Repeated political attacks on Peru’s left-wing presidential hopeful Veronika Mendoza may have actually helped the candidate advance in the polls and secure a spot tied for second place, according to the analysis of a local pollster reported Saturday by Peru’s La Republica.
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Peru Leftist Veronika Mendoza Surges in Polls as Election Nears
Throughout her campaign, Mendoza’s progressive platform including rewriting the country’s dictatorship-era constitution has been smeared as “anti-mining” and “Chavista,” criticizing her for following the example of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. She has also been called a “terrorist.”
In recent weeks, attacks have focused on alleged links to a corruption scandal swirling around first lady Nadine Heredia.
Media coverage has starkly shifted since the early days of the campaign, when Mendoza barely registered in the polls and was sidelined by mainstream media even after she started to gain ground on other, more well-known candidates.
“Definitely, if a candidate has more media exposure and more media coverage, regardless of the tone of the coverage, that has an effect that cannot be foreseen,” said Datum polling general manager Urpi Torrado, according to La Republica. “In some cases the effect is positive and in other it is negative.”
In Mendoza’s case, all signs seem to point in the direction of a positive impact. The candidate has surged in the polls in recent weeks unlike any other, catapulting into a tie for second place with IMF and World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, just over a week ahead of the April 10 election.
In the latest poll, released by pollster Gfk on Saturday, Mendoza and Kuczynski are tied at 15 and 15.1 percent respectively, locking them in a dead heat over who will make it to the second round with presidential favorite Keiko Fujimori, polling at 37.1 percent.
A runoff scenario between Fujimori and Kuczynski would see a win for the frontrunner by a margin of 41 to 37.8 percent, while a race between Fujimori and Mendoza would be virtually the same at 41.7 to 37.4 percent, according to the Gfk poll.
The final weeks of the campaign have been marked by uncertainty as Fujimori’s candidacy remained in limbo after two other presidential candidates were barred from running. Electoral authorities have been accused of bias, raising concerns about electoral fairness and transparency.
The Organization of American States chief Luis Almagro suggested Friday that Peru’s election will not be fully democratic if steps were not taken to ensure all candidates can participate.
Peruvians will head to the polls on April 10. With no candidate set to win the first round outright with more than 50 percent of the vote, the two frontrunners will face off in a runoff vote in June.