Uncertain Outcome in Peru’s National Elections

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On April 10, 2016 Peru held national elections and the first round of its presidential electoral process.  Keiko Fujimori of the Fuerza Popular (FP) won the largest share of votes, but fell well short of the 50% needed to avoid a second round, and her opponent in the June run-off will be former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peruanos Por el Kambio (PPK). The candidate of the united Left, the Frente Amplio or FA’s Verónika Mendoza, came in third.  Yet polls show that over 50% of Peruvians say they will not vote for Fujimori, daughter of the jailed former President Alberto Fujimori, in the second and final round.  Commentators explored the meaning of the Peruvian electorate’s choices, and the nature of the pro-Fujimori/anti-Fujimori divide that continues to define Peruvian politics.