Peru: Meet the Candidates 2026
Rising crime rates and protracted political instability top voter concerns ahead of the April 12 first-round vote. All seats in Congress are also up for election.
Peru’s long-running political turmoil continued in February, as Congress removed José Jerí from the presidency for failing to disclose meetings with Chinese businessmen. Jerí had been president for just four months, and the legislature replaced him with José María Balcázar, an 83-year-old former judge and member of the leftist Perú Libre party. This instability, which has already brought Peru nine presidents in 10 years, as well as a rise in violent crime are top of mind for voters as the April general elections near. The country’s homicide rate has doubled since 2019, and...
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