Stark Class Divides Are Deepening Peru’s Electoral Chaos

Fewer than 15,000 votes stand between a leftist representing Peru’s impoverished communities and a conservative hotel magnate who represents the capital city as they compete for the final spot in June’s presidential runoff.

Their vastly different platforms — one who says he wants to uplift the poor and rewrite a market-friendly constitution versus another who advocates for working alongside big business — are laid bare by how the richest and poorest have voted so far. While the election is incredibly tight, with 99% of votes counted a month after the first round, choices at Peru’s extremes are not.