In May 2021, the Progressive International dispatched a delegation of electoral observers to Lima as leading political figures threatened military intervention in the presidential election on 6 June.
The presidential election arrived during one of the tumultuous years since the end of Peru's guerra interna. In 2020, massive protests erupted across the country against the removal of former president Martín Vizcarra and widespread distrust of the political system. In an uprising that rocked the nation and shocked the world, the presidency changed hands three times in only one week.
Over the course of 2021, the people of Peru prepared for a vote to write a new chapter in their country's history. From peasant organizations in the countryside to student movements in cities, Peruvians protested in the streets to bury the legacy of the Fujimori dictatorship with a new constitution for Peru, inspired by the experience of their next-door neighbors in Chile.
But powerful forces were organizing against them. In May, Peruvian elites openly contemplated the potential for a military coup to prevent progressive reforms. In parallel, the far-right called for the death of leading presidential candidate Pedro Castillo, and outright bans on parties that threaten the status quo from the left.
That is why the Progressive International dispatched an observer delegation to Peru: to resist these efforts and intimidation and to stand with the people of Peru in their pursuit of popular sovereignty.
Convening progressive forces from across the Americas — including parliamentarians from Ecuador and Chile, trade union leaders from Argentina, and independent analysts from the United States — the PI answered the urgent calls of all Peruvians warning of grave threats to the democratic process.
These threats came to life in the aftermath of the run-off election, when candidate Keiko Fujimori launched a judicial coup attempt to oust President Pedro Castillo from power using false claims of electoral fraud.
Our delegation and our analysts were clear: "We see no evidence of systemic fraud in the course of the 2021 Peruvian presidential elections."
The PI delegation fought this disinformation both within Peru and around the world at this most pivotal moment. After the attention of the world had moved on from an apparent mathematically unassailable victory, Fujimori and her allies used baseless claims of fraud and unprecedented legal maneuvering to attempt to provoke a constitutional crisis and to halt the certification of the vote altogether.
Marshaling international pressure and scrutinizing the process long after others had moved on, the PI worked to make sure they did not succeed. Alongside the mass mobilizations of the Peruvian people, we helped thwart Fujimori's last-ditch coup attempt, and protected the constitutional right to free and fair elections.