PERU · POWER
Key Facts
- —The country Peru: 34.2 million people, the world’s third-largest copper miner (2025).
- —Who governs Keiko Fujimori, president since 28 July 2026; her party is Congress’s largest.
- —What happened Fujimori launched a military-police Unified Command against crime on 7 October 2026.
- —The capital Lima Metropolitana has 29.7% of Peruvians and elects 32 of 130 deputies.
- —The money The Romero family owns 12.29% of Credicorp, parent of top bank BCP.
Peru’s levers of power sit with a conservative president, a divided Congress, a few Lima business families and the armed forces.
Peru power is concentrated in Lima, home to the presidency, Congress, the big banks and almost three in ten Peruvians. This guide explains who dominates whom in Peru as of October 2026: families, regions, ethnic groups, soldiers, priests and unions.
It matters to Americans because Peru is the world’s third-largest copper miner and a new US security partner.
Where Peru Power Sits in 2026
Peru is a presidential republic: the president is head of state and directs the general policy of the government. Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular, a conservative party, has held the office since Tuesday, 28 July 2026.
She won the runoff with 50.135% of valid votes, final figures from ONPE, the office that runs elections, show. Her rival, Roberto Sánchez of the left-wing Juntos por el Perú, lost by 49,641 votes.
Her father, Alberto Fujimori, was president from 1990 to 2000 and died in September 2024. Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that he became an authoritarian ruler after his coup of 5 April 1992.
Since July 2026, Congress has had two chambers again: a 60-seat Senate and a 130-seat Chamber of Deputies. Fuerza Popular is the largest group in both, with 22 senators and 41 deputies, the official registers show.
Together with Renovación Popular, another conservative party, it has 30 of 60 senators and 56 of 130 deputies. That is exactly half the Senate and ten seats short of a majority among deputies.
The main opposition, Juntos por el Perú, has 14 senators and 32 deputies. Three smaller groups, Partido del Buen Gobierno, Partido Cívico Obras and Ahora Nación, hold the rest.
Miguel Torres of Fuerza Popular presides over the Senate; Oscar Reto of Buen Gobierno presides over the deputies. Luis Galarreta, president of the Council of Ministers, runs the cabinet day to day.
Congress can remove a president for “permanent moral incapacity” under Article 113 of the Constitution, which does not define the term. It used that clause against Dina Boluarte in October 2025, with 122 of 130 votes, El Diario of Ecuador reported.
Her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, fell in December 2022 after trying to dissolve Congress. The full sequence is set out in Peru Political Instability Explained.
On Tuesday, 6 October 2026, deputies voted 66 to 34 to give her government 90 days of decree powers. The grant covers only public security and the El Niño weather threat and now goes to the Senate, El Comercio reported.
The details are in this report on the deputies’ vote. The guide to Peru politics profiles the ministers, courts and parties in detail.
The Families and Firms at the Top
Private economic power rests with a few family-linked groups, three of them listed in New York. Their annual 20-F filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission show the families’ stakes.
The Romero family beneficially owned 12.29% of Credicorp at the end of 2025, its 20-F shows. Credicorp controls Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), which holds close to 29% of Peru’s loans and 33% of deposits.
Luis Romero Belismelis has chaired Credicorp since June 2020. Manuel Romero Valdez, chairman of Grupo Romero, joined Credicorp’s board in March 2026 and sits on the board of Lima-listed Alicorp.
Interbank, one of Peru’s four largest banks, belongs to Intercorp Financial Services (IFS), listed in Lima and New York. Its parent, Intercorp Peru, owned 74.38% of IFS at the end of 2025, the IFS 20-F shows.
Under a 2019 proxy, Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor Persivale and two family members vote the shares that pick most of Intercorp Peru’s board. The group’s reach therefore runs through one family.
In mining, Roque Benavides chairs New York-listed Buenaventura, and his brother Raúl sits on its board. Together with Antofagasta plc, a copper group, the Benavides family held about 35% of Buenaventura in March 2026.
Big business speaks collectively through CONFIEP, a confederation of 21 business associations across ten sectors. Its president in October 2026 is Jorge Zapata Ríos.
Politics has its own dynasty in the Fujimori family, now back in the presidency a generation after Alberto Fujimori. The guide to who runs Peru’s economy covers the companies and sectors in more depth.
Lima Against the Regions
Lima Metropolitana had 10,129,708 residents in the 2025 census, 29.7% of the national total, INEI, the statistics office, reports. The next largest regions, Piura and La Libertad, have about 2.1 million each.
The Lima region gained a net 2.3 million people from other regions, while Cajamarca, in the northern Andes, lost a net 623,000. Puno, Huancavelica, Ancash and Ayacucho also lost more people than they gained.
That weight shows up in Congress. Lima Metropolitana elects 32 of the 130 deputies, by far the largest delegation, the chamber’s register shows.
It shows up in pay, too. Workers in Lima and Callao earned on average S/2,486 a month in 2025 (about US$722), the highest in INEI’s urban survey.
Conversions use the open.er-api.com rate of 8 October 2026, S/3.44 per US dollar (about US$0.29 per sol).
Regions do have elected leaders. Peruvians voted for regional governors and mayors on Sunday, 4 October 2026.
A governor needs at least 30% of valid votes; otherwise the top two meet in a runoff on Sunday, 29 November 2026. Mayors need no runoff, according to the JNE, Peru’s electoral court.
In Lima, the mayoral count is close. On 7 October, with 92.71% of tally sheets counted, Renovación Popular led with 27.703% against 26.841% for Avanza País.
Avanza País holds no seats in Congress; its candidate is Francis Allison. The remaining 1,921 tally sheets went to special electoral juries for review, Infobae Perú reported from ONPE data.
Renovación Popular’s list is headed by its founder, Rafael López Aliaga, as candidate for first councillor rather than mayor. He took that place after Luis Rubio withdrew his candidacy on 4 August, Infobae Perú reported.
The guide to Peru’s population and ethnic groups has the full census picture.
Ethnicity, Language and the Southern Andes
In the 2025 census, 61.8% of Peruvians identified as mestizo, of mixed Indigenous and European descent. Another 17.2% identified as Quechua, 2.0% as Aymara, 1.6% as Amazonian Indigenous, 6.0% as Afro-Peruvian and 9.0% as white.
Poverty is sharply higher in Indigenous-language homes, INEI’s 2025 figures show. It reached 46.2% where the household head’s mother tongue is Amazonian, 30.4% for Quechua or Aymara, and 23.8% for Spanish.
The divide has a violent history. Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated 69,280 deaths in the internal armed conflict of 1980 to 2000.
It found that 75% of those killed had Quechua or another native language as their mother tongue. Only 16% of Peruvians shared that trait in the 1993 census.
The Truth Commission named the Maoist Shining Path as the main perpetrator, responsible for 54% of the deaths reported to it.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, part of the Organization of American States, studied the protests that began on 7 December 2022. It pointed especially to the south, where Indigenous and campesino populations predominate.
In May 2023 the commission reported disproportionate, indiscriminate and lethal force, and said deaths in Ayacucho could amount to extrajudicial executions. It also recorded protesters being labelled “terrorists” on ethnic and regional grounds.
Their deeper demands, it said, included more political representation, consultation on extractive projects and a fairer share of the wealth. The Constitution recognises peasant and native communities as legal entities that are autonomous in organisation and land use.
The Armed Forces and Police
The Constitution says the armed forces and police are “not deliberative” and are subordinate to constitutional power. That line has been tested before.
After the 1992 coup, the Truth Commission found, the police were placed under the intelligence service’s plans and subordinated to military power. Today the armed forces are moving deeper into domestic security again.
On Wednesday, 7 October 2026, Fujimori announced a Unified Command joining the armed forces and the National Police against organised crime. Its control centre will be at army headquarters, Andina, the state news agency, reported.
The first deployment used 1,350 personnel, including 500 soldiers, 200 navy and 250 air force members and 320 police. General César Briceño heads the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, and General Fredy López commands the police.
Interior minister César Astudillo, who oversees the police, is also a Fuerza Popular senator, the Senate register shows. Rafael Belaunde Llosa is defence minister.
In September 2026, after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Fujimori announced that Peru would join the “Shield of the Americas”. The presidency presented it as a step to strengthen the fight against crime.
Washington’s wider role is covered in Foreign Powers and Investors in Peru 2026.
The Catholic Church and a Pope From Chiclayo
Article 50 of the Constitution recognises the Catholic Church as an important element in Peru’s historical, cultural and moral formation. It also promises the Church the state’s collaboration, while respecting other faiths.
In the 2017 census, 76.0% of Peruvians aged 12 and over said they were Catholic and 14.1% evangelical. Another 5.1% said they had no religion.
The Church now has an unusual tie to the country. Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955, became a Peruvian citizen by naturalisation on 24 August 2015.
He was appointed bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, in September 2015 and called to Rome in January 2023, the Vatican says. He was elected pope on 8 May 2025.
He is due in Peru from 11 to 16 November 2026, with stops in Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa, bishops say. The guide to the papal visit has the practical details.
Unions, Informal Workers and Who Is Left Out
Organised labour is fragmented. The labour ministry’s registers listed 3,766 private-sector unions and 4,802 public-sector unions in 2025, El Peruano reported.
Confederations such as the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) speak for organised workers. Informality limits their reach far beyond the capital.
Informal jobs made up 54.8% of employment in Lima and Callao in 2025, INEI figures show. In Juliaca, a highland city in Puno, the share was 82.3%.
Pucallpa, Ayacucho and Tumbes were also above 70%, while Ica had the lowest share, at 54.0%.
Monetary poverty fell to 25.7% in 2025 from 27.6% in 2024, INEI says. The poverty line was S/462 a month per person (about US$134); rural poverty stood at 35.5%, against 23.4% in towns and cities.
Cajamarca in the northern Andes (41.0%) and Loreto in the Amazon (40.1%) had the highest poverty rates. Ica, on the southern coast, had the lowest, at 4.5%.
By the World Bank’s survey-based Gini index, Peru scored 40.1 in 2024, slightly below the United States at 41.8. The national figure hides the gaps by region and language shown above.
The 2025 census also counted 1.05 million foreign residents, 65.5% of them in Lima Metropolitana. Fujimori has promised to expel foreigners who came to break the law “in record time”, Andina reported.
On this evidence, the groups with the least say are rural Andean and Amazonian communities, informal workers and migrants.
What It Means for US Readers
For investors, three family-linked Peruvian groups trade on the New York Stock Exchange: Credicorp (BAP), Intercorp Financial Services (IFS) and Buenaventura (BVN). Their results depend on Peruvian politics as much as on markets.
For copper buyers, Peru mined an estimated 2.7 million tonnes in 2025, third behind Chile and Congo, the US Geological Survey says. Unrest in mining regions can disrupt that supply.
For policy, Peru’s entry into the Shield of the Americas gives Washington a direct interest in how the new Unified Command performs.
For travellers, the State Department rates Peru at Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, in an advisory issued on 4 September 2026. Americans going for the papal visit should book early and follow local security updates.
What Is Not Known
Who will run Lima is not known until the juries rule on the disputed tally sheets and the JNE proclaims a winner. Which regions hold governor runoffs on 29 November also depends on recounts due by 28 October.
When the Senate will vote on the deputies’ 90-day grant of decree powers, and whether it changes it, is not yet known. The legal basis, budget and duration of the Unified Command were not set out in the 7 October announcement.
Comparable ownership data for large unlisted family groups were not found in public filings, so their full weight cannot be measured. Religion figures from the 2025 census were not found in INEI’s published results; the latest available count is from 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who holds the most power in Peru?
President Keiko Fujimori leads the executive, and her Fuerza Popular is the largest group in both chambers of Congress. Among private actors, family-linked groups such as the Romeros at Credicorp and the Rodríguez-Pastors at Intercorp stand out in banking.
Who is the president of Peru in 2026?
Keiko Fujimori of the conservative Fuerza Popular, in office since 28 July 2026 for the 2026–2031 term. She won the runoff with 50.135% of valid votes.
Why does Lima dominate the rest of Peru?
Lima Metropolitana holds 29.7% of Peruvians, elects 32 of 130 deputies and has the highest average labour income in INEI’s urban survey. The Lima region has also gained a net 2.3 million people from elsewhere in Peru.
Does the military have political power in Peru?
The Constitution makes the armed forces non-deliberative and subordinate to constitutional power. Their domestic role is growing, with a Unified Command of troops and police announced on 7 October 2026.
Is Pope Leo XIV Peruvian?
Yes. Born in Chicago, he became a Peruvian citizen by naturalisation in 2015 and was bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru.
Who is left out of power in Peru?
Rural Andean and Amazonian communities, informal workers and migrants have the least say. Poverty reaches 46.2% in homes headed by speakers of Amazonian languages, against 23.8% for Spanish speakers.
Who will be the next mayor of Lima?
The race was undecided as of 8 October 2026. Renovación Popular led Avanza País by 0.862 points, with 1,921 tally sheets under review by electoral juries.
Sources: Presidency of Peru, officials directory; PCM, list of ministers; Senate, register of senators; Chamber of Deputies, register of deputies; Senate, board; Chamber of Deputies, board; El Peruano, ONPE runoff results; Andina, inauguration; Constitution of Peru; INEI, 2025 census first results; INEI, 2025 census urban, ethnic and foreign-resident results; INEI, poverty 2025; INEI, 2017 census profile; El Peruano, INEI labour market 2025; El Peruano, labour ministry union registers; Truth and Reconciliation Commission, conclusions; IACHR, statement on Peru, May 2023; Andina, Unified Command; Presidency, Shield of the Americas; Andina, regional runoff date; Andina, runoff rules; Credicorp, 2025 Form 20-F; Intercorp Financial Services, 2025 Form 20-F; Buenaventura, 2025 Form 20-F; CONFIEP; Vatican, biography of Leo XIV; Peruvian Episcopal Conference, papal visit programme; World Bank, Gini index; USGS, copper 2026; US State Department, Peru travel advisory; Expreso, national mourning for Alberto Fujimori; El Diario, Boluarte removal; El Comercio, decree powers vote; Infobae Perú, Lima count; Caretas, Lima candidates; open.er-api.com, exchange rate (all accessed 8 October 2026).
Company profiles: Credicorp Ltd. · more in our LatAm Company Intelligence section.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief