LatAm in Focus: Alfredo Thorne on What Lies ahead for a Keiko Fujimori Presidency

Fujimori will also have to work with a multiparty, bicameral Congress that will include a restored Senate for the first time in three decades. The fact that no party holds a majority means she will need to reach across party lines to accomplish her legislative agenda. For Thorne, that means “the true embryo of democracy is in that Congress.”  

Still, while Latin American electoral trends have drawn attention to the region’s left-right divide, a moderate named Jorge Nieto could end up being a major political powerbroker in Congress, where his party will occupy 25 seats across both houses. After finishing fourth in the first round, Nieto refused to endorse either Fujimori or Sánchez, a choice Thorne says now proves useful: “He’s a very shrewd politician [and] is going to, in the end, tilt the balance in one direction or the other.” 

On the trade front, the former World Bank senior economist predicts that Fujimori’s administration is unlikely to break from Beijing even as it seeks to “keep fluid relations with Washington.” As for the crucially steadying role of Peru’s Central Bank, Thorne remains confident in its institutional strength, even with the potential departure of its widely lauded chief, Julio Velarde.

Our guest

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Alfredo Thorne is the founder and principal director of Thorne & Associates, a financial advisory firm. He previously served as finance and economy minister of Peru (2016–2017) and worked as a senior economist at the World Bank. One of Latin America’s top economists, he also held managerial positions at JP Morgan and Mexico’s Banorte-Ixe Financial Group.  

Thorne holds a DPhil in Economics from Oxford University, an MPhil in economic development from Cambridge University, and BA in economics from the Catholic University of Peru. 

This episode was produced by Executive Producer Luisa Leme and Associate Producer Khalea Robertson. Carin Zissis is your host. Article text by Khalea Robertson.

See AS/COA Online’s ongoing coverage of Peru’s 2026 election. And bookmark our election guide to keep up with all the key races this year in Latin America: https://www.as-coa.org/2026 

Plus, read more of Alfredo Thorne’s analysis on Peru’s politics and economy in Americas Quarterly.

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