportedly considering further investment. China remains Peru’s largest trading partner, a reality likely to shape Fujimori’s foreign policy regardless of political changes in Washington.

Crime, inequality, and El Niño

Reducing violent crime will be one of Fujimori’s biggest domestic challenges. Peru’s homicide rate has nearly doubled over the past six years.

The new president has pledged to construct four mega-prisons and expand the country’s network of security cameras. 

Analysts attribute the rise in violence to the growing influence of organized crime, which has fueled widespread extortion.

Meanwhile, critics claim that legislation backed by Fujimori’s allies in Congress has made it more difficult to prosecute organized criminal groups, while also weakening judicial powers to investigate links between politicians and criminal organizations.

Despite decades of commodity-driven growth, Peru remains one of Latin America’s most unequal countries. The richest 1% own 43.8% of the country’s wealth, while the poorest half own just 0.3%. Around 17 million Peruvians still lack access to safe drinking water.

Those structural challenges could be compounded by an expected El Niño event in the second half of 2026. Forecasters warn of flooding, landslides, disruptions to the fishing industry, and crop losses, threatening both public safety and economic activity.

Democratic crisis

Peru has been mired in political turmoil since 2016. During that period, Congress, led by Fujimori’s Popular Force party and its allies, helped remove six presidents and rolled back several anti-corruption measures.

Widespread perceptions of corruption and institutional failure have increasingly led citizens to view street protests, rather than elections, as the most effective way to make their voices heard.

One survey this year found that 49% of Peruvians no longer believe democracy is the best form of government. Whether Fujimori can restore public confidence in politics may prove the defining question of her presidency.

Fujimori enters office with a congressional coalition that could provide greater political stability. Yet Peru’s recent history suggests that even a president with legislative backing is far from secure.

Featured image description: Keiko Fujimori greeting supporters on the campaign trail.

Featured image credit: Keiko Fujimori via Facebook.