Wealth & Money Quote by Alberto Fujimori

Denial, delivered as a rapid inventory of alleged assets, is the oldest move in the political survival handbook: name the scandal in concrete detail, then try to smother it with certainty. Fujimori’s phrasing is almost legalistic, not because it clarifies, but because it performs control. “$18 million,” “three Japanese banks,” “two factories in Panama” - the specificity is meant to read as proof of seriousness. It’s also a trap: repeat the accusations on your own terms, then declare them “completely false” as if repetition plus firmness can overwrite public suspicion.

The subtext is less “I’m innocent” than “You’re being manipulated.” By framing the allegations as “part of the counter campaign,” he shifts the audience from jury to victim. If voters accept the premise of a coordinated smear, the factual question becomes secondary; what matters is allegiance in a siege. The vague “some people” is doing strategic work, too. It invites listeners to fill in the villains - the opposition, the media, foreign interests - without Fujimori taking the risk of naming an enemy he might later need.

Context sharpens the stakes. Fujimori’s presidency was defined by a hard-edged promise of order: defeat insurgency, stabilize the economy, cut through institutional paralysis. That brand depends on a reputation for efficiency and discipline, which corruption allegations puncture instantly. So the rhetoric isn’t aimed at disproving; it’s aimed at preserving the governing myth: that attacks on him are attacks on stability itself.