Right-Wing Candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga Wins Mayoral Election in Lima

Rafael Lopez Aliaga pictured in 2021 being interviewed on a program called Rey con Barba (Wikimedia Commons).

Lima held its municipal and regional elections on October 2, according to the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES). In the Lima mayoral election, El Comercio writes that right-wing businessman Rafael Lopez Aliaga won with 26.3 percent of the vote. His challenger, a former military officer, Daniel Urresti, acknowledged his defeat shortly after. 

According to an early September poll conducted by IPSOS, Daniel Urresti from the Podemos center-party had 27 percent of the votes, while Rafael Lopez Aliaga from Renovacion Popular right-wing party had 25 percent of the votes. However, the day prior to the elections, polling numbers flipped, indicating that López Aliaga had taken the lead. 

Both candidates have been implicated on criminal charges. Lopez Aliaga was accused of money laundering during his run for the presidency in 2019, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Urresti is on trial for the murder of a journalist in 1988, Reuters reported.

IFES writes that Perú’s political climate is unstable and reports that many Peruvians feel disillusioned with the political system due to tensions between the legislative and executive branches of the government, as well as high rates of turnover in the national government. The election of a right-wing leader as the mayor of Lima serves as a referendum on the performance of the current president, Pedro Castillo, as well as his Perú Libre party, a party based in Marxist ideology. 

According to Perú Reports, winning the mayoral seat of Lima puts López Aliaga in a position to take a strong stance against Castillo. Due to Lima’s role as the country’s political, economic, and cultural center, the mayoral seat is considered the second most powerful government position in the country, only behind the presidency. Following his victory, López Aliaga was quick to call for Castillo’s resignation due to allegations of corruption against Castillo. However, López Aliaga, claims that he will not contest for the presidency if Castillo were to resign.