Overview
- Keiko Fujimori and Mesías Guevara clashed during the March 25 presidential debate, with Fujimori saying she would "do ghosting" to him and Guevara replying that he would "papear" her.
- "Ghosting" refers to cutting off contact without warning, which Fujimori used to signal she would ignore further jabs from her opponent.
- "Papear" in Peruvian online slang means to humiliate or beat someone in an argument, a meaning outlets attributed to social media use and noted is not recognized by the RAE.
- Newsrooms on March 26 explained both terms and highlighted how the moment drew young audiences, with El Comercio and Libero running glossaries while Correo set the exchange within a dispute over crime policy.
- Debate organizers scheduled another session for March 31 that includes Fujimori, Guevara, Rafael López Aliaga, and Marisol Pérez Tello, while Vladimir Cerrón remains out pending a Constitutional Tribunal decision.