Peru’s largest congressional bloc is rewriting the country’s security playbook. Fuerza Popular, the right-wing party led by Keiko Fujimori, has leveraged its dominant position in Congress to push through a wave of legislation expanding police powers, militarizing borders, and shifting how security forces face prosecution.
Fujimori secured 17.19% of the vote in the first electoral round and will face a runoff in June 2026 as the front-runner for the presidency. The legislative blitz is laying groundwork for what would be a “mano dura” government, a term that translates to “iron fist” and carries unmistakable echoes of her father Alberto Fujimori’s anti-terrorism campaigns in the 1990s.
What Congress has actually done
Fuerza Popular’s congressional majority has enabled the passage of multiple security-focused laws during the 2025-2026 legislative sessions. The measures target extortion, organized crime, and broader public safety concerns.
One of the more controversial changes involves shifting some prosecutions of police and military personnel to institutional forums rather than civilian courts. If a soldier or police officer is accused of misconduct, the case may now be heard by their own institution’s tribunal instead of an independent court.
