Less than a year and a half from what was expected 2026 general electionspoliticians begin to look for their positions for the start of the competition. Faced with the crisis marked by polarization and the advance of options located at the extremes, more central leadership They aspire to a revaluation of the citizenry that will help them improve their low support, a situation of mistrust that affects the entire known cast of our politics.
In the latest Ipsos survey, from last month, with margins of error of 2.8 points, of a list of possible candidates for the presidency, 30% said they would vote blank, invalid or for none and 17% I didn’t know which vote to give: almost half of the country without a candidate. The most favored have low support: Keiko Fujimori 12%, Antauro Humala 8%, Carlos Álvarez and Francisco Sagasti with 4% each, Hernando de Soto and Rafael López Aliaga with 3% and tied with 2% Alfonso López Chau, Verónika Mendoza, Rafael Belaunde and Philip Butters.
In August, in a survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studieswith margins of error of 2.8 points and open answers, 73.7% did not have someone as a possible good candidate for president and the most favored were Martín Vizcarra with 4.5%, Keiko with 3% , De Soto with 2.7%, Pedro Castillo with 2.3%, Alberto Fujimori with 2.2%, Sagasti with 1.7%, López Chau with 1.7%, Rafael López Aliaga with 1.3% and Antauro Humala with 0.8%, followed by Salvador del Solar, Ílvarez, Carlos Añaños and Javier González-Olaechea, with 0.5% each.
Centrists
Vizcarra He is disqualified by Congress: he cannot hold office in the State. He seeks to have the Inter-American Court of Human Rights annul that sanction, but the process takes time.
Sagasti He has said that he does not plan to run, but his political organization, the Purple Party, hopes that he will be encouraged. At the last congress of this group, Sagasti gave a speech that made one think about the possibility of reconsideration, when he raised his voice against those who call them caviars: “What we really have are arrogant parasites that live off the State, but They accuse everyone of being caviar. (…) Since you cannot be re-elected, the father comes, then he appoints the son or the brother, the cousin (…) Arrogant parasites!â€� he exclaimed.
The party broadcast the video with the images of the Fujimori, the Acuña and the Cerrón.
Lopez Chaufrom the Now Nation party, declares itself to be democratic left or center-left and participates in meetings in search of a coalition, which include centrist groups.
“The deep crisis needs a common effort. We believe in the need for a ‘grand democratic coalition’. The party talks with other left and center forces. We believe that the only way out of this critical stalemate is through a large center-left coalition, which includes all those who are against the regime of gangsters, criminals and autocrats. We have an opening to very moderate sectors or sectors that are politically not very aligned with what is classically called left or right,” says César Holguín, of the National Executive Committee of Ahora Nación.
Fernando Olivera It is also placed in the center. “The Esperanza Front’s broom is being consolidated. We are reformist centrists. We transcend ideologies and have open doors without sectarianism. Our enemies are corrupt, extremist, racist, violent and mercantilist,” he says.
Alfredo Barnechea He reiterates that he is centrist, although he was with the right in campaigns such as the alleged fraud of 2021. He chairs the Popular Action government plan committee and has said that he would run again.
“The political center is a necessity for the country. AP is not right-wing, but center-based. Peru needs a national front that brings together the center. “Alfredo will push it,” they say in those around him.
Jorge Nieto, of the Good Government Party, continues in political work. “(I am) in the center and not because I take out a wand and measure the distance between left and right. We have proposals for all problems (…), starting with the fact that we have to recover the State for the public interest. (…) Additionally, we need to unite the country,†he said in a recent interview with journalist César Hildebrandt.
Marisol Pérez Tello She acknowledged being a presidential candidate, in an interview in Cajamarca, with communicator Ronal Tiper. The People Are First, a party formed by businessman Miguel Del Castillo and Manuel Ato.
Current congresswomen Flor Pablo and Susel Paredes are also in that party.
“We are in different spaces building trust. The electoral calendar and rules change according to the whim and interests of the parties in Congress. We have to be able to face this change in rules,” he says.
Pablo He also admits aiming for the presidency. “It is time to put ourselves on the front line to recover the country at the service of the people, especially those who suffer the most. In Primero la Gente we are three women pre-candidates: Susel, Marisol and me. All willing to be wherever we are to serve the country. “These are not charges, but just causes,” he argued.
Spare parts
Del Solar reiterated that he does not plan to run for anything and considered that the complaints against him in Congress are revenge “for those who are in the moderate center.” Since he is not affiliated with any party, he cannot run for president, but he could be a guest on the Congressional list.
Mesías Guevara, of the Purple Party, former governor of Cajamarca, is seen as an option if Sagasti persists in not running. Guevara himself says he hopes Sagasti will apply.
“I am traveling the country strengthening bases, participating in meetings with social and academic organizations, and in constant preparation. I will be where the party considers I should. I am prepared to assume positions of high responsibility, I do not blame him,” he commented.
Pedro Cateriano, former prime minister, promotes his Popular Freedom party, defined as liberal and in dialogue with centrist groups. Rafael Belaunde, president of the group, would be the candidate to compete for the Government. “Rafael has been traveling with encouraging results. He is the natural candidate. If he wins, he would like to be Minister of Housing and Construction to address the shortage of drinking water. “I am cooperating as secretary of the government plan,” he said.
George Forsyth, former mayor of the Lima district of La Victoria and former presidential and municipal candidate of Lima, remains affiliated with the Somos Perú party, declared centrist. He tells fellow supporters that he would run for Congress.
Jorge Pérez, governor of Lambayeque and former legislator, is promoted in the party.
The proximity of parties such as Accion Popular and Somos Perú, previously leaders of the center, with the majority controlling the discredited Congress, will weigh on the 2026 campaign.
There is a lot to cover and mistrust to face.
MORE DATA
Dispersion. There are 37 political parties registered in the National Election Jury and 31 in the registration process.
On the way. Yonhy Lescano, former presidential candidate for Popular Action, says he will run again with a new party in formation.
Deadlines. On July 12, the deadline to join a party expired if you want to run for president of the country in 2026. Non-members can apply as guests on lists to the Legislature.
The citizen connection and more pragmatic sense
Marylia Cruzpolitical scientist, PUCP
In 2026, due to the large amount of electoral offer, the vote would be very dispersed. In those cases, attention is usually captured, not necessarily the center. It seems that we will continue the pace of polarization. If the majority in Peru identifies itself as center, we have been shifting from left to right. The election will be particular because the left does not govern even though it won the elections. It would weigh who uses their differential the most, beyond their political position, who achieves identification or attachment with the citizenry, which is usually more emotional. The voice of experience does not necessarily prevail, as Francisco Sagasti might. There are issues of emotional self-identification that candidates need to take advantage of. His role in what remains of the Government will attract attention.
Center candidates must take advantage of contact with citizens to collect demands. She is very distrustful and there are no channels. Not only the urban vote of Lima will weigh. It is necessary to go to regions with a strategy. They have to show clear ideas about important issues, such as education, health, safety, how to solve problems. They should focus on a clear and concise message that does not necessarily make people look left or right. It is that more sense of practicality, of being a more pragmatic center.
