With less than three weeks to go before the general elections for the five-year term, Peru held the first round of the 2026 presidential debate, featuring 11 presidential candidates at the Lima Convention Center; The event was organized by the National Elections Board (JNE) and was marked by confrontation and attacks among the candidates, with proposals that offered little in the way of innovation and lacked a clear commitment to resolving the countrys major problems.

Participating in this first session were candidates Marisol Prez Tello (Primero la Gente party), Alfonso Lopez Chau (Ahora Nacin), Carlos Alvarez (Pas para todos), Rafael Lopez Aliaga (Renovacin Popular), Cesar Acua (Alianza para el Progreso), Wolfgang Grozo (Integridad Democrtica), Jos Luna (Podemos Per), Fernando Olivera (Front of Hope), Yonhy Lescano (Popular Cooperation), Alex Gonzales (Green Democratic Party), and Jos Williams (Avanza Pas).

Among the issues highlighted by the candidateswhich often lacked specifics on how they would be implementedwere: support for young people through investment in education, university scholarships and loans for young people, and graduate scholarships abroad; creation of a National Transparency Authority, life imprisonment for corrupt officials, civil death for corrupt individuals, special economic zones, the fight against illegal mining, an open economy and industrialization, and modernization of the state through technology, among others.

Two more dates for debates

To complete the debate among the 35 candidates for the Presidency of the Republic, the next session will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24, featuring the following candidates: Charlie Carrasco (United Democratic Party of Peru), Avaro Paz de la Barra (Faith in Peru), Ricardo Belmont (Civic Works Party), Francisco Diez-Canseco (Peru Action), Fiorella Molinelli (Strength and Freedom), Armando Masse (Federal Democratic Party), George Forsyth (We Are Peru), Carlos Esp (SCreo), and Carlos Jaico (Modern Peru); as well as Vladimir Cerrn (Free Peru), Roberto Snchez (Together for Peru), and Walter Chirinos (PRIN).

And on Wednesday, March 25, the following candidates will conclude their presentations: Ronald Atencio (Venceremos), Paul Jaimes (Progresemos), and Antonio Ortiz (Salvemos al Per), Enrique Valderrama (Peruvian Aprista Party), Roberto Chiabra (National Unity), and Mario Vizcarra (Peru First); Jorge Nieto (Good Government Party), Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular), and Mesas Guevara (Purple Party), Herbert Caller (Patriotic Party of Peru), Rafael Belaunde (Popular Freedom), and Rosario Fernndez (A Different Path).

Proposals with commitment?

It should be noted thatthe democratic conditions for Good Governance, proposed in the Historic Citizens Agreement (AHC), as well as by other organized civil society organizations, were adopted by some candidates who proposed: scholarships for university students, life imprisonment for corrupt officials, eco-industrialization, among others. However, many of the proponents have not yet signed the Historic Agreement, which casts doubt on their commitment to its implementation.

Redaccin Per