This year, the share of Peruvians who distrust the US government rose to 48 percent, more than double the portion in 2019, according to polling by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP).
That puts wariness of the US 13 points higher than concerns about its rival, China, whose influence Trump has sought to curtail in Latin America.
But Peru’s election is far from a referendum on Trump, who has yet to endorse Lopez Aliaga or any other candidate.
In fact, the US president has been largely ignored in the race, which has focused on domestic issues.
During Peru’s six presidential debates, Trump only came up once, when a candidate criticised his tariff hikes.
Alberto Rojas, 46, a mechanic in Lima who is leaning towards Fujimori, indicated that Trump’s absence from the debates was fine by him.
The US president, he added, is a “madman” whom Peru would do best to avoid.
“We have enough problems as it is,” Rojas said, listing crime and corruption as his top concerns. “A president from another country isn’t going to save us. He might even make things worse.”
Peruvian political analyst Gonzalo Banda said he was surprised that foreign policy — and relations with the US in particular — did not emerge as an election issue at all this year.
After all, under Trump, the US has become more active in Latin America than it has been in decades. Recent scandals have also raised questions about US influence in Peru.
Media reports, for instance, have questioned why the Peruvian government nixed plans to buy two dozen Swedish Gripen fighter jets, opting instead for US-made F-16s, even though they cost nearly twice as much per unit.
“A good left-wing candidate would have made that a campaign issue,” said Banda.
“Because there’s a very practical argument. Basically, ‘Hey, why do we have to buy worse planes that are much more expensive from the United States?'”
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