Keiko Fujimori sworn in as Peru president after narrow election win

Keiko Fujimori has been sworn in as Peru's president after a narrow runoff victory in an election shaped by public anger over rising crime and years of political instability. She took the oath before Congress in Lima on Tuesday, marking a major shift in the country's leadership. Her inauguration comes after she defeated left-wing rival Roberto Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes in June's second round.

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During the ceremony, Fujimori pledged to carry out the duties of president of the republic. Her campaign centred on law and order, with a promise to confront what she described as a severe security crisis. She has said she will pursue an "iron fist" approach to crime, including tougher measures against extortion and contract killings.

The new president enters office with her party, Fuerza Popular, as the largest bloc in Congress. Together with its main right-wing ally, it will hold half the seats in the newly installed Senate, which may make it harder for her to be removed from office. Even so, right-wing parties still fall short of the majority needed to pass her full agenda, leaving her dependent on negotiations in a fragmented legislature.

Her victory is significant because it comes amid Peru's worst security crisis in decades. The rise in extortion and contract killings has been linked in the report to the spread of local and foreign criminal gangs. Fujimori has proposed a series of hardline measures, including a mega-prison modelled on El Salvador's Cecot facility, anonymous judges for criminal trials, deportations of undocumented migrants and requiring prisoners to work for their food.

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The inauguration also returns one of Peru's most divisive political dynasties to the centre of power. Fujimori is the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who ruled in the 1990s and remains a polarising figure in the country's politics. Supporters credit him with defeating the Shining Path insurgency and bringing hyperinflation under control, while critics point to his later conviction for corruption and crimes against humanity.

What remains unclear is how far Fujimori will be able to turn her campaign promises into policy in a Congress where she does not command a full majority. It is also not yet clear how her hardline security agenda will be received by voters who backed her for stability but remain wary of authoritarian methods. The coming weeks are likely to show whether her government can build enough support to act on crime, migration and prison reform.

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