Felipe VI and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, as well as eight presidents from various South American states, will be present this Tuesday, July 28, at the inauguration ceremony of Peru’s elected president, Keiko Fujimori. The conservative candidate, the eldest daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, was proclaimed the winner of the presidential elections in the Andean country after a vote recount that stretched for weeks and ended with a narrow margin in her favor.
Following the official announcement of her victory over the leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez, Fujimori thanked voters for their support and stated that Peru was entering a “new chapter.” The leader of the Fuerza Popular party pledged to lead the transition with “responsibility, humility and a deep sense of duty.”
At 51 years old, Keiko Fujimori will become the ninth head of government of Peru in just a decade, taking office after a prolonged period of political instability often linked to her father’s presidency. He was overthrown in 2000 and subsequently convicted of corruption, embezzlement and human rights violations. His legacy remains a source of deep division in the country following a controversial pardon granted in 2023.
The political life of Keiko Fujimori
Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi was born in Lima as the eldest daughter of Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi, both descendants of Japanese immigrants. Her life changed completely when, at 16, her father, a university professor, unexpectedly won the presidency of Peru over the writer and Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa. After moving to the United States to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, at 19 she made her debut as the first lady of Peru.
Alberto Fujimori y Susana Higuchi, con sus cuatro hijos.
Dressed in black, the young woman appeared shy and nervous in front of the cameras, arm in arm with her father, at the first Summit of the Americas organized by U.S. President Bill Clinton. Keiko had assumed office after her mother separated from her father after publicly denouncing corruption in his government. This event marked the beginning of the young Keiko’s political career.
The heir to Fujimorismo became a deputy in 2000, founded the Fuerza Popular party, and spent almost a year and a half in prison while being investigated for corruption and for allegedly receiving money from a construction company to fund her presidential campaigns. An accusation she has denied on several occasions. “I know that throughout my political life I have made mistakes. I have learned from them, but I have also come back stronger,” she said in her last presidential debate.
Personal life and the legacy of her father
In 2002, Keiko Fujimori traveled to New York to study at Columbia University. There she met American businessman Mark Vito Villanella, whom she married in 2004 in a wedding held in Lima. The couple has two daughters: Kyara and Kaori, who are 18 and 16 years old. Of conservative values and firm Catholic convictions, she took the reins of Fujimorismo after her father’s arrest.
Keiko Fujimori, with her daughter Kyara.
It was then that she clashed with Kenji, the youngest of her three brothers, due to his struggle for party control and his opposing strategies to secure her father’s release. Keiko also had a complicated relationship with her mother. After many years apart, they eventually reconciled in 2004 and Susana Higuchi actively supported her in her subsequent electoral campaigns.
The complex legacy of Alberto Fujimori, who held the presidency from 1990 to 2000, has divided Peru for decades. His government pulled the country back from the brink of economic collapse and defeated terrorist groups such as Sendero Luminoso. But at the same time, his regime was marred by accusations of human rights violations and corruption. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ultimately died in 2024 after several legal battles and controversy over granting him a pardon due to his health.
