International

Fujimori edges ahead of Castillo in tight Peru presidential vote

AFP/Editor

Right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori held a narrow lead over radical leftist Pedro Castillo following a partial vote count in Peru’s presidential election on Sunday.

With 52.9 percent of the vote counted after 42 percent of polling stations were tallied, Fujimori edged ahead in a seesaw battle for the presidency after Ipsos pollsters declared a “statistical draw” following an earlier exit poll and quick count.

Peru’s new leader will need to tackle a country in crisis, suffering from recession and with the worst coronavirus fatality rate in the world after recording over 184,000 deaths among its 33 million population.

Peruvians will also look to the winner to end years of political turbulence after four presidents in the last three years, and with seven of the last 10 of the country’s leaders either having been convicted of or investigated for corruption.

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Piero Corvetto, head of Peru’s top electoral body (ONPE) warned that many polling stations from rural areas — Castillo’s stronghold — had yet to be tallied.

“They haven’t counted our votes yet,” Castillo told supporters in Tacabamba, in the northern Cajamarca region where he lives.

An exit poll by Ipsos after voting ended at 7:00 pm (0000 GMT) showed Fujimori just ahead with 50.3 percent, sparking protests from Castillo supporters outside the ONPE offices in the capital Lima.

But three hours later the pollsters released a quick count that showed Castillo in front with 50.2 percent, bringing scenes of joy and celebrations to the northern Cajamarca region.

Castillo, 51, had earlier urged his supporters to “stay calm.”

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“Seeing how small the gap is, it is essential to maintain prudence and I say that for all Peruvians,” added Fujimori, who had earlier been seen hugging family and campaign staff following the exit poll.

Both candidates promised to respect the results when voting earlier in the day.

– ‘Too tight’ –

“We’re not going to know (the winner) until the last vote” is counted, political scientist Jessica Smith told AFP.

“It’s still very unsure, the difference is too tight and we have to wait for the official result.”

Castillo, 51, had topped the first round of voting in April, when the pair both caused a surprise by reaching the second round, and he was also narrowly ahead in the latest opinion polls before Sunday’s vote.

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At the height of the political storm in November last year, Peru had three different presidents in just five days.

Two million Peruvians have lost their jobs during the pandemic and nearly a third of the country now live in poverty, according to official figures.

For voters, this was a choice between polar opposites.

Fujimori, 46, represents the neoliberal economic model of tax cuts and boosting private activity to generate jobs.

Fujimori’s bastion is the capital Lima, while Castillo’s bulwark is the rural deep interior.

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Trade unionist schoolteacher Castillo has pledged to nationalize vital industries, raise taxes, eliminate tax exemptions and increase state regulation.

He voted in Tacabamba following a breakfast with his family.

Favored by the business sector and middle classes, Fujimori tried to portray Castillo as a communist threat, warning that Peru would become a new Venezuela or North Korea should he win.

Castillo pointed to the Fujimori family’s history of corruption scandals. Keiko Fujimori is under investigation over campaign funding in her 2011 and 2016 presidential bids and has already spent 16 months in pre-trial detention.

Her father is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption.

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– ‘It won’t be easy’ –

“If Keiko is eventually elected, you can’t forget that this 50 percent is not her real support but rather a reaction from an electorate that is afraid of what her opponent represents,” Smith told AFP.

Whoever wins will have a hard time governing as Congress is fragmented. Castillo’s Free Peru is the largest single party, just ahead of Fujimori’s Popular Force, but without a majority.

“It won’t be easy (for Fujimori) given the mistrust her name and that of her family generates in many sectors. She’ll have to quickly calm the markets and generate ways to reactivate them,” added Smith.

If Castillo triumphs, he’ll have to “consolidate a parliamentary majority that will allow him to deliver his ambitious program.”

But in either case “it will take time to calm the waters because there’s fierce polarization and an atmosphere of social conflict,” analyst Luis Pasaraindico told AFP.

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Some 160,000 police and soldiers were deployed to guarantee peace on election day as 25 million people were due to vote, plus another one million from the Peruvian diaspora living in 75 countries around the world.

The new president will take office on July 28, replacing centrist interim leader Francisco Sagasti.

International

IEA warns Middle East conflict could spark worst energy crisis in decades

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could trigger the worst energy crisis in decades, warned Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), who described the situation as “very serious.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Birol compared the current scenario to the oil crises of the 1970s, noting that during those events the world lost around five million barrels of oil per day in each crisis.

“Today, we have lost 11 million barrels per day—more than the two major oil shocks combined,” he said.

The Turkish economist referred to the conflict that began on February 28, following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, which have significantly disrupted global energy markets and driven oil prices higher.

Birol warned that the global economy is facing a “very, very serious threat” and expressed hope that the crisis will be resolved soon.

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“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues in this direction. Global efforts are urgently needed,” he emphasized.

International

Colombian Air Force Hercules plane crashes during takeoff with troops onboard

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Colombian Air Force was involved in a “tragic accident” while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia, as it was transporting troops, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reported on Monday.

The minister stated on social media that the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined. He also extended his condolences to the families affected and urged the public to avoid speculation until official information is confirmed.

“This is a deeply painful event for the country. Our prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sánchez said, adding that emergency protocols have been activated and an investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, President Gustavo Petro expressed hope that there would be no fatalities in what he described as a “horrific accident that should not have happened.”

Petro also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize the country’s air fleet and reiterated the need to acquire new helicopters and transport aircraft to strengthen military mobility, particularly in remote regions.

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According to local media reports, approximately 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft. So far, at least 20 injured military personnel have been rescued.

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.