Latin America erupts: Peru goes populist

Peru's 2021 presidential election saw disaffected and discontented voters throwing their support behind antisystem outsider Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori. The 2021 election reflects the persistence of trends that have long characterized Peru's political system, most notably the extreme weakness of the country's political parties. To these trends were added a compound crisis comprising political, economic, and public-health dimensions that further increased citizen disaffection, political fragmentation, and the salience of preexisting regional and socioeconomic divides. All this led voters to consider more radical options at the ballot box; a runoff between candidates with dubious democratic credentials that deeply polarized society followed. Amid polarization and unfounded allegations of fraud by Keiko Fujimori's Fuerza Popular, prospects for Peru's democracy look bleak.