Keiko Fujimori became president of Peru on July 28, 2026. She took the oath of office in a formal ceremony in Congress at 10:00 a.m. local time and will serve a five-year term, through 2031. She is a 51-year-old conservative leader who won a run-off election in June by just 49,641 votes, beating left-wing rival Roberto Sanchez of Juntos por el Perú. Al Jazeera reported that Fujimori's party, Fuerza Popular, received 9,223,396 votes compared to 9,173,755 for her opponent. That thin margin means she starts her term with a weak mandate, the political equivalent of winning a race by a photo finish.

Fujimori tried and lost three previous presidential campaigns before winning in 2026. Her party now holds the largest single group in Peru's Congress. Together with its main right-wing ally, it controls half the seats in the newly created Peruvian Senate. But that is still not enough to pass laws on its own. Fujimori will need support from centrist or independent lawmakers to get her agenda through, making deal-building a constant part of her term.

On July 27, the day before the inauguration, Fujimori named her Economy Minister, Foreign Minister, and Prime Minister, according to Reuters. She wanted a working team in place the moment she took office. In her oath before Congress, she swore to "defend democracy and the independence of powers," as reported by TV Perú. The "independence of powers" means keeping the presidency, Congress, and courts separate so no single branch becomes too strong.

Fujimori's campaign focused heavily on law and order. She promised an "iron fist" (mano dura) approach to crime. Her specific plans included building a massive prison modeled on El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), using anonymous judges to try criminal cases, deporting undocumented migrants, and making prisoners work for their food. Civil liberties groups raised concerns about each proposal. Critics worry the crime crackdown could chip away at basic rights in Peru, a country already shaken by recent political instability and social unrest.

Fujimori's political identity is tied closely to her family's history. She entered public life at age 19, when her father, Alberto Fujimori, asked her to serve as first lady after a public split with her mother. Alberto Fujimori ruled Peru in the 1990s and was later convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity, serving 16 years in prison. That record follows his daughter's presidency in two opposite directions: it fires up supporters who credit Alberto with defeating the Shining Path (a violent guerrilla group) and saving a collapsing economy, while it fuels opponents who see the family name as a warning sign for authoritarian rule.

On the eve of the inauguration, relatives of victims of state violence gathered in Lima to reject the incoming government. Opposition groups pressed the new administration on two fronts: they urged Fujimori to reverse recent laws they say weakened the fight against organized crime, and they called for reopening investigations into the deaths of dozens of protesters during 2022 demonstrations. A retiree named Cesar Fuentes captured the divided public mood in remarks to AFP, telling the news agency that Fujimori "is going to be a replica of her father."

The broader context here is one of fragile institutions meeting an ambitious agenda held back by narrow numbers. Fujimori won fewer votes than her father's legacy might suggest was possible. Her coalition is the largest in Congress but cannot govern alone. Her security plans, especially the Cecot-style prison and anonymous judges, are directly inspired by El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, whose policies have sharply cut homicides but drawn sustained criticism from international human rights groups. Whether Peru's democracy can handle that model without the erosion critics fear is the central question of Fujimori's early presidency.

The contrast between her oath to "defend democracy and the independence of powers" and an agenda critics call authoritarian in spirit is not lost on observers. Congress, where right-wing parties have significant but incomplete leverage, will serve as both a stage for Fujimori's legislative program and a possible check on its furthest-reaching elements. The 2022 protest investigations that opposition groups want reopened involve a period of deep political crisis in Peru, and any executive action on that front will be watched for signs of either genuine accountability or cover-up.

Fujimori was scheduled to deliver her formal message to Congress during the ceremony, with the official program placing her arrival at the legislature at approximately 12:15 p.m. on July 28, according to TV Perú. The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE), Peru's national electoral authority, formally declared Fujimori Higuchi as president-elect before the ceremony, per an official JNE announcement.

The presidency she now holds comes with a five-year term and a country under competing pressures: strong public demand for security, a legislature that can cooperate or resist in unpredictable ways, and an opposition already organized around demands for accountability tied to the recent past. How Fujimori manages the gap between her coalition's numbers and her agenda's ambition will shape not only her own term but Peru's broader path toward either stronger democracy or democratic decline.