Center-right economist narrowly ahead in Peru election

Economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski had a razor-thin lead over the daughter of an imprisoned former president in Peru’s presidential election, as Peruvians nervously awaited results still trickling in from remote parts of the Andean nation.

With nearly 93 percent of polling stations counted Monday morning, the 77-year-old Kuczynski had 50.3 percent of the votes compared to 49.7 percent for his rival Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of jailed former strongman Alberto Fujimori….

... she’s vowed to bring back the “iron hand” style of government for which many still revere the elder Fujimori, who is credited with taming Maoist Shining Path rebels as well as the country’s hyperinflation. Instead of rebels, Keiko Fujimori promised to wield an iron fist against crime, a top voter concern. Among her proposals: build jails in high-altitude prisons in the Andes to punish and isolate dangerous criminals.

She also tried to cast her rival, the son of a Jewish-Polish immigrant who is married to an American and spent decades in business outside Peru, as part of the white elite establishment that has traditionally overlooked the needs of the poor.

Regardless of who wins, Keiko Fujimori has already reshaped Peru’s political landscape….

Read the full article here.