Keiko Fujimori takes office as Peru's first popularly elected female president, vows military-led crackdown on crime

A long road to the presidency

Keiko Fujimori, 51, was sworn in as Peru's president on 28 July 2026, becoming the first woman elected by popular vote in the country's 205-year independent history. She is the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who governed from 1990 to 2000 and was later convicted of corruption and human rights violations. At 19, she served as first lady after her parents' divorce; her mother accused Alberto Fujimori of torture. In 2000, her father resigned by fax from Tokyo, and she left the presidential palace. She was elected to Congress in 2006 and took over the leadership of Fuerza Popular in 2011. After three unsuccessful presidential bids, she won the June 2026 runoff against leftist Roberto Sánchez by fewer than 50,000 votes (49,641 according to one count). Sociologist Fernando Tuesta described Fuerza Popular as "the only dynastic party in the country," noting that "Alberto Fujimori never believed in parties... It was Keiko Fujimori who organized a national party structure, disciplined its leaders, and kept a political current cohesive for a quarter of a century."

Hard-line security agenda

In her inaugural address, Fujimori declared that the Armed Forces would temporarily assume leadership of security operations and control of internal order in areas under states of emergency. She said the military would recover territories from organized crime, drug trafficking, and illegal mining. She also promised a deep prison reform so that jails would no longer serve as "centers of operations for organized crime." Her speech prompted lawmakers from the leftist Juntos por el Perú and Ahora Nación to walk out, shouting about the 49 victims of protests during the government of Dina Boluarte (2022–2025). Others turned their backs. Fujimori's party had already pushed legislation that opponents call "pro-crime laws," arguing they weaken anti-corruption efforts.

During states of emergency, the Armed Forces will temporarily assume leadership of security operations and control of internal order.

Economic pledges and minimum wage hike

Fujimori announced an immediate 15% increase in the minimum wage, raising it to 1,300 soles (about €335). She said her government would face the effects of the El Niño phenomenon and citizen security as "national emergency fronts," using extraordinary resources. She set a fixed timeline for her administration.

From this moment an irreversible clock starts. We have exactly 1,826 days of management ahead of us.

International presence and reconciliation call

The ceremony drew King Felipe VI of Spain and eight Latin American presidents: Javier Milei (Argentina), José Antonio Kast (Chile), Rodrigo Paz (Bolivia), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Yamandú Orsi (Uruguay), Nasry Asfura (Honduras), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), and Santiago Peña (Paraguay). Spain's opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo also attended and later said Fujimori would work for Peru's "prosperity and stability," pledging that Spain would serve as a bridge between the European Union and Ibero-America. Fujimori closed her speech with a call for unity.

There are not two different Perus. There is one Peru, vibrant, multicultural, strong and millenary, ready to stand up.

Fujimorism's return and cabinet picks

Fujimori has brought several of her father's former collaborators into her presidential team, including Jaime Yoshiyama, Rafael Rey, Martha Chávez, and Martha Moyano. Chávez was a former president of Congress and a loyal defender of Alberto Fujimori during his most controversial decisions, which led to his 25-year prison sentence in 2009 for corruption and human rights violations. Yoshiyama served as a minister in the 1990s government. The appointments signal a return to the hard-line, pragmatic style of her father's rule. Fujimori replaces interim president José María Balcázar. Her swearing-in marks the ninth change of president in Peru in ten years, and she becomes the country's tenth head of state since 2016, a period marked by repeated congressional removals.