Karen Paniagua, former Avanza País candidate, assured that they charged her S/5,350 per application and did not return the money

Karen Paniagua, former candidate for a seat in the Congress for the party Country Advances He publicly denounced that he made a deposit of S/5,350 to the official account of the political group as “income” or “registration” to participate in the elections, but that, after being left out of the race, the party refuses to return the money.

The leader and presidential candidate of the Alliance for Progress (APP) stated that he found out “right now.”

In an interview with journalist Beto Ortiz, Paniagua showed a deposit voucher dated November 3, 2025, made at the Banco de la Nación in the name of the party. According to his testimony, the payment was a requirement to ensure his participation, specifically to tempt number 13 on the list for Lima.

“I have sent messages through my former advisor saying that, if I am no longer part of the party, the most correct thing is that they return the money to me. I wrote to the president (of the party) asking for information about my candidacy and I never received a response,” said Paniagua, who indicated that his exclusion could be due to prejudice due to his activity on the OnlyFans platform.

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Given the accusations, the national organizational secretary of Avanza País, Martín Barrantes, spoke with Perú21 and rejected the party’s charging for positions on the electoral lists. According to the leader, the aforementioned account is legal, is supervised by ONPE and is used to receive contributions and donations in accordance with the law.

“The young lady is wrong or poorly advised. In Avanza País, candidates are not sold. That money may have been a donation or the payment of fees for those who participated in the primaries,” said Barrantes. Likewise, he explained that the invitations (direct appointments) go through a “citizen and ideological profile” filter, suggesting that Paniagua would not have met said standards.

Regarding the possibility of refunding the S/5,350, Barrantes explained that since it is an income registered with the electoral authority, the legal mechanisms must be reviewed. “If she asks for the return of a donation, we have to look at the mechanisms in the ONPE. Nobody forced her to deposit,” he said.

The party issued an official statement to make its position on the matter clear.