By Nitya Chakraborty
The Right wing resurgence in the political arena of Latin America continues with the victory of the far right candidate Keiko Fujimori in the Presidential elections in Peru. Keiko, daughter of the former President Alberto Fujimori won by only less than 50,000 votes in a neck and neck contest by defeating the :Left coalition candidate Roberto Sanchez.
The Presidential elections were held on June 7 but the results were announced only on June 29 as the counting process for about 18 million votes cast, took a long time. Sanchez initially refused to accept the results but after the due scrutiny by the National Electoral Commission, he conceded his defeat. Officially the President elect will take over on July 28. This was Fujimori’s fourth attempt for President’s position. She won this time after losing thrice earlier.
The presidential election on June 7 was fought in an intense polarized atmosphere in the shadow of Trump administration’s moves for regime change in Latin America. The U.S. administration directly assisted Fujimori and also the agencies helped in organizing demonstrations against the Peruvian government. Peru has a strong economy though this year, there were economic problems adversely affecting the lives of the people.
The election was fought on rising crime and chronic political instability, which saw the country eight presidents in a decade. Fujimori focused in her campaign on her proposed strong measures to deal with the rising contract killings and the rule of extortion gangs. Her late father Alberto Fujimori during his presidential tenure took actions for crushing the Maoist rebels, but he was later disgraced and jailed for corruption and crimes in the name of fighting terrorism.
Peru has always been known for corruption among the politicians. President elect Fujimori’s father was known as the most corrupt among the Right politicians. The earlier elected President Jose Jeri was ousted from Presidency after impeachment. The outgoing interim President Jose Maria Balcazar was then made interim president in February 2026. He was originally elected by the Left wing Free Peru Party. Sanchez is a senior leader of the Left. He is known for his clean image.
According to latest official data, Peru’s GDP is projected to grow by 2.9% in 2026 and 2.9% in 2027, down from 3.4% in 2025. Activity is supported by resilient domestic demand, particularly private consumption and investment, and favourable terms of trade. Growth remains solid in 2026 despite supply‑side disruptions including an El Niño-related impact, domestic gas supply constraints and higher energy prices linked to the evolving conflict in the Middle East. Inflation is projected to rise temporarily above the Central Bank’s target range, before returning towards target as supply shocks fade.
In fact Peru has witnessed one of the strongest economies in Latin American continent. Peru’s GDP per capita growth has slowed significantly since the end of the commodity boom in 2014. GDP per capita convergence with the OECD average has been slow, driven by employment growth as investment gains have been modest and productivity remains stagnant. This reflects deeper structural weaknesses, including limited human capital accumulation, weak institutions, and underdeveloped infrastructure.
That way, economy can not be fully blamed for the electoral win of Fujimori against the Left. The continuous campaign by the Right was that Peru will have the same fate as Venezuela if Left won, had its effect. The corporate media also campaigned against the Left as usual and mentioned how Fujimori was going to restore law and order into the country.
Following Peru’s Presidential elections, out of the 16 countries of Latin America, Right parties will be having governments in twelve out of 16 including Peru. Only four countries Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Guatemala are still ruled by the Left. The countries ruled by the Right include Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Panama, Now Peru is included.
Brazil, the most powerful of the Left coalition countries in Latin America is going for Presidential polls in October 2026. This will be decisive in deciding the nature of the Left battle in the region against the Right resurgence. Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula is contesting for the Presidential position for the fourth time. He will be contesting against the Right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of the former President Jair Bolsonaro who is currently in jail for plotting against the government.
The poll campaign in Brazil is in peak form though three more months are left for the first round of polls on October 4. Latest opinion polls suggest that Lula has slight lead against his rival. Both sides have taken this as Do or Die battle. The entire Latin American Left is looking at this Brazil election. Lula is an icon of the Latin American Left. He is a model for the other Left wing Presidents. After the Peru setback, the Left is looking at win in Brazil Presidential polls to rejuvenate the morale of the cadres who weathered a number of defeats in the last two years. All focus is now on October elections in Brazil. (IPA Service)
