Keiko Fujimori won the Peruvian presidential election on her fourth try, making Peru the latest in a trend of Latin American countries shifting right since President Donald Trump took office.Fujimori, the daughter of former strongman President Alberto Fujimori, embraced her father’s controversial legacy, which has defined Peru’s politics since the 1990s. The new president will have to deal with one of the most dysfunctional political scenes in the Western Hemisphere, being the ninth president in just 10 years. Former President Dina Boluarte resigned in October after facing one of, if not the lowest, approval ratings of any democratically elected leader.
Peru has one of the most closely divided electorates in the world, with the past three elections having been decided by less than 1 percentage point.Keiko Fujimori’s victory marks a major rightward shift for a country that has largely seen left-wing governments rule for the past 20 years. Peru now joins a Latin America-wide trend of countries ejecting left-wing governments in favor of right-wing ones.FILE – Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, of the Popular Force party, waves after voting during the presidential runoff election in Lima, Peru, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)
