Lima. Today Peru is electing a new head of state and a new parliament. 25 million eligible voters are legally obliged to cast their vote or pay a fine – exceptions apply to those suffering from corona. Election forecasts predict a close race between several candidates.
The elections will take place at an epidemiologically unfavorable time: not until Tuesday recorded the country has 314 deaths from Covid-19 – the record since the pandemic began. To make the elections as safe as possible at the height of the third wave of infections shape, the electoral authority has increased the number of polling stations and extended their opening times to twelve hours.
For the presidential elections, a second round of elections on June 6 is almost certain. In the surveys, nobody achieved significantly more than ten percent. Both the political right and the left are deeply divided. A total of seven candidates: inside to have a realistic chance of getting into the runoff election. Nevertheless, there could be surprises: Almost a fifth of the voters: inside is still undecided, just as many want to vote invalid.
Good chances are given to Hernando de Soto. The world-famous development economist is a political career changer and leads a team of former Fujimori allies. De Soto himself was one of the designers of neoliberal shock therapy under Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000). But he has also acted as a consultant for other autocrats in the Global South such as Hosni Mubarak or Muammar al-Gaddafi active. De Soto calls for the privatization of the corona vaccines and wants to lead the country out of the crisis by intensifying the exploitation of natural raw materials.
Although she has lost a lot of popularity in recent years, Keiko Fujimori is also considered a top candidate this time. The daughter of the ex-president had already entered the runoff election in 2011 and 2016 and recently only missed the election victory by a few thousand votes.
Another secret favorite is left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo. In several unauthorized “last minute” surveys landed he is in second place. In the right-wing press, therefore, even before alleged interference by the Maoist party and guerrilla organization, “Shining Path” was used in the election warned.
But even within parts of the left, Castillo’s candidacy is met with resentment: Repeatedly stressed the country school teacher strictly rejects his conservative socio-political positions – abortion, sex education in class and marriage for homosexuals. Castillo also surprised with the fact that, unlike his left rival Verónika Mendoza, he does not want to introduce a wealth tax. “We will respect people’s fortunes”, said he in an interview.
Other favorites are the center-right candidates Yonhy Lescano and George Forsyth, but also the ultra-right Rafael López Aliaga. Julio Guzmán, the candidate of the current ruling party, Partido Morado (Purple Party), are given little chance.
The polling institutes also anticipate deep fragmentation for the congress. Despite the five percent hurdle, up to eleven parties could move into parliament. A potential president would have little backing in the legislature – a circumstance that could exacerbate the political crisis that has been going on for years.
– .
