Fujimori and Sánchez close campaigns in Lima before Peru's tight Sunday runoff

Peru's presidential candidates, conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto S nchez, closed their campaigns in Lima on Thursday before thousands of supporters, three days before a runoff that polls suggest will be very close. Fujimori appealed for the unity and reconciliation of Peruvians, while S nchez promised to end the chaos and centered his speech on anti-fujimorismo.

Fujimori, leader of Fuerza Popular, said the country had become trapped in its wounds and stressed the need to build bridges toward dialogue. She said that, if she wins, her government would be technocratic and would complete the full five-year term —an allusion to the instability that has left Peru with eight presidents in a decade. Her platform rests on a hard line against crime —the main public concern— the provision of basic services, the defense of private investment, and central bank independence. At the closing event, held at the Monumental Stadium, she received the endorsement of lvaro Vargas Llosa, son of the Nobel literature laureate.

S nchez, of Juntos por el Per , aimed his message at his rival: The chaos is over, he said, accusing her of embodying the disorder she claims to fight. A former foreign trade minister under ex-President Pedro Castillo —imprisoned after his 2022 self-coup— he has promised throughout the campaign to pardon him. His proposals include purging the National Police, applying civil death to officials convicted of corruption, increasing public investment in education and health, respecting the autonomy of the Central Bank, and promoting the country's industrialization. His rally, on Avenida de La Peruanidad, was marked by Andean symbolism and images of Castillo.