Guatemalans elect president among candidates of opposite poles

After a tumultuous campaign, Guatemalans went to the polls on Sunday to elect their president and vice president for the next four years in the Central American nation, between an anti-corruption advocate and a former first lady seen as an ally of the outgoing government.

The second round election is one of the most observed in recent times due to the difficulties and judicial interference that the process has faced and that have alerted not only the country’s citizens, but also the international community, which has denounced the risk that Guatemalan democracy is running.

In the race are former first lady Sandra Torres, who mutated from the center to the right and became an ally of outgoing and deeply unpopular President Alejandro Giammattei, making her third bid for the presidency. And her opponent, Bernardo Arévalo, with the progressive left-wing Movimiento Semilla, who rode the wave of popular resentment toward traditional politics. Arévalo achieved a surprising second place in the first round.

The winner will face problems of corruption, violence and high prices. The polling stations opened without any problems being reported, although the magistrate of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Blanca Alfaro, denounced the day before that she had received death threats by telephone, and on Sunday she assured that she could present her resignation due to that situation. Except for some complaints and denunciations about transporting people or delivering food in exchange for votes, the day has passed without major incidents.

Arevalo, 64 years old, cast his vote early, amid applause and cheers from supporters. “Everybody go vote, we are going to vote early, we are going to vote with joy, calmly; It is the moment, it is a civic party”, express. Torres also did it early, without providing statements.

Sergio Antonlín was the first of a small line that arrived early at the Colegio la Patria voting center, located in the center of the city. With the national anthem in the background, Antonlín waited with a dozen people to cast his vote.

“What I hope is that something positive for the country comes out of this, we are already tired of the old corruption policy,” said the 62-year-old merchant.

Erick Ruiz, a 29-year-old data analyst, went with his mother to vote at a polling station in zone 21, a peripheral area of ​​the city. “I think there are few people voting compared to the first round, maybe it is because of everything that has happened in the process, but voting is very important,” Ruíz pointed out, who stressed that whoever is not satisfied with the result of the vote has mechanisms to challenge, “But the important thing is that the will of the citizens be respected and ensured.”

The latest surveys show that society is fed up with traditional politicians who, under clientelism, have come to govern corruptly and with impunity, according to experts, which has weakened the rule of law and imposed a perception of hopelessness in society. Proof of this is that Arévalo, in his first participation as a presidential candidate, has an advantage of more than double against Torres, in the preference of the electorate.

Sunday’s election marks the end of an electoral process that has been bumpy since its inception, with the exclusion by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the courts of justice of popular candidates who were favored by the electorate, of delays in the officialization of results due to legal actions by losing parties and the continued intention of the prosecution to block the participation of the Seed Movement.

“It is incredible how we managed to get there, after everything that has happened in the electoral process. How is it possible that now they come out with investigations against one of the two parties ”, said Delmi Espino, a 46-year-old teacher.

The first round of general voting on June 25 passed relatively quietly until the results showed that Arévalo, who according to the polls was outside the top seven preference places, won second place. That society’s weariness with its politicians, analysts say, was what influenced young people, the largest electorate in Arévalo, to position him as far as he has come.

But reaching a second electoral round was not going to be easy. The losing parties and even the National Unity of Hope that promotes Torres joined forces to present legal actions and thus request a second review of the minutes that contained the vote count and that stopped the officialization of results. The second review confirmed the results.

It was then that the Public Ministry, just an hour before the results were made official, announced that a judge was suspending the legal personality of the Arévalo party, thereby preventing it from participating in a second round.

Judge Fredy Orellana ordered the suspension of the legal personality despite the fact that the Electoral and Political Parties Law that governs the electoral season prohibits it. Semilla obtained a provisional protection and later it was definitive and that ensures his participation. However, the prosecution has said that it will continue to investigate Semilla for allegedly collecting false signatures to register the party in 2018.

Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America and the largest economy in the region continues to struggle against the widespread poverty and violence that have driven millions of Guatemalans to migrate to the United States.

Torres and Arévalo have different visions of what Guatemalan society needs. While Torres, 67, and ex-wife of the former president, who died in 2023, Álvaro Colom, appeals for conservative and religious values, he also offers social assistance and a reduction in basic food basket prices.

Arévalo, congressman and sociologist, son of former president Juan José Arévalo (1945-1951 progressive) promises to combat the corruption and impunity that invades the country.

Source: AP