Peru’s Photo-Finish Election

Latin America Brief A one-stop weekly digest of politics, economics, technology, and culture in Latin America. The presidential race could hinge on just a few thousand votes. Osborn-Catherine-foreign-policy-columnist15 Catherine Osborn , the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly Latin America Brief. A resident casts her vote during the presidential election runoff at a polling station in Cusco, Peru. A resident casts her vote during the presidential election runoff at a polling station in Cusco, Peru, on June 7. Jose Angulo/AFP via June 11, 2026, PM Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief. The highlights this week: Peru awaits results for its presidential election, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez visits India and Turkey, and the World Cup kicks off in Mexico City. Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief. The highlights this week: Peru awaits results for its presidential election, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez visits India and Turkey, and the World Cup kicks off in Mexico City. Peru Awaits Election Results Peru’s presidential runoff on June 7 was so close—and vote counting so slow—that it could be weeks before the results are fully confirmed. As of Thursday afternoon local time, with 98.2 percent of ballots counted, fewer than 1,000 votes separated right-wing Keiko Fujimori from her left-wing opponent, Roberto Sánchez. Both candidates are former lawmakers, but while Fujimori rose to national prominence —former President Alberto Fujimori—Sánchez hails from the party of former President Pedro Castillo, elected in 2021. Fujimori centered her campaign on law and order, while Sánchez’s focused more on addressing economic inequality. The down-to-the-wire vote has put Peruvians on edge, wondering not only whom their president will be but also whether the winner can govern effectively in a country that has forced out six of its nine leaders in a decade. Whether the losing candidate accepts the result will offer an early indication of how combative Peru’s opposition will be under a new administration. By Thursday, both campaigns had alleged some ballot irregularities and called for investigation. On Wednesday, Peruvian analysts noted that the remaining uncounted votes appeared to favor Fujimori. Though overseas votes are also breaking heavily for Fujimori, those cast within Peru seem to favor Sánchez. If Fujimori wins, Peru will become the latest Latin American country to swing to the right in a presidential election. But unlike the decisive victory of Javier Milei in Argentina, for example, Fujimori’s success would reflect a deeply divided electorate.