Brazil's corruption scandals may ripple into Peruvian politics. Brazilian criminal investigators may soon submit information to the Peruvian Attorney General's office suggesting that Peruvian opposition leader Keiko Fujimori received illicit payments from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht in 2010 or 2011.

The importance of Fujimori's potential involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal extends far beyond her role as an opposition figure. As a relatively popular party leader, she controls 71 of 130 seats in Congress and was the runner-up in two consecutive elections. In 2016, Fujimori lost by only around 40,000 votes. Unless she faces corruption charges in the next several years, Fujimori stands a good chance of being the next president of Peru. However, if Peru's Attorney General does charge Fujimori, it will complicate her path to the presidency.

In Peru, where political parties orbit around individual political leaders, this introduces an element of uncertainty into the 2021 elections. Peru's political stability is not at risk if an investigation prevents Fujimori from campaigning. There are virtually no leftist or anti-establishment parties capable of obtaining a high percentage of the vote either in Congress or for the presidency. But her potential absence does create increasing doubt as to who will emerge to run for office and what an upcoming administration's political and economic platform would look like. An open investigation against Fujimori would complicate her ability to run for president. Should Fujimori face criminal charges, she could be unable to run for president, creating a void for other candidates to fill.