Lima, Peru – In 1994, Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori offered his daughter Keiko an important job. She was 19, her parents were divorcing, and the country was still shocked by her mother’s accusation that her father had ordered secret agents to torture her.
It was at that juncture that she faced a question: Would Keiko be her father’s new first lady?
She accepted, and Keiko Fujimori has been making headlines ever since.
Over the past three decades, Peru has watched as she has grown from the bubbly teenager who once painted the presidential palace pink into a formidable opposition leader who commands the country’s most powerful party.
She has been a rare constant in Peru’s topsy-turvy politics, helping to topple one foe after another while installing allies in key government roles, from the attorney general’s office to the ombudsman.
Winning the presidency, however, has proven more elusive. Despite running for the top job in the previous three elections, Keiko has lost in run-offs to lesser-known candidates each time.
Her critics joke she is so unpopular that she would lose if her rival were a loaf of paneton, an Italian-style sweet bread consumed at Christmas.
This year, however, she appears well positioned to finally secure a win in Sunday’s run-off election. Her performance was better than expected in the first round of voting on April 12, and polls for most of the race gave her a lead over her leftist rival, Roberto Sanchez.
But as Sanchez moderated his platform in the last week of campaigning, her lead disappeared, according to a poll on Thursday from the research firm Ipsos.
With the two still neck and neck, Sunday’s presidential election could go either way.
“Keiko, Keiko, aways Keiko,” said Eduardo Salazar, 35, a hospital worker in Lima, as he reflected on her serial appearances in Peru’s presidential races.
Ever since Salazar was old enough to vote, Keiko has been on the ballot. And each time, he said, he has voted for her opponent.
This year, however, Salazar said he was still unsure which candidate was “the lesser evil”, the criteria by which many disaffected Peruvians make up their minds.
“I think her father, while he did some good things, was bad for the country overall, and I think she wants to be like her father. But I almost want to vote for her this time so she stops trying,” he said.
“Because she’s not going to let the country move forward without her.”