the far left and the authoritarian right en route to the second lap

The far left and an authoritarian right they will measure their strength in the second round of the Peruvian elections, after the official tally confirmed Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori as candidates to stand for election. According to a quick count by the Ipsos company (carried out on the minutes), the aspirant of Free Peru would get 18.1% of the vote and the leader of Fuerza Popular 14.5.

Regarding official data, with 86% of votes counted, Castillo got 18.7 and Keiko 13.1%, more than a point of difference on the third, the candidate of the liberal right, Hernando de Soto, of Avanza País.

Castillo, teacher and leader of a radical faction of the teachers’ union that stormed this vote, was easily imposed and it was the surprise of a fragmented election, in which no candidate exceeded 20% of the vote.

The official tally also places Keiko Fujimori, heir to former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), in second place, while he lost a significant number of votes (more than 25%) compared to the first round of 2015 elections.

Meteoric rise

The presence of Castillo in the presidential definition coincides with the estimates which had detected in recent weeks a meteoric and surprising rise of this candidate, whose proposals come from a left tough in the economic field and conservative in the social field.

In a speech addressed to his supporters from the Plaza de Armas in Tacabamba, he assured after recognizing the results of this electoral Sunday that “the change and the struggle had just begun” in Peru and reaffirmed his commitment to establish an alliance with “the same and the true”. people. Peruvian “to preserve its roots.

“Today to the Peruvian people the headband has just come off. They had enough time, decades, but how do they leave the country? You come to the metropolis of Lima, to the big cities, and you find places with opulence that do not look beyond your nose, ”said the candidate.

Former candidate

Fujimori has already done everything possible to offer Hernando De Soto, the right-wing candidate more respected abroad than in Peru and in third place, to “work together”. to confront the “radical left” represented by Castillo.

“Beyond the differences we have, there are also big coincidences,” said the candidate before noting that between them “it doesn’t matter who goes to the second round. I hope we can work together”.

Keiko also built bridges with other parties who “don’t want (the country) to become Cuba or Venezuela”.

“We will face populism and the radical left, Many Peruvians will join us, ”said Fujimori.

The candidate was presented on this occasion with a proposal from the authoritarian right, claiming the presidency of his father, imprisoned for human rights violations and to whom he has already told he intends to forgive if he reaches the government palace, and bet on the application of a “strong hand” to resolve the Peruvians’ problems.

About Fujimori a charge for the crime of money laundering weighs linked to the alleged illegal financing of his party’s campaigns in 2011 and 2016 by Brazilian company Odebrecht, among others. There are even those who argue that he could face the ballot in prison or with a conviction.

Congress, the big problem

Meanwhile, the vote in Congress would, as expected, leave a Parliament with up to 11 different political groups, with a vote between 10.7% and 5.4% of the vote, led by Popular Action, the party of Yonhy Lescano, the candidate who until a few days ago was the big favorite to reach the second round but which was left in the process.

Peru Free, from Castillo, would get a similar result, followed by Fujimorism and the radical right of Popular Renovation, led by López Aliaga.

In any case, Peru will have a very dispersed and polarized legislative power which will have difficulty coordinating many benches, none of which will have great weight in a chamber composed of 130 deputies.

The poll results also indicate that former President Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) could secure a place in Congress for the Somos Peru party.

Election day unfolded in a complicated situation, with the covid pandemic breaking records of deaths and infections and the country plunged into a deep economic crisis.

Source: EFE and Clarín

PB