Peru holds presidential election amid a decade of political tumult

Congress versus the presidencyExperts like Tuesta argue that the last decade of political instability has all but rendered Peru's executive branch a secondary power.By contrast, its unicameral Congress has expanded its might, though its members are largely unpopular among Peruvians.Part of its influence comes from its impeachment powers. Peru's Congress can remove presidents for "moral incapacity", a catch-all term that has been used to denounce anything from undisclosed meetings to security crises.Paulo Vilca, a researcher at the Institute of Peruvian Studies, explained that the shifting power dynamics have made it difficult for presidents to remain in office."In the past, we used to elect presidents for five years. Now, what's more likely is that they will not last five years," said Vilca.But Peru's unicameral Congress will come to an end this year. On Sunday, Peruvians will vote for a second congressional chamber, a Senate, for the first time since 1990.Vilca argues that the congressional election may be even more important than this year's presidential race. But it will also likely deepen Peru's ongoing political crisis, he added.He predicts that Congress's chambers will soon be in conflict with each other, as well as with the president, in a three-way battle for power."It is very likely that those who are elected deputies, for example, will not be very satisfied with having a subordinate position in front of the Senate," Vilca said. "So we're going to move from a crisis of two to a crisis of three."Pedestrians in Cuzco, Peru, pass campaign signs on April 8 [Martin Mejia/AP Photo]The Senate was eliminated in 1992 by the late President Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori's father, after he dissolved Peru's bicameral Congress and implemented military rule.The younger Fujimori has sought to build on her father's legacy, and her right-wing party, Fuerza Popular, has become a deciding force in the unicameral legislature.Keiko Fujimori even pledged to use her party's power to "govern from Congress" after her defeat in the 2016 presidential race.Since then, analysts have argued that Fuerza Popular has led efforts to change governmental processes to maintain or expand its power, even at the expense of democratic participation.One change that it championed and passed in 2025 requires parties to earn at least 5 percent of the overall vote and a minimum of seven seats in the lower chamber to maintain their official political registration. For the Senate, parties must get at least three seats and 5 percent of votes.Critics have said the measure creates a nearly insurmountable threshold."This whole system has been designed by the parties that are currently in Congress. And in particular, the one that has controlled the Constitutional Committee all these years has been Fuerza Popular," said Vilca."I think the purpose of designing this whole model has been to maintain a status quo, which the Fujimori wing has also created in the last five years."Vilca is not optimistic that a new Senate will resolve the erosion of power away from the presidency. If anything, he anticipates more conflicts to come."My most likely scenario is that the crisis continues," he said, "that whoever is elected president will enter into confrontation with the Senate".