Insecurity and instability drive voters in Peru's tight presidential race
"If you don't meet our demands, we will kill your drivers." This message, demanding about $15,000, was sent by a criminal gang to a bus company in a poor suburb of Peru's capital, Lima. It preceded an armed attack on bus driver, Toño. "They shot me in the legs and abdomen. I wa
This message, demanding about $15,000, was sent by a criminal gang to a bus company in a poor suburb of Peru's capital, Lima. It preceded an armed attack on bus driver, Toño.
"They shot me in the legs and abdomen. I was out of work for four months, now I work with fear. Although my wounds are dry, internally I feel pain," he says.
Toño's case was one of nearly 30,000 extortion incidents reported in Peru in 2025, many targeting small businesses or transport workers.
This issue, along with rising homicides, is why insecurity and crime have become top concerns for voters in Sunday's presidential election in Peru.
The right-wing Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the late former president, Alberto Fujimori, is running for a fourth time against left-wing Roberto Sánchez.
Fujimori has defined her campaign with an array of "tough-on-crime" policies, while Sánchez has promised sweeping changes to the state and higher public spending.
In Lima's suburb of San Juan de Lurigancho, dusty hilltop neighbourhoods sprawl precariously down the slopes. Armed police guard the gate to the bus depot where Toño works. They say this is Lima's worst district for extortion.
Toño, who now drives with plain-clothed armed police on board for his protection, wants whoever the next president is to have a "strong hand against crime".
