Keiko Fujimori supporters in Peru look to her crime plans

Supporters of Peruvian president-elect Keiko Fujimori in neighborhoods named after her family say they are looking to her to respond quickly to crime, especially extortion.

Conservative Fujimori won the presidential runoff by about 50,000 votes and has promised to address a crime wave in Peru. Recorded extortion cases have risen sharply in recent years, and the source describes Peru as facing its worst security crisis in decades, fueled by local and foreign criminal gangs involved in contract killings and extortion.

Roxana Quispe, a 42-year-old baker in the port city of Callao near Lima, said she has received multiple threats from extortionists by phone. She said she hopes Fujimori visits the area and sees local needs, adding that she has faith in the president-elect.

Quispe lives in a part of the Ventanilla neighborhood named after Fujimori, who was first lady during the 1990s government of her father, Alberto Fujimori. The former president was later jailed for corruption and crimes against humanity committed in the name of fighting what he considered terrorism.

In Quispe's neighborhood, the pharmacy, soccer pitch and community kitchen also carry the Fujimori name. The area began as an illegal settlement in 1996, but about 100 settler families later gained legitimacy when then-president Alberto Fujimori granted them property titles. Cesar Garcia, a 52-year-old original settler and Fujimori supporter, said residents named the area for Fujimori as a way to show gratitude.

Most locals openly support Keiko Fujimori, though some are doubtful. Luzmari Anaya, a 36-year-old food vendor, said she does not think Fujimori will fulfill all of her promises.

In Carabayllo, a hilltop Lima community about 20 kilometers away, another neighborhood with the Fujimori name has similar origins and similar support. Elsa Lorena, a 48-year-old community kitchen coordinator, said residents used to live on abandoned land without electricity and bought water from tank trucks. She said they now have streets thanks to Alberto Fujimori.

Arturo Maldonado, a political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, said these urban-marginal sectors will support the Fujimori name as long as land titles, public works and infrastructure remain possible. He said Keiko Fujimori is likely to act in a way similar to her father by making gestures aimed at an audience.

The Fujimori name remains divisive elsewhere in Peru, and the source says her father's reputation contributed to Keiko Fujimori's three previous election defeats. On her fourth attempt, she reached power amid public concern about rising crime.

The number of homicides in Peru rose to 2,600 last year from 1,000 in 2018. Reports of extortion increased to 26,500 from 3,200 over the same period.

Fujimori has proposed fighting crime by expelling undocumented people, creating courts with anonymous judges, and making prisoners work for their food. She told reporters on Wednesday that people are asking for order and security, and that this would be her first task next week.

Fujimori, 51, is due to take office on July 28 and will become Peru's ninth leader in a decade. Herbert Pagan, a 63-year-old security guard from Ventanilla, said he hopes that, after many governments that disappointed people, she keeps her promises.