The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has sent his congratulations and good wishes this Friday to the newly proclaimed president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, after the National Elections Jury (JNE) officially confirmed her victory over candidate Roberto Sánchez in the second round held on June 21. With this result, Fujimori becomes the ninth person to assume the head of the Peruvian state in just ten years.
"I congratulate the president-elect Keiko Fujimori on her victory in the Peruvian presidential elections. I wish her much success in the exercise of her mandate and in the important task of uniting the Peruvian people around a common development project," expressed the Brazilian leader, who until now had avoided publicly commenting on the presidential process in the neighboring country.
Lula also reiterated his willingness to "advance an ambitious bilateral agenda" with Peru, which he described as a "brother" country with which Brazil shares not only an extensive border but also "deep human ties."
"Count on Brazil for us to build together a more prosperous, integrated, democratic, and sovereign South America," added the Brazilian head of state, who mentioned as priority areas for this future joint cooperation the expansion of trade and investments, the integration of logistical and digital infrastructures, the fight against hunger and poverty, the protection of the Amazon, and the fight against transnational organized crime.
Lula's statements were released hours after the president of the JNE emphasized that Fujimori's proclamation "is born from the sovereign will of millions of Peruvians who, through suffrage, have freely decided who will lead the destiny of the Republic during the next constitutional period."
The electoral body also highlighted that these elections have "represented one of the greatest democratic, organizational, and institutional challenges" in the recent history of the Andean country. "35 presidential tickets participated, and the development of two electoral days that demanded the permanent commitment of electoral institutions (...) and thousands of people who, from different responsibilities, worked with a common purpose: to guarantee respect for the will expressed by citizens at the polls," they pointed out.
Fujimori finally reaches the Presidency after having run unsuccessfully on three previous occasions —2011, 2016, and 2021—, in which she always finished in second place. On this occasion, she managed to win by a narrow margin of 49,641 votes, which represents a difference of just 0.27%. The conservative leader responded to her proclamation with a message on social media, in which she expressed her "deep gratitude" for the "trust" of her voters.