What happened?
On 6 May, the runoff presidential elections were held in Peru between the top two contenders Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori. On 11 June, with 95 per cent of the vote tallied, Castillo claimed victory by virtue of having a lead of 0.5 per cent over Fujimori, who promptly disputed the results. However, the country's electoral board is yet to certify the elections officially and is reviewing disputed ballots. After Fujimori's allegations, Castillo said: "We call on the Peruvian people to stay alert." 

What is the background?
First, the contrasting background of the two candidates. Fujimori is the scion of Peru's powerful political families. Her father Alberto Fujimori ruled Peru in the nineties and is currently in jail for atrocities committed during his rule. Her far-right philosophies contrast with those of Castillo, a Communist school teacher and an outsider who was not even a member of his Peru Libre party before entering the presidential race. 

Second, the anger in Peru over Lima's political elite. Peru is marked by a deep divide between the capital Lima and the interior regions. More than 65 per cent of the country's GDP is concentrated in Lima. The country's statistics bureau estimates that urban poverty is 26 per cent but the number for rural communities is 46 per cent. Rural indigenous voters were not even able to vote until 1979, when suffrage was extended to illiterate voters as well. Castillo's election slogan — no more poor in a rich country — has managed to tap into the sentiment of the rural population who believe that the rural regions were governed for Lima's benefit. Castillo is only the second president in modern Peru's history to come from the country's interior provinces. Eighty per cent of Castillo's support comes from the Ayacucho, Cusco, and Puno, regions where in recent years, the rise of extractive industries have gone hand-in-hand with an increase in poverty.

Third, the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Peru has the biggest per-capita death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the world, with more than 180,000 people dead. A sizeable section of Peru's workforce is informal workers who were particularly hit-hard by the lockdowns and social distancing measures. Multiple reports credited the deep divide in society to the upheaval caused by the pandemic.

Fourth, the battle between right and left in South America. The election in Peru is symbolic of the larger battle between the left and right-wing forces that is characteristic of South American politics. Ever since South American countries established democratic governments after Cold War-era dictatorships, their elections often have been a straight shoot-out between left-wing parties promising social change to the marginalized populace and right-wing politicians seeking to profit off anti-Communist propaganda. The Peruvian elections were no different with Castillo appealing to Peru's rural masses with promises of nationalization of resources but having to fight off allegations of links to the far-left terrorist outfit, the Shining Path. Fujimori, a relatively unpopular candidate, hit by repeated corruption allegations, only managed to gather just 13 per cent of the vote in the initial elections. She was able to close the gap on Castillo in the runoff, only because of the anti-Communist feat among certain sections. 

What does it mean?
The result is likely to continue the chaos in Peruvian politics. Peru has already seen four presidents in the last five years. The uncertain mandate, along with Fujimori's allegations of voter fraud and a hostile parliament, will make Castillo's position precarious. His radical electoral promises of land reforms and a new constitution are likely to be met with significant resistance from the country's conservative forces.

Read alongside victories for the left in Chile and protests against conservative rulers in other South American countries, the result in Peru might be the harbinger of a second pink tide. The coronavirus pandemic has only added impetus to this process by exposing the deep divide between various classes across the continent.