Read the full essay here.
The April 2016 Peruvian election saw the triumph of former finance minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK) in the close runoff against Keiko Fujimori, daughter of authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000). This election raises interesting questions for students of democracy that we aim to answer in this article: What explains the strength and endurance of fujimorismo sixteen years after the collapse of this competitive authoritarian regime? Why did so many Peruvians support the daughter of a former dictator? Who makes up the anti-fujimorista coalition? Finally, given the fujimorista majority in Congress, how will Peru be governed in the upcoming term?