While the Peruvian markets are voting in a close election

The financial markets were in the top ten when the Peruvian people voted on Sunday in one of the most polarized elections in the country’s history, with private polls giving candidates their necks.

In the election, Pedro Castillo, a primary school teacher in rural education, became a left-wing populist against Keiko Fujimori, who did not like Alberto Fujimori, the daughter of the former authoritarian president of Peru. The elections are being held at a time of Peru’s historic challenges, as it is battling one of the world’s worst coronavirus pandemics, corruption, inequality, poverty and political struggles.

Castillo’s chance to win has been sparked panic and capital flight among Peruvian elites. According to Scotiabank, the currency, the sol, has depreciated more than any other in the world against the dollar since the first round of voting in April, when Castillo was first formed. Dollar-sol transactions have risen about 20 percent in the past month.

Private polls circulating on social media show neck to neck. Polls initially gave Castillo a big advantage, but now Fujimori suggests he has narrowed the gap.

“I hope it’s true for the sake of Peru,” a woman told the Financial Times after a vote in the beautiful Miraflores neighborhood on a gray, foggy morning in the Peruvian capital. “If not, we are lost.”

Castillo’s party, Free Peru, is led by a Marxist broad nationalization, higher taxes, a new constitution and an import restriction on one of the world’s largest producers of copper, zinc and precious metals.

“The worst result would be if no one won in a convincing way,” said Paula Muñoz, a political scientist at the University of the Pacific in Lima. “The loser would cry out for fraud and cause unrest.”

A military group that withdrew last week said they were deeply concerned about “the radicalization of a large part of our population.” The defense ministry has denounced civilians passing through “parts of the Peruvian army” in some parts of the country, and people have stored food in well-off places in Lima in anticipation of post-election shortages and potential violence. Heavily armed soldiers were outside the polling stations on Sunday morning.

A massacre of 16 people in a remote area Peru May 23 – Attacks on the remains of a Maoist guerrilla group, the Shining Path in Peru, escalate tensions.

“The atmosphere at the week has been poisonous,” said 38-year-old shopkeeper Enrique Grau. “As a people he talks about us that we can’t do better than that.”

Since he won first round with only 18.9 percent, the people of Castillo are stirring up people in villages left without dirt in the Andes with a simple but powerful message: “There are no more poor people in a rich country.”

At the closing on Thursday, he appeared on a balcony in the historic center of Lima wearing a giant straw hat and shaking a large inflatable yellow pencil that characterized his campaign. The hat marks him as a rural man while the pencil is a symbol of education.

“I bring greetings to those who have no voice, to the anonymous, to those who consider themselves third- or fourth-class citizens,” he shouted at the thousands of fans waving red flags in the streets below.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for for decades,” said Mariela Rojas, a 47-year-old housewife. “We finally have a candidate who understands us.”

The closed concentration outside Fujimori Lima was much lower. The denial of her attempt to become the first female president in Peruvian history was hampered by allegations of corruption. The prosecutor accuses him of being the head of a criminal organization and says he should serve 30 years in prison.

Many middle-class Peruvians say that even though they don’t like it and are distrustful, they will throw him out of power to keep Castillo out of power. He and his supporters are accused of being communists and, in some cases, terrorists.

“I will vote for Keiko because I don’t want my country to become the next Venezuela or Cuba,” said María Alejandra Lozada, a 24-year-old law student who came out to greet Fujimori in the northern city of Trujillo.

The atmosphere deteriorated as voting approached. In a recent televised debate, Fujimori said he created a large rock that was thrown around him during the Andes campaign and christened Castillo “Pedro the stone thrower.”

Both sides have suggested the other could steal the election, which has led to opposition a horrific pandemic background. This week Peru has revised its death toll from 70,000 to 180,000, giving it the highest death toll in the world’s population. Last year a sharp blockage plunged the economy into a deep recession, but it did not stop the spread of the virus, fueling anger. Many voters wore plastic face shields when they went to the polls.

Although both candidates would like to scare away many Peruvians and stay at home due to the pandemic, voting is mandatory in 32 million countries.

“I’m going to rip out the ballot paper,” a woman told the Financial Times the day before. “I want to get this farce out of the way and get home safely.”