Castilo-Fujimori presidential clash opposes rural and urban Peru

In two weeks, voters in Peru will return to the polls and make their final decision on the country’s next president. Their choice is between Pedro Castillo, a populist left-wing trade unionist, and Keiko Fujimori, an extreme-right congresswoman who is the daughter of former dictator Alberto Fujimori. 

The fact that Mr. Castillo even made it to the presidential runoff came as a shock for most Peruvians. Opinion polls in the lead-up to the vote ranked him in seventh place. Noticeably stunned himself, Mr. Castillo thanked the rural voters who propelled him to the second round, greeting those “who have been forgotten, who live on the margins of our homeland where the state is not present.” 

And immediately after the first-round vote, it seemed this surprise package could end up going all the way. A poll from Datum International held between April 29 and 30 showed Mr. Castillo some 10 percentage points ahead of Ms. Fujimori. However, 22 percent of respondents chose neither or had yet to make up their minds. 

That poll showed the chasm between rural and urban voters in Peru. In the wealthy...