Keiko Fujimori sworn in as Peru president after narrow election win

Keiko Fujimori has assumed the presidency of Peru following a narrow electoral victory centred on public concerns over escalating crime and political instability. The 51-year-old conservative defeated left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes in June's run-off election, marking her first successful presidential bid after three previous unsuccessful attempts. She takes office as Peru's ninth president in a decade, inheriting a nation that has experienced years of political turmoil characterised by presidents being removed, resigning, or replaced before completing their terms.

Fujimori's campaign strategy focused heavily on security and law-and-order messaging, responding to Peru's worst security crisis in decades. The country faces significant challenges from extortion and contract killings driven by the proliferation of local and foreign criminal gangs. Her platform proposed aggressive measures including construction of a mega-prison modelled on El Salvador's Cecot facility, implementation of anonymous judges for criminal trials, deportations of undocumented migrants, and requirements that prisoners work for their food. She pledged to address these challenges with an "iron fist" approach to governance.

Her Fuerza Popular party holds the largest bloc in Congress, and together with its main right-wing ally, controls half the seats in the newly installed Senate. This configuration makes it more difficult for her to be removed from office, though right-wing parties collectively fall short of the majority needed to advance her legislative agenda. During her inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, Fujimori swore to "faithfully carry out the duties of president of the republic" before Congress.

Fujimori's ascension represents the return of one of Peru's most contentious political dynasties. She is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru during the 1990s. She entered public life at age 19 when her father requested she serve as first lady following a public separation from her mother, and has remained central to Peruvian politics for decades. While supporters credit her father with defeating the Shining Path, a Maoist rebellion seeking to overthrow the state and impose communist rule, and with controlling hyperinflation through harsh neoliberal reforms, he was later convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity related to his government's campaign against armed groups and served 16 years in prison.

This legacy has generated significant apprehension among critics and civil society groups. Opposition figures accuse Fuerza Popular of contributing to years of political instability through its congressional influence and fear that her promised crime crackdown could erode civil liberties and democratic protections. On the eve of her inauguration, relatives of victims of state violence gathered in Lima to reject her incoming government and demand justice for abuses committed during her father's administration.