Fujimori, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2009 for the murders of Barrios Altos and La Cantuda, filled out the membership form last Saturday with his eldest daughter, party leader and former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori.
This was recorded in a video he broadcast on his social networks last Wednesday, a week after Fuerza Popular and the left frustrated a ruling that prevented him from nominating people convicted of various crimes, including murder.
Former congressman Miguel Torres, Fuerza Popular’s national undersecretary general and spokesman, told El Comercio that Alberto Fujimori’s candidacy for president or congress “would be unusual,” but it was something for him and his family to analyze. .
“Whether he will be a candidate or not is an issue for him and his family to evaluate. For us, of course it is unusual. “It’s unusual for him to fully rejoin political action, but right now we’re not defining or launching a candidacy,” he said.
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July is the last day for candidates to join political parties.
However, Torres recalled that Fujimori, 85, was suffering from tongue cancer. “First you have to win that battle,” he said.
He said the former president’s link showed “a Fujimorim more united than ever”.
“The party has always had Alberto Fujimori as the epitome of what a president should be in our country.”
Last December, the TC reinstated the humanitarian pardon granted to Fujimori in 2017 by former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. Entourage of the former president claimed that his health was poor.
strategy
Political scientist Catherine Zegarra considered Alberto Fujimori’s association “positive for Fuerza Popular because it reinforces the idea that Fujimoriism is one”.
Zegarra added that Keiko Fujimori “doesn’t have the political capital of his own,” adding that “he doesn’t have public policies or legislative proposals to lead.”
“The votes he got, especially at the beginning of his political career, came from a group of Peruvians who were grateful to the governments of Alberto Fujimori. “He is proud of those governments’ successes, such as economic stability and the fight against terrorism,” he said.
“There is an attempt to unify ‘Kaikism’ and ‘Albertism.’ Is this union of current and historical currents of Fujimoriism going to guarantee his political success? Not clear. Fujimorimism is nothing but one.
Meanwhile, political analyst Enrique Castillo highlighted that Alberto Fujimori is a fundamental part of any furza popular candidacy, whether he is running for public office or not.
“A candidate or not, it’s an important card to boost popular vote numbers and consolidate Fujimorimism, which until recently has had ups and downs due to frequent splits,” he said.
Castillo pointed out that the former president’s affiliation “gives Fujimorim an infusion of unity and hope”; This means that potential Fujimori candidates choose to go to other parties and are disincentivized.
expectation
Political analyst Jose Carlos Requena said in the attached video Alberto Fujimori can be seen recording in front of his daughter, the party’s leader and founder. “Now we will see if a two-person administration is formed or if he or she submits to the leadership of the other,” he said.
Although the former president’s affiliation consolidates Fujimorism’s hard core, it has several limitations in terms of electoral growth, the political analyst said.
Keiko Fujimori has lost three consecutive presidential elections in the second round. First against Ollanda Humala in 2011; second, against Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2016; Third, against Pedro Castillo in 2021.
In all three of those matches, Fujimori was a major factor in opposition defeats.
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According to Castillo, Alberto Fujimori’s connection “creates more polarization in Peru and will cause anti-Fujimoriism to grow.”
“If the opposition to Fujimoriism is declining, if it has been stagnant and not as strong as before, now it will grow. So, on the one hand it is winning in expectations, unity and hope, but on the other hand it is failing because it is uniting the anti-Bujimoriist forces as well,” he said.
It “takes back political power” from Keiko.
Meanwhile, political scientist Mauricio Zavaleta opined that Alberto Fujimori’s involvement undermined his daughter’s political power in Fursa Popular.
“You have a party that doesn’t know who the natural leader is. Keiko Fujimori’s leadership is diminished by the presence of a father in any role,” he said.
Zavaleta acknowledged that the announcement strengthens relations with Fujimori’s most loyal followers. “But if you look at the whole picture, if you look at the forest, it emphasizes the problem that Fujimorimism has, which makes it very difficult to win a second round. Alberto’s own presence will strengthen the opposition to Fujimorimism. Basically any type of candidate, like Pedro Castillo, no matter how inexperienced or unfit for the presidency, can win.
Are you legally barred from applying?
Constitutional lawyer Alejandro Rospigliosi and electoral law expert Jose Naubari agreed that Fujimori could not run for president or congress if he did not comply with his civil indemnity amounting to S/57 million.
“Alberto Fujimori is barred from running in the 2026 elections because of his civil compensation debt to the Peruvian state. If you want to apply, you have to pay it in full. It is in the Organic Law of Elections, Article 107, h,” Rospigliosi said.
Meanwhile, Naupari added that, in his opinion, the pardon does not exempt Alberto Fujimori from the motion ban because the conviction is still valid. In the former president’s case, the 25-year sentence was completed in 2032.
However, he added, “there are elements that lend uncertainty to his situation” because the pardon could be interpreted as an unregulated assumption.
Given:
Alberto Fujimori faces a trial for the 1992 murders of six people in Batavilca, (Lima). In this case, he was directly accused of the crime of culpable homicide. and seeks a 25-year prison sentence.
