Keiko Fujimori becomes Peru’s president, cementing South America’s rightward shift
The daughter of former strongman Alberto Fujimori took office on Tuesday in Lima, drawing conservative leaders from across the region and Spain.
Keiko Fujimori, 51, was inaugurated as Peru’s president on 28 July, completing a path from first lady at 19 to three-time failed candidate to head of state. Her swearing-in, attended by Argentina’s Javier Milei, Chile’s José Antonio Kast, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa and Spain’s King Felipe VI, accelerates a continental alignment of right-leaning governments that will extend to Colombia when Abelardo de la Espriella replaces Gustavo Petro on 7 August.
In her first address as president-elect, Fujimori said the new chapter would be defined by reconciliation and growth.
This new stage will be marked by progress, peace and re-encounter among Peruvians.
The daughter of Alberto Kenya Fujimori, who governed Peru with an iron hand and later fled to Japan amid corruption scandals, Keiko entered politics in 1994 when her parents’ bitter divorce made her first lady. She held that role until her father’s resignation in 2000, later serving in Congress from 2006 to 2011 as a member of Fuerza Popular. Since 2022 she wielded significant power through her congressional bloc, allied with several parties, before finally winning the presidency on her fourth consecutive attempt.
