Amid an increase in coronavirus cases in the country, Peru’s presidential candidates have maintained an electoral tradition and organized generous breakfasts for their supporters, families and some journalists.
This year, the events held before the presidential candidates vote were generally smaller and in the open air. Electoral “desayunos” serve to combine the latest strategies and encourage message voting – an important move in particular in this poll in which the Ipsos survey highlights that the options for voiding the vote and the possibility of not voting. attending the polls total 30%.
Left-wing candidate Veronika Mendoza was one of those who continued the practice, along with a small group, in the backyard of her father’s house in Andahuaylillas, in the Andean region, near Cusco. On social networks, Mendoza demanded that “everyone votes with great care and serenity and thinks that a transformation is possible”.
The second candidate – there were only 2 candidates out of 18 -, Keiko Fujimori, had breakfast with her husband and daughters, in private, in Lima. In his statement, he said he ate oats, a tradition in his family, as he explained.
“It’s a very nutritious and traditional food. We chose it because my grandmother always gave it to us. Plus, in prison, it was the most important food I ate,” said Fujimori, who in recent years has been in and out of prison due to the process of investigating his involvement in the bribery scheme of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
Regarding the vote, he said that “we must wait with great caution and serenity for the first results of the electoral authority, until real figures appear”. Keiko’s husband, American Mark Vito, took the microphone in the footage and said, “I love you and it’s your day,” she said with teary eyes.
The breakfast of candidate George Forsyth, former goalkeeper of Alianza Lima, was lively and with typical dances in the middle of the table set outdoors at his campaign committee in the Miraflores district of Lima.
But the candidate did not participate because he has been isolated since being diagnosed with Covid-19. The main table seat at the top was empty, but a screen was placed in the back, through which Forsyth cheered his followers up and thanked affection.
Economist Hernando de Soto’s event was also scaled down and took place at a restaurant in the Santiago de Surco neighborhood of the Peruvian capital. In addition to the candidate’s family, some celebrities were present, such as comedian Pablo Villanueva and former footballer Hugo Sotil.
Soto said that although he didn’t grow up in Peru, he learned to love the customs of the Andean country, such as long Sunday breakfasts with his family. “The reason I’m applying is because I’m in love with Peru. Throughout my youth, I was curious about this country. That’s why I’m clear about things today, more than ever.”
Although numerous, the dispute arrived on this indefinite Sunday. Of the 18 candidates, none have more than 10% of the voting intentions in the main polls, and the top seven are tangled with gaps ranging from hundredths to five percentage points.
For the organization of the poll, the electoral authorities said it was difficult to train 20% of the polling stations in the country, a situation which they said had been resolved. Indeed, the pollsters were absent from the meeting, probably for fear of the spread of the coronavirus.
This Saturday (10), on the eve of election day, Peru recorded its death toll in 24 hours since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with 384 deaths recorded, bringing the total to 54,669 victims.
The number came in a streak of highs – before this Saturday the highest score reached was 314 deaths, Wednesday (7) – and amid saturated hospitals, lack of oxygen and exertion government to get enough vaccines.
Peru has added more than 1.6 million cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to government data. According to data from Our World in Data, Thursday (8), only 1.9% of the population had received at least one dose of the vaccine.