Invested on Tuesday July 28, the new president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, immediately announced that the military will assume “maintenance of order” in areas affected by gangs, drug trafficking and illegal mining, one of her main promises of firmness.
“In the event of a state of emergency, the armed forces will temporarily assume leadership of security operations and the maintenance of internal order” in order to “return these territories to the citizens,” declared the right-wing leader during her induction speech to Parliament. “I did not come to offer immediate miracles, nor empty promises. I came to offer a method, discipline, perseverance and a clear path,” she added.
A graduate in administration in the United States, former MP, Keiko Fujimori, 51, won the second round of the June 7 presidential election with less than 50,000 votes ahead of her left-wing rival Roberto Sanchez, after losing the three previous second rounds.
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“I swear (…) to faithfully exercise the functions of President of the Republic that the nation has entrusted to me for the period 2026-2031,” had earlier declared the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity committed during his mandate.
After his oath, a group of left-wing parliamentarians who reject his inauguration left the chamber in protest.
Fujimorism, between conservatism and liberalism
His enthronement marks the return of Fujimorismo to power, a populist movement oscillating between conservatism and liberalism, and which divides Peruvians. With it, Peru joins the wave of right-wing governments which is progressing in Latin America, aligned with American President Donald Trump.
Heads of state from the right or of ultraliberal inspiration – the Argentinian libertarian Javier Milei, the Chilean José Antonio Kast, the Bolivian Rodrigo Paz, the Ecuadorian Daniel Noboa – or from the left, such as the Uruguayan Yamandu Orsi, attended the ceremony.
“No government will be able to move Peru forward if it continues to fuel division,” said Keiko Fujimori, saying he wanted “national reconciliation” in a country where the divisive figure of his father divides the country.
“I don’t have confidence in her, but what can we do: half of Peru is divided,” Franklin Gonzáles, a 62-year-old self-employed worker, told AFP on Tuesday in central Lima.
Security crisis in Peru
Keiko Fujimori campaigned by promising to fight crime, with Peru facing its worst security crisis in decades, fueled by the installation of criminal gangs, local and foreign, who engage in extortion and sponsored assassinations.
“It’s going to be a repeat of the father’s policies,” said César Fuentes, an 80-year-old retiree who fears that his strategies against insecurity could lead to abuse.
Coming from a family of Japanese origin, the new Peruvian leader intends to fight crime through the mass expulsion of irregular migrants, the establishment of courts with anonymous judges and the obligation for prisoners to work in exchange for their food.
“I completely agree” with his security proposals, says Nelly Vega, a 68-year-old housewife, who believes she lives “in a country caught in terror”.
In Peru, the number of homicides increased from 1,000 in 2018 to 2,600 in 2025, and complaints of extortion exploded, from 3,200 to 26,500 for the same period. Sociologist David Sulmont believes that “if the government fails to quickly give tangible signs” of combating insecurity, “this could quickly erode its legitimacy and popularity.”
Peru’s ninth president in a decade
Keiko Fujimori is also committed to combating the El Niño climate phenomenon, which this year is expected to be particularly intense and the most devastating since 1998.
His “Fuerza Popular” party, the largest parliamentary group in Parliament without having a majority, is criticized for having supported amnesty laws in favor of members of the police and the army prosecuted for human rights violations during the internal armed conflict of 1980-2000.
A person stands next to photographs of victims of crimes attributed to the Peruvian state, during a vigil in front of the Palace of Justice in Lima, July 27, 2026. © Ernesto Benavides, AFP
Relatives of victims of the repression of demonstrations against the government of Dina Boluarte (2022-2025) also accuse him of protecting the latter in the face of the accusations against her.
“They governed together (…), and have the blood of our loved ones on their hands,” judges Raúl Samillán, whose brother Marco was shot and killed during a demonstration against the government of Dina Boluarte, repressed by the army in 2023.
Keiko Fujimori became the country’s ninth president in a decade, and the second woman to lead the country. She succeeds interim president José Maria Balcazar.
With AFP
