With 98.6 percent of votes counted in Peru’s presidential run-off, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori currently holds a lead of just 50.05 percent over her leftist opponent Roberto Sanchez’s 49.95 percent. The margin between the two candidates is so slim that a winner won’t be formally named until mid-July. The math, however, favors Fujimori, who is poised to continue the winning streak of Trump-aligned candidates in the region. What is unclear is whether her victory will conclude or prolong Peru’s decade-long political crisis, for which she holds considerable responsibility.
Keiko is the anointed heir of her father, the former dictator Alberto Fujimori, who governed the country between 1990 and 2000. His achievements—most importantly, crushing the brutal Shining Path insurgency—bequeathed his daughter an enduring base of support. But the darker aspects of his legacy, which include an autocratic power grab, war crimes against indigenous Peruvians, and deep corruption, have also ensured strong opposition to the family’s return to power.