Keiko’s Depression and the “Senderista Mausoleum”: On Loss, Vulnerability, and Public Discourse in Peru

ABSTRACT In a November 2016 speech, Keiko Fujimori emphatically denied rumors that she was experiencing depression as a result of her defeat in Peru’s presidential elections. Fujimori’s claim that depression was “for losers” caused a storm on social media, with responses questioning the notion that the politician was emotionally unaffected by the loss. Earlier that month, the latest episode in another, quite different controversy had taken place. Members of an organization responsible for the construction of a mausoleum in Comas—a site branded as pro-Shining Path in the news media—participated in a ceremony honoring those interred at the tomb. This article uses Fujimori’s declaration and discussions surrounding the Comas mausoleum as entry points for considering the relationship between loss, vulnerability, and public discourse in Peru. I argue that expressions of invulnerability offer a useful site for analyzing and critiquing an entrenched refusal to acknowledge the consequences of the country's recent internal war.