We Are Peru

We Are Peru was formed in 1995 under the name of "We Are Lima" (Somos Lima) as a personalist vehicle for mayoral candidate Alberto Andrade who broke from the Christian People's Party. Andrade was elected mayor of Lima[1] and became a leading figure of the opposition against then-president Alberto Fujimori. He was considered a main contender against Fujimori in the 2000 presidential election and was fiercely attacked by pro-government media, who successfully sought to diminish his popularity.[2] Eventually, he gained only 2.7% of the votes.[3]

At the legislative elections, held on 8 April 2001, the party won 5.8% of the popular vote and 4 out of 120 seats in the unicameral Congress of the Republic. The party participated in the 2006 elections as part of the Center Front together with the Popular Action (AP). Alberto Andrade ran as the first running mate of AP leader Valentín Paniagua. Paniagua came in distant fifth with only 5.8% of the vote. In the congressional vote, the alliance won 7.1% of the vote.

In the 2011 election, both We Are Peru and AP joined the Possible Peru Alliance and endorsed the presidential candidacy of former President Alejandro Toledo, who finished fourth, while the alliance won 14.8% of the vote in the congressional election.

At the legislative elections held on 26 January 2020, after 14 years of participating in electoral coalitions, the party itself won 6.0% of the popular vote and 11 out of a 130 seats in the Congress of the Republic.[4]

Following the removal of President Martín Vizcarra due to charges of corruption, Martín Vizcarra announced on 27 November 2020 that he would campaign for a seat in congress for the 2021 Peruvian general election, joining the We Are Peru party which had just voted for his removal weeks before.[5][6] The We Are Peru party's presidential candidate Daniel Salaverry welcomed Vizcarra to the party.[6] If elected into congress, Vizcarra would obtain parliamentary immunity from the investigations that resulted with his removal from the presidency.[6] When asked if attempting to avoid prosecution for corruption was his motivation to run for congress, Vizcarra stated "One of the flags that I am going to carry in this electoral process, to be fulfilled in Congress if elected, is precisely to completely reform the concept of parliamentary immunity, ... It cannot be that the Congress of the Republic has used parliamentary immunity".[6]