Keiko Fujimori took office as Peru's president on Tuesday after winning June's runoff by fewer than 50,000 votes, promising to stabilize a country that's cycled through nine presidents in a decade. The conservative leader inherits an economy that's remained one of Latin America's strongest despite chronic political turbulence.
Fujimori's Popular Force party and its ally Popular Renovation will control half the senate seats, giving her government a crucial buffer against the impeachment attempts that've toppled multiple predecessors. Over the past decade, only three Peruvian presidents were elected by popular vote. The rest assumed office after their predecessors resigned or were removed by congress amid protests or corruption scandals.
Security First
The four-time presidential candidate centered her campaign on fighting crime in a nation where extortion rackets have become a significant problem. She's pledged to implement an "iron fist" approach modeled after Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele's policies, including construction of a megaprison similar to El Salvador's notorious Cecot penitentiary.
Fujimori announced the military will "temporarily" lead security operations in crime-afflicted areas. She said she'll implement reforms allowing judges to hide their identities during criminal trials to guarantee their safety. The approach reflects growing public frustration with violent crime that's driven voters across South America toward conservative candidates promising tougher enforcement.
Economic and Infrastructure Plans
On infrastructure, Fujimori promised to develop projects by making it easier for government agencies to form partnerships with private investors. She announced a 15% increase in the nation's minimum wage Tuesday and said she'd reorganize social services to fight malnutrition in rural communities.
"My goal is not only to administer the state," Fujimori said. "My main objective is to narrow the enormous social deficit that affects millions of Peruvians."
She's also focusing on preparing Peru for the latest onset of El Niño, a weather pattern that warms ocean temperatures and often leads to flooding along the coast.
Political Divisions Persist
Opposition leaders are asking Fujimori's government to reverse laws approved by Peru's last legislature that critics say weaken efforts to fight organized crime. The laws eliminate preventive arrests and stop prosecutors from processing political parties involved in corruption under the same statutes as criminal groups. They also make it harder for police to confiscate the goods of criminal groups.
Opposition lawmakers protested outside parliament during Fujimori's swearing-in ceremony, holding photos of people killed during anti-government protests in late 2022 and early 2023 following the removal of former President Pedro Castillo. Relatives of the dead said they don't recognize Fujimori as president. The protests resulted in 50 civilian deaths, and opposition leaders want a commission to investigate.
Fujimori won decisively among voters in Peru's capital and along the Pacific coast, while voters in the highlands, where there's a larger Indigenous population, overwhelmingly supported left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez, an ally of Castillo. Sanchez challenged the election results, arguing there were irregularities in how votes were counted at Peruvian consulates abroad, but electoral authorities dismissed his complaints.
Conservative Wave
Despite the political friction, Peru remains one of the most stable economies in Latin America. Its central bank has kept the benchmark interest rate below 5%, and the government's known for a conservative approach toward public spending. Critics point to a growing gap in living standards between coastal areas and communities in the Andean highlands.
Fujimori is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who led Peru in the 1990s and stabilized the economy while defeating terror groups, but was later imprisoned for human rights abuses committed under his rule by the Peruvian military as his government took an authoritarian turn. He was pardoned in December 2023 and died in September the following year.
Fujimori's June election victory, along with those of Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia and José Antonio Kast in Chile, underscored South America's shift toward the conservative wing. Conservatives have won seven major presidential elections in Latin America in the past few years, most of them since the January 2025 inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The winning streak's been propelled by concerns over crime, immigration and slow economic growth.
Why This Matters:
Peru's transition to a conservative government with actual legislative support could break a decade-long cycle of political instability that's seen presidents removed at an alarming rate. Fujimori's control of half the senate means she won't face the same impeachment threats that paralyzed her predecessors, potentially allowing for consistent economic policy and the private-sector partnerships she's promised for infrastructure development. Her security-first approach reflects voter priorities across Latin America, where rising crime has driven a regional shift away from left-wing governance. The challenge will be implementing tough-on-crime policies while addressing the economic disparities between coastal and highland communities that fuel political division. Peru's conservative fiscal management has kept it economically stable, but opposition demands to reverse laws weakening anti-corruption efforts could test whether Fujimori governs as a pragmatic conservative or follows her father's authoritarian path.