Peru Election Profile: López Aliaga Blends Milei Economics With Bukele Security Rhetoric

(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Key Points

- Billionaire Rafael López Aliaga and Keiko Fujimori are locked in a statistical tie atop Peru's 35-candidate presidential field - with López Aliaga at 9–12% and Fujimori at 11–13% depending on the poll - ahead of the April 12 first round

- López Aliaga, a former Citibank executive and Opus Dei member with an estimated $1 billion fortune, has modeled himself on Trump and Milei - promising to slash ministries to six, expel Venezuelan migrants, and privatize state oil company Petroperú

- A third of Peruvian voters remain undecided, making a June runoff between the two right-wing frontrunners virtually certain - whoever wins becomes Peru's tenth president since 2016 and fifth since Pedro Castillo won in 2021

The Peru election on April 12 is shaping up as a contest between two conservative visions in a country where a third of voters still cannot decide whom to support. The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that Rafael López Aliaga - a hotel and railway billionaire who has adopted the nickname "Porky" and styles himself as Peru's answer to Trump and Milei - is in a statistical tie with Keiko Fujimori at the top of a historically fragmented field of 35 candidates.

The latest Ipsos poll (March 26–27) puts Fujimori at 11% and López Aliaga at 9%, while a Datum survey from the same period shows 13% and 11.7% respectively. Comedian Carlos Álvarez has surged to third place at 7% after a strong debate performance. With no candidate near 50%, a June runoff is virtually certain.

Who Is Rafael López Aliaga

The 65-year-old former Lima mayor and Citibank executive built his fortune - estimated above $1 billion - in railways, hotels, and tourism, including the concession to operate the train to Machu Picchu through Belmond, LVMH's luxury hospitality brand. A devout member of the Catholic organization Opus Dei, he has proposed issuing identity cards to unborn babies, introduced himself as celibate, and says he practices self-flagellation.

His policy platform blends Milei-style state-slashing with Bukele-inspired security rhetoric. He wants to reduce ministries from the current number to a maximum of six, cut legislators' salaries, privatize Petroperú, and send criminals to remote Amazonian prisons where "venomous snakes would prevent escape." He has also proposed the death penalty for rapists, extortionists, and corrupt officials, and the expulsion of a significant portion of Peru's 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants.

The Race Tightens After Debates

The March 23–25 presidential debates organized by the National Elections Jury reshuffled the field. López Aliaga, who had peaked at 14.6% in February's CPI poll, has been declining since - falling from 12% to 9% in Ipsos's March tracking. Fujimori has held steadier at 11%, consolidating support in Lima (16%) and the northern regions (16.2%).

The real story may be the undecided bloc. Ipsos found that 21% intend to vote blank, spoiled, or for no one, while another 13% have not decided - a combined 34% that dwarfs the support of any individual candidate. Politologist Eduardo Dargent noted that López Aliaga has "broken away from the stereotype of the Peruvian right-wing candidate" by adopting a rule-breaking, populist style that resonates in a country where contempt for politicians is universal.

What Is at Stake

Whoever wins will become Peru's tenth president since 2016 and inherit one of Latin America's better-performing economies: GDP grew 3.4% in 2025, inflation sits at 2.2%, and the IMF recently praised the country's fiscal framework while pushing for deeper structural reforms. But the new president will also face a notoriously dysfunctional congress - returning to bicameralism for the first time in three decades - and a country where nearly every recent leader has been impeached, jailed, or investigated.

López Aliaga's economic adviser, former Finance Minister Alex Contreras, says the priority would be unleashing "an avalanche of private investment," particularly in infrastructure and mining. Peru remains one of the world's largest producers of copper, silver, and zinc. A López Aliaga victory would extend the recent run of conservative, Washington-aligned electoral results across the region - following Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, and Chile - and add another data point to the rightward shift reshaping Latin American politics.

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