Peru’s new president Keiko Fujimori is barely in office and already facing accusations that a senator manipulated her vote, a culture minister was chosen for his football knowledge, and a cabinet with only two women was presented as a sign of progress.
Columnist Maritza Espinoza addressed all of it in a satirical piece that feigns a sudden conversion to fujimorismo. She wrote that since the previous Tuesday at noon she had begun to feel deep revulsion toward anything smelling of anti-fujimorismo, and that she was finally coming to understand the reasoning behind the acts of what she called a praiseworthy woman named Keiko Fujimori, who that day had become the owner of Peru’s destiny.
The Senate Vote
Chief among Espinoza’s mock celebrations was Senator Silvana Robles. The columnist wrote that Robles allegedly showed her Senate ballot sideways so that a nullifying mark would not be seen, steering the result toward what Espinoza called a democratic pact. She asked, in character, what greater self-sacrifice there could be, arguing that without Robles the Senate would have fallen to chaotic communist forces.
Critics have linked the episode to the exoneration of Vladimir Cerrón by the Constitutional Tribunal around the same period. Espinoza sarcastically asked how heartless one would have to be to attribute what she ironically called an act of patriotism to a mere transaction.
Cabinet Controversies
The appointment of Alberto Beingolea as minister of culture drew particular criticism from commentators who said he lacked qualifications for the post. Espinoza offered a mock defense: she wrote that Beingolea knows a great deal about football, and that football is part of Peru’s national identity. She also noted he had appeared on the television program of children’s entertainer Yola Polastri, whom she called a national treasure on a level with Machu Picchu and the Lord of Sipán.
The first cabinet of Peru’s first elected female president contained only two women, a point critics raised immediately. Espinoza, staying in character, wrote that this proved men would also have a voice in the new government, and that men had suffered enough under previous administrations that blamed them for everything from child abuse to femicide, a crime she sarcastically claimed did not exist.
Dress, Speeches, and Old Charges
Fujimori’s inaugural speech drew criticism as well. Espinoza wrote that opponents focused only on the negative, such as claims she would not fulfill even ten percent of her promises, while ignoring positives such as the clothes she wore at the various ceremonies. Some observers compared her electric-blue dress with Andean embroidery at the swearing-in to outfits worn by Eliane Karp, described as a Belgian redhead who could not represent Peruvian women the way Fujimori could. Espinoza dismissed the comparison.
Stepping back, Espinoza recalled Fujimori’s prison term, her son Mark’s hunger strike, and rolls of toilet paper that a supporter named Micky Torres reportedly carried to the Santa Mónica facility as if they were bouquets of white flowers. She also recalled charges that Fujimori had used fake fundraising events and financial smurfing to conceal Odebrecht campaign donations, noting that courts and institutions had cleared her of all of them.
The column closed with Espinoza writing that she was revising her CV, hoping that such a conspicuous display of orange loyalty might win her a job as director of the government newspaper El Peruano.
