Peruvians to pick new president amid pandemic

Peruvians are set to pick a new president amid a relentless coronavirus pandemic that has even pushed cemeteries in the South American nation beyond capacity.

The polarizing runoff election Sunday between rural teacher Pedro Castillo and career politician Keiko Fujimori comes on the heels of the Peruvian government's admission that the pandemic's death toll is at least 2.5 times higher than previously acknowledged.

The jump brings the estimated total to more than 180,000 deaths of COVID-19.

Polls have shown the candidates virtually tied after neither earned more than 20% of support during the first round of voting in April, which included 18 aspiring presidents.

The challenges awaiting whoever takes office July 28 cannot be overestimated.

The winner will also face a divided Congress that will make it nearly impossible to move any proposals forward and may not even allow him or her to finish a term, possibly opening the door to a presidential crisis similar to last year's.

Peru's vaccination campaign has seen meager progress, and the pandemic has already pushed 3 million more people _ or roughly a tenth of the population _ into poverty.

Both Castillo and Fujimori have promised COVID-19 vaccines for all Peruvians.

The country has tallied more than 1.9 million cases and has only fully vaccinated about 3.7% of its 32.5 million residents, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.

People's anger over the government's mismanagement of the pandemic only heightened when an official document revealed that hundreds of wealthy and well-connected individuals, including a former president, were secretly vaccinated.