Keiko Fujimori Launches 4th Presidential Run After Legal Win

Keiko Fujimori, the woman who has come heartbreakingly close to Peru’s presidency three times, announced Thursday that she’s running again in 2026. At 50, the leader of the conservative Fuerza Popular party stood before cheering supporters in Lima and promised to fix a country struggling with poverty, crime, and broken trust in government.

Just days earlier, Peru’s highest court threw out a money-laundering case that had followed her for years. Prosecutors said she took illegal campaign money from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht back in 2011. Now, with that cloud lifted, Fujimori can campaign freely.

She’s no stranger to the campaign trail. In 2011, she lost to Ollanta Humala. In 2016, she fell short by just 41,000 votes to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. And in 2021, she lost by a razor-thin margin—less than 50,000 votes—to leftist Pedro Castillo. Each defeat stung, but Fujimori kept coming back.

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Her father, Alberto Fujimori, ruled Peru in the 1990s. He crushed hyperinflation and defeated the Shining Path guerrillas, moves many still praise. But he also jailed opponents, shut down Congress, and was later convicted of corruption and human rights abuses. Keiko has spent years trying to honor the good parts of his legacy while distancing herself from the dark ones.

Today, Peru is tired. President Dina Boluarte, who took over after Castillo was removed in 2022, has approval ratings below 10%. People are angry about job losses, rising prices, and street violence. Fujimori says she’ll bring back stability, create jobs, and fight corruption—starting with her own party.

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Not everyone is cheering. Human rights groups fear a return to the authoritarian past. “We can’t go backward,” said one protester outside the rally. But inside, supporters waved orange flags and shouted her name.