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Fujimori sworn in
Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru’s president on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after winning the June presidential runoff by a margin of fewer than 50,000 votes over left-wing rival Roberto Sanchez.
“King Felipe VI met on Monday with Peru's elected president, Keiko Fujimori, on the day before the presidential inauguration scheduled for Tuesday, and they pledged to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries”
At the inauguration in Lima, opposition lawmakers held photos of people killed during protests following the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo outside Congress.
Fujimori, who becomes Peru’s ninth president in a decade, told Congress during her inauguration ceremony, "I swear … that I will faithfully carry out the duties of president of the republic."
The swearing-in also came as Fujimori’s Popular Force party and its main right-wing ally, Popular Renovation, were set to hold half the senate seats once the new legislature is installed, making it harder for opposing legislators to attempt to remove her as president.
Security promises, protests
Fujimori’s campaign centered on law and order as Peru faces its worst security crisis in decades, with extortion and contract killings driven by the spread of local and foreign criminal gangs.
She pledged to tackle crime with an "iron fist," proposing measures including a mega-prison modelled on El Salvador’s Cecot facility and anonymous judges for criminal trials.
Opposition leaders and relatives of victims of state violence gathered in Lima to reject her incoming government, demanding justice for abuses committed under her father’s administration.
A retiree named Cesar Fuentes told AFP, "She is going to be a replica of her father," as critics accused Fuerza Popular of contributing to years of political instability through its influence in Congress.
What’s at stake next
Fujimori’s incoming government faces pressure to reverse laws approved by Peru’s last legislature that critics say weaken efforts to fight organized crime, including eliminating preventive arrests and stopping prosecutors from processing political parties involved in corruption under the same statutes as criminal groups.
“How Keiko compares to her father and what it means for a Fujimori to return to govern Peru Keiko Fujimori's swearing-in as president of Peru marks the return to the pinnacle of power of a surname that defined an era, still divides the country and retains supporters despite being tied to grave abuses”
Opposition leaders are also asking the incoming government to create a commission to investigate the deaths of 50 civilians during anti-government protests in late 2022 and early 2023 following the removal of former President Pedro Castillo.
Beyond domestic security, DW reported Fujimori’s swearing-in marked a return of a political movement out of power for more than a quarter century, as Peru becomes a battleground in competition between the United States and China for political influence in South America.
DW quoted political science expert Eliana Carlin saying, "Behind [these measures] lie strong ideological positions intended to justify making the police and the armed forces solely subject to military jurisdiction," linking Fujimori’s security plans to human-rights concerns.
