There is no candidate that would be considered an explicit preferred candidate Presidential elections Act PeruWhich will be held on Sunday (11). The research points to violent conflict so much that It is difficult to predict even who will go to the second round, Scheduled for June.
The latest research shows that No candidate showed up with more than 15% of voting intentions. There are at least seven names mixed between the first places. See below in alphabetical order:
- George Forsyth (Vitoria Nacional) – Former footballer, he came as a surprise in the polls. New to politics, he has a platform that is considered a liberal.
- Hernando de Soto (Avança País) – Orthodox economist, trying to gain power with austerity discourse on public accounts. Advisor to the former President Alberto Fujimori.
- Keiko Fujimori (People Power) – It has come Prison accused of corruption. He is the heir to Fujimorism, an authoritarian current in Peruvian politics that took over the country in the 1990s and still has some support.
- Pedro Castillo (Free Peru) – A union leader among education professionals, recently pressured to approach guerrilla members Sendero Luminoso.
- Raphael Lopez Aliaga (Popular Renewal) – conservative engineer, with an appeal among the Catholic population; Was called “Bolsonaro Peru”.
- Veronica Mendoza (Together for Peru) – psychologist, the progressive candidate is trying to remove the image of the Peruvian left of the former presidents who have been investigated and of the support of the fighters.
- Yunhei Liscano (Ação Popular) – A longtime former lawmaker, voiced to sue Martín Vizcarra and declares himself in the networks as a “consumer advocate”. He wants reform in the constitution.
Yoni Lescano, the candidate for the Presidency of Peru, will participate in the race on Thursday (8). The former MP appears first at the polls, but is followed by six other presidential candidates. No favorites – Photo: Sebastian Castaneda / Reuters
Veronica Mendoza as a candidate for the Presidency of Peru was held in a parade in Lima on April 6 – Photo: Sebastian Castaneda / Reuters
There are 11 other candidates from abroad who might surprise, given the growing disagreement. Among them is the former president Olanta Humala, Who held the position between 2011 and 2016 and Became imprisoned On corruption charges in 2017.
Humala mode, in fact, is just one example of how to do this This election is taking place at a tense political moment in Peru. Since the last presidential election in 2016, the country has gone through presidential changes and has seen former presidents and other political leaders arrested and subject to criminal trials in corruption scandals.
Read more about the political crises in Peru below.
Lava Gatto, Resignation and Arrests
Friends and family carry the coffin of former Peruvian President Alan Garcia in Lima, Peru, in 2019 – Photo: Reuters / Guadalupe Pardo
Five years ago, Or Peru chose Pedro Pablo Kuchinsky In a narrow vote in the second round. With a rhetoric of political renewal, he defeated Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who ruled the country in an authoritarian fashion in the 1990s.
However, corruption scandals in which the Brazilian contractor was involved Odebrecht Kuczynski state abbreviation, which was required to do so He resigned from his position in 2018. Nevertheless, the deputy took over, Martin Vizcarra.
The investigations conducted by the Peruvian arm of Operation Lava Gato reached the following former presidents:
- Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) – He was arrested in July 2019 in the United StatesWhere he was on the run for two years before to escape investigations.
- Olanta Humala (2011-2016) – He was arrested with his wife in 2017 on charges of money laundering and put in prison Freedom in the following year.
- Pedro Pablo Kuchinsky (2016-2018) – He was arrested in March 2019 He is accused of money laundering and is under house arrest due to his old age and heart problems.
- Alan Garcia (1985-1990, 2006-2011) Investigate cases of irregular campaign financing, money laundering and abuse of influence; He died after being shot in the head When the police came to his house to arrest him.
The political scandal spread to various parties and the Peruvian parties. Kiko Fujimori, an opponent of the government, was also implicated in allegations of corruption and ended up being arrested twice: In 2018 e In 2020. Fujimorimo’s heir was accused of receiving money from a Brazilian contractor during the 2011 election campaign.
Images show Peruvian President, Martin Vizcarra, shortly after being installed next to Mercedes Arause, on March 23, 2018 – Photo: Martin Mejia / AP
Anti-corruption rhetoric and direct clashes with the former political class made the new president gain popularity among Peruvians. on the other side, Vizcarra gained hatred from members of Congress in Peru and especially from the Fujimorist group, The majority of.
So, in September 2019, the then president Linking a proposal for reform in the system of selecting judges from the Constitutional Court – Trying to prevent the opposition from taking control of the court – to the confidence motion.
Under Peruvian law, when such a proposal has not been passed by members of Congress at least twice, the president can dissolve the Congress and call new parliamentary elections. This is what Vizcarra did.
However, shortly thereafter, Congress approved Vizcarra’s temporary suspension citing “moral incompetence” and appointed Vice President Mercedes Arawes as the new president. Under pressure from street protests in Lima and armed forces demonstrations, I gave up going forward.
Pandemic, Accountability, and New Tensions
Francisco Sagasti, interim president of Peru, marches at a party in Lima – Photo: Gerardo Marin / Reuters
Although control of Vizcara resumed, Especially after the new parliamentary electionsAnd the The president’s crisis with Congress continued. a The COVID-19 pandemicAnd the Destructive to the Peruvians Peru is one of the countries hardest hit by the Coronavirus in relative numbers – it has exacerbated political tension in the country.
In this scenario, members of Congress open two new platforms Dismissal proceedings against Vizcarra In the second half of 2020. In the first, The then president escaped the accusations To pressure government officials to lie about a contract with a singer accused of corruption. on Monday, In the end, the politician was sentenced to lose his mandate For accepting corporate bribes while he was governor of Moquegua, a state in the south of the country. Vizcarra denies the charges against him.
Upon leaving office, President of Congress, Manuel Merino took over the presidency. But his period did not last five days: Large demonstrations against the downfall of Vizcarra broke out in Peru. Two people died. Remember in the video below.
Clashes between protesters and police in Peru
So, Merino decided to resignHe chose the conference Francisco Sagasti, Engineer and former World Bank employee.
The short and temporary Sagasti government will also be distinguished by The “vaccine” scandal: More than 400 of the Peruvian elite have been vaccinated in advance and clandestinely against Covid-19, which has angered residents at a difficult time in the pandemic. Among those vaccinated, Estava or former president Martin Vizcarra. Because of that, there was a file Mass dismissal of Peruvian government ministers.
In this scenario of back-to-back exchanges and political scandals, Sagasti – who will not try to stay in office – will pass the presidential mantle to the election winner. With the first round faltering, the incumbent president will not meet his successor until June.