WORLD NEWS: Keiko Fujimori, the heiress who seeks to break the curse of the second rounds
International Briefing:
Governments, analysts, and media outlets are continuing to follow this situation closely as additional details become available.
For many years, Keiko Fujimori has lived in a place that can be uncomfortable for any politician: too close to power to disappear from the political scene, but at the same time too far to reach it. Three times he reached the presidential second round. Three times she was one step away from becoming president of Peru. He lost three times. Now, at 51 years old, he tries again. Will the fourth time be the charm? To display this YouTube content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Retry 2026-04-11 19:12 Keiko Fujimori and her fourth attempt to become president of Peru © France 24 The leader of Fuerza Popular is going for a new election with the possibility of breaking a negative streak that made her one of the most persistent figures in contemporary Latin American politics. For its followers, it represents the order, experience and continuity of a model that they associate with stability and economic growth. For her detractors, she is the heir to a political project that never fully accounted for the violations of Human Rights during the 1990s, under the mandate of her father, Alberto Fujimori. The heir to the Fujimori surname Her political history began long before she ran for election. Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi was just 19 years old when she became first lady, after her parents separated. His mother, Susana Higuchi, had publicly denounced mistreatment within the presidential environment. The family crisis ended with a young Keiko playing a role that no other woman her age had filled in Latin America. For six years he accompanied his father on official events, trips and meetings with foreign leaders. While most young people her age attended college or took their first steps into the world of work, she observed up close how power worked. Read alsoWhite and null vote, options for the undecided in Peru in the face of the political crisis. By then, the surname Fujimori was already a registered trademark. Alberto Fujimori had become President in 1990 as an ‘outsider’ and quickly became one of the most influential figures in Latin America. His government militarily defeated Sendero Luminoso and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, two armed organizations that had led the country into a spiral of violence. He also managed to control a hyperinflation that had devastated the Peruvian economy. Alberto Fujimori To display this YouTube content, you must allow audience measurement and advertising cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Try again © France 24 But the same government was also associated with authoritarian practices, cases of corruption and violations of Human Rights. After leaving Peru and going into exile in Japan at the end of 2000, Alberto Fujimori was convicted of corruption and crimes linked to the actions of paramilitary groups during the anti-subversive fight. That mix of successes and condemnations also defined his daughter’s political career. From first lady to political leader: Fujimorismo 2.0 After studying Business Administration at Boston University and completing postgraduate studies in the United States, Keiko returned to Peru in 2005. The following year she was elected congressman and, four years later, she assumed leadership of the political space founded by her father, where she began to build her own leadership. Since then she was accompanied by a question that she never fully answered: was she the continuator of Fujimorism or was she building something new? His followers began to talk about a new stage, a “Fujimorism 2.0” or even a “keikism.” However, he never broke with the figure of Alberto Fujimori or renounced his legacy. On the contrary, he always defended the central aspects of his father’s management and kept historical leaders of the movement close. Read alsoBalotaje in Peru: what are the proposals of Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez? Three consecutive defeats Her first presidential opportunity came in 2011, when she reached the second round and was defeated by Ollanta Humala. Five years later he ran again and lost to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski by a minimal margin. In 2021 he starred in another close election against Pedro Castillo. The final difference was just a few tens of thousands of votes. File: Photograph provided by the Judiciary of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo during a trial on March 4, 2025, in Lima (Peru). The oral trial initiated against Castillo for the attempted coup d’état in 2022 “has no precedent in the history of Peru,” said prosecutor Galinka Meza when presenting the allegations of the prosecution that requests that 34 years in prison be imposed on the former ruler. EFE – Judicial Power of Peru The three consecutive defeats would have been enough to remove many other leaders from politics. But Keiko Fujimori did not give up. While Peru went through a turbulent period of political fragmentation, she continued to command one of the country’s strongest party structures. Fuerza Popular retained a broad presence in Congress and became a decisive actor in Peruvian institutional life. Precisely therein lies one of the main criticisms of her. His opponents maintain that Fujimorism was one of the protagonists of the political crisis that led Peru to have nine presidents in a decade. They point out the role of their parliamentary bench in the processes that ended with the resignation or dismissal of several leaders. Keiko denies the accusations and assures that the decisions adopted by his party responded to mechanisms provided for by the Constitution and that the responsibility for the crises lay with the governments themselves. Investigations and controversies Judicial problems were added to the political disputes. The leader was investigated for alleged money laundering in the framework of the Odebrecht case, the corruption plot that affected much of Latin America. Odebrecht Case To display this YouTube content, you must authorize audience measurement and advertising cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Retry The Odebrecht case, the largest corruption scandal in the recent history of Latin America. © France 24 He spent preventive detention in two sections: thirteen months between October 2018 and November 2019, and another three and a half months at the beginning of 2020. In total, about sixteen months behind bars. The Constitutional Court annulled the trial in October 2025, considering that the central charges lacked legal basis. A judge executed the ruling and archived the process in January 2026, weeks before the start of the campaign. The decision cleared the main obstacle she faced in competing again, although Fujimori was charged with minor charges related to false statements before electoral bodies. Read alsoReport from Lima: Prosecutor’s Office requests five years in prison for presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez The commitment to order The current campaign presents some differences compared to previous ones. It is the first that Keiko assumes without the presence of her father, who died in 2024. It is also the first after several important personal changes, including her divorce from Mark Vito, with whom she had two daughters. But, above all, it is a campaign marked by a different problem in the country: insecurity. The growth of extortion, homicides and organized crime displaced the economy from the center of concern for many Peruvians. And Keiko Fujimori built her speech around that social demand. He promises to fight crime with a strong hand, promote reforms in the judicial and penitentiary system and apply policies inspired by the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele. To display this YouTube content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Try again © France 24 At the same time, it seeks to accelerate mining investments, reduce bureaucratic procedures and expand infrastructure projects linked to agro-exports. His bet is clear: convince Peruvians that the country needs authority, experience and management capacity. However, the main asset of his candidacy remains also his main liability. The Fujimori surname continues to mobilize support in broad sectors of the country, especially among those who remember the 1990s as a period of economic recovery and defeat of terrorism. But that same last name provokes rejection in millions of Peruvians who associate that stage with authoritarianism and corruption. Keiko knows it. And it comes back the same. With EFE, AFP and AP
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Source: This article was originally published by France 24 – Noticias y actualidad internacional en vivo and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
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