Peru’s new president, Keiko Fujimori, faces governance challenges that may be more complex than those her father Alberto Fujimori confronted, according to a column by Jaime de Althaus.
Alberto Fujimori came to power when Shining Path threatened to seize control of the country and defeated it, de Althaus writes. He also inherited galloping hyperinflation and a collapsed state, then liberalized the economy and rebuilt public institutions. Keiko Fujimori’s obstacles differ: organized crime widely embedded in the social and economic fabric, and a state grown into a heavy machine serving itself rather than citizens, cluttered with regulations that stifle entrepreneurship and deter investment.
The government’s two central priorities, outlined in the inaugural address and a draft request for legislative powers, are deep deregulation supported by artificial intelligence and meritocracy through what the administration calls a great civil service reform. Reducing redundant agencies and digitizing public services are also part of the plan.
De Althaus argues that fixing an overextended state is harder than rebuilding one from collapse, because entrenched networks resist reform by wrapping self-interest in ideological language. A narrative has already spread claiming the government plans mass layoffs and seeks to reduce labor rights, which de Althaus calls untrue and hypocritical.
He also identifies a contradiction in the government’s opening moves. A minimum wage increase, a doubling of the Pensión 65 program and other subsidies clash with a deregulation platform aimed at allowing people to prosper without dependence on state handouts.
To keep the reform on track, a compliance monitoring center will be installed at the presidential palace to track ten priority government goals and remove obstacles.
