Put citizens' problems on the table, not group interests
En el espacio tenso que abre una primera vuelta sin mayoría, Juntos por el Perú ha comenzado el trabajo silencioso pero urgente de construir alianzas que no solo alcancen para ganar, sino para gobernar. Ernesto Zunini, su secretario general, ha salido a dialogar con múltiples fuerzas políticas bajo una premisa poco común en la política peruana: que el centro de las negociaciones sean los problemas reales de los ciudadanos, no los intereses de quienes ya tienen poder. Es un momento en que la diferencia entre sumar votos y construir legitimidad se vuelve, quizás, la pregunta más importante de la temporada electoral.
- Sin mayoría en primera vuelta, Juntos por el Perú enfrenta la presión de una segunda vuelta donde Roberto Sánchez podría enfrentarse a Keiko Fujimori, lo que convierte cada día en una carrera contra el reloj.
- El partido ha abierto conversaciones simultáneas con Primero la Gente, Ahora Nación, Venceremos, Perú Federal y Obras, tejiendo una red de alianzas que aún no tiene forma definitiva.
- Zunini insiste en que estas no son negociaciones de cuotas ni favores: el eje del diálogo deben ser los problemas públicos de la ciudadanía, no los apetitos de grupos económicos o políticos vinculados al poder actual.
- La transparencia se presenta como condición de legitimidad: cualquier acuerdo que parezca construido para los partidos, y no para el país, podría erosionar la coalición antes de que empiece a funcionar.
- En los próximos días se esperan anuncios de acuerdos concretos que revelarán qué tan sólida y amplia es realmente la arquitectura política que Juntos por el Perú está intentando levantar.
Ernesto Zunini, secretario general de Juntos por el Perú, se sentó ante los micrófonos de RPP para explicar lo que su partido estaba haciendo tras la primera vuelta: hablar con todos. Sin mayoría suficiente y con una posible segunda vuelta en el horizonte donde su candidato Roberto Sánchez podría enfrentarse a Keiko Fujimori, el partido estaba en movimiento.
Las conversaciones, según Zunini, no eran el intercambio habitual de favores políticos. Las llamó "diálogo programático", una distinción que cargaba de sentido: el objetivo no era solo ganar la elección, sino construir algo lo suficientemente sólido para gobernar una vez contados los votos. Esa diferencia —entre triunfar y administrar— parecía animar cada palabra que pronunció.
Los partidos ya contactados eran específicos: Primero la Gente, Ahora Nación, Venceremos, Perú Federal y Obras. Algunos diálogos ya habían trascendido públicamente; otros seguían en etapas más discretas. Pero la dirección era clara: Juntos por el Perú estaba lanzando una red amplia.
Lo que distinguía estas conversaciones, según Zunini, era su enfoque. No se trataba de lo que cada organización quería para sí misma, ni de los intereses económicos ligados al gobierno actual. El marco era otro: los problemas concretos que enfrentan los ciudadanos, las brechas en servicios, los fracasos de política pública.
Zunini fue cuidadoso con el tono. Las negociaciones debían conducirse con sensatez y transparencia hacia la ciudadanía, reconociendo implícitamente que los acuerdos de trastienda corroerían cualquier coalición que emergiera. Esa noche no anunció acuerdos específicos, pero sí anticipó que en los próximos días habría anuncios importantes. La maquinaria estaba en marcha; la forma final de la coalición, todavía por definirse.
Ernesto Zunini, the general secretary of Juntos por el Perú, sat down before the microphones at RPP's late-night program and laid out what his party was doing in the days after the first round of voting: talking to everyone. The party had not won an outright majority, and now, facing a potential runoff where their presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez might square off against Keiko Fujimori, they were in motion—reaching out, listening, building.
The conversations, Zunini explained, were not the usual backroom horse-trading. He called them "programmatic dialogue," a phrase that carried weight in how he used it. The goal was not simply to win an election, though that mattered. It was to construct something durable enough to actually govern the country once the votes were counted. That distinction—between winning and ruling—seemed to animate everything he said.
The list of parties already in contact was specific: Primero la Gente, Ahora Nación, Venceremos, Perú Federal, and Obras. Some of these conversations had already surfaced publicly. Primero la Gente had issued a statement. Ahora Nación had opened talks. Others were still in the quieter stages of exploration. But the direction was clear. Juntos por el Perú was casting a wide net.
What distinguished these talks, according to Zunini, was their focus. The party was centering the discussion not on what various political organizations wanted for themselves, and certainly not on the economic interests of groups tied to the current government and its power structures. Instead, they were putting citizens' actual problems on the table—the things people were struggling with, the gaps in services, the failures of policy. That was the frame. That was supposed to be the substance.
Zunini was careful about the tone he set. These negotiations had to be conducted sensibly, he said, and with transparency toward the public. There was an implicit acknowledgment here that people were watching, that backroom deals would corrode whatever coalition emerged. The legitimacy of any alliance would depend partly on whether it looked like it was built for the country or for the parties involved.
He did not announce specific agreements that night. Instead, he signaled that more was coming. In the days ahead, he suggested, there would be announcements of significant accords. The machinery was turning. The conversations were ongoing. What shape the coalition would take, and which parties would ultimately align with Sánchez for the second round, remained to be seen. But the work of assembling it had already begun.
Notable Quotes
The democratic approach is to sit down, dialogue with other political organizations, listen to them, and put forward something broad enough not just to win elections but to give the country governance.— Ernesto Zunini, general secretary of Juntos por el Perú
A programmatic negotiation means putting citizens' public problems at the center of dialogue with other parties, not group interests or the economic interests of groups linked to the government and power.— Ernesto Zunini
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Zunini keep using the phrase "programmatic dialogue" instead of just saying they're making deals?
Because he's trying to signal that this isn't transactional—it's not about trading cabinet positions or favors. He wants people to believe the talks are centered on actual policy problems, not backroom interests.
But isn't that always what politicians say? How would anyone know if he's being genuine?
That's the tension he's aware of. He mentions transparency explicitly because he knows the skepticism is built in. The real test will be what the actual agreements look like when they're announced.
Why mention the economic interests tied to the current government? That seems like a jab.
It's a way of saying: we're not going to be captured by the same power structures that have been running things. It's a signal to voters that this coalition is trying to be different, not just a reshuffling of the same elites.
Does the fact that they didn't win a majority in the first round weaken their position in these negotiations?
It could. They're coming to the table from a position of needing partners, not from strength. But it also means they have to be more serious about building something broader and more legitimate.
What happens if these talks fall apart?
Then Sánchez goes into the runoff without a coalition, which would be much harder. The whole strategy depends on these conversations producing real agreements in the next few days.