\n Polls opened in Peru's presidential runoff Sunday, with crime and political instability dominating a race to choose the country's ninth leader in a decade.\n<\/p>\n
\n Pre-election surveys showed a tight race between conservative four-time presidential hopeful Keiko Fujimori and leftist ex-minister Roberto Sanchez.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sanchez, a psychologist, surged late in the race to reach the runoff, thanks to strong support in rural areas.\n<\/p>\n
\n From the Andes to the Amazon, around 27 million Peruvians can cast ballots to choose a president for a five-year term.\n<\/p>\n
\n The first round was marred by logistical problems and a vote count that took weeks to complete, deepening distrust in Peru's creaking institutions.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I hope the entire process is carried out transparently, that the people's vote is respected\" early voter Evelyn Pazos, 43, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n On the eve of the election, a judge said Sanchez must stand trial over past financial irregularities in his party, raising claims of interference.\n<\/p>\n
\n If he wins, he would have presidential immunity, though remain vulnerable to the country's right-leaning legislature -- which has ousted several recent presidents.\n<\/p>\n
\n Fujimori, 51, appeals to the mixed legacy of her late father, who stabilized the economy and defeated a Maoist insurgency, but was convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity.\n<\/p>\n
\n She is hoping to ride a surge of support for right-wing US-backed politicians across Latin America who have won recent elections in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and beyond.\n<\/p>\n
\n She has promised to militarize prisons and expel some migrants with the \"same force\" used by her father against insurgents in the 1990s.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"There is a lot of disorder and corruption, and we're going to vote, as always, for the 'lesser evil',\" Hugo Vasquez, a 67-year-old crafts seller in Lima, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sanchez, a 57-year-old congressman draws on the rural background of his mentor, former president Pedro Castillo, a schoolteacher jailed after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress in 2022.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Communism' or 'dictatorship' -\n<\/p>\n
\n He has moderated early calls for \"radical change\" and distanced himself from ultranationalists.\n<\/p>\n
\n He told AFP he wants a \"respectful\" relationship with US President Donald Trump.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sanchez, who always wears the broad-brimmed palm straw hat gifted to him by Castillo -- whom he plans to pardon -- accuses his rival of being part of a \"dictatorship\" led by the powerful Congress that counts several former presidents among its members.\n<\/p>\n
\n Neither Sanchez nor Fujimori has a legislative majority. Whoever wins must build alliances to complete their term, according to analyst Jeffrey Radzinsky.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Whoever wins will face questions of legitimacy if the result is close. That means more instability\" said analyst David Sulmont.\n<\/p>\n
\n The winner will replace interim president Jose Maria Balcazar from July 28.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite political disillusionment, Peruvians' main concern is security, as criminal gangs spread and extortion complaints spiked ninefold in five years.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"They kill, dismember, demand protection money. Enough!\" said 58-year-old taxi driver Roberto Lovaton.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sanchez proposes tackling corruption in the police and judiciary, which he says are complicit with criminal networks.\n<\/p>\n
\n The winner will inherit a stable economy, with GDP growth of over three percent and low inflation.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, seven out of 10 workers are in the informal economy.\n<\/p>\n
\n Fujimori supports neoliberal policies, property rights and attracting US investment.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sanchez has promised wage increases and sought to reassure investors by pledging to maintain an open economy and central bank independence, key to economic stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Polls opened in Peru's presidential runoff Sunday, with crime and political instability dominating a race to choose the country's ninth leader in a decade. Pre-election surveys showed a tight race between conservative four-time presidential hopeful Keiko Fujimori and leftist ex-minister Roberto Sanchez. Sanchez, a psychologist, surged late in the race to reach the runoff, thanks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-160137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n