![]() If possible, you should contact your Democratic senator(s) to urge them to assure that the election is free, fair and transparent. Given the scare tactics of USA conservatives, do not be surprised when know-nothing knuckleheads like Marco Rubio weigh in (again) with a dubious public relations campaign and drive donations and to the Torres campaign. Torres will use the tried-and-true practices of scaring the business classes (that Arévalo is a reformer/regulator that will cut their profits and ability to exploit workers and align with international capital interests) and scaring the workers (that Arévalo is soft on crime and will wreck the economy). That Arévalo is seen as Center-Left gives Torres a chance to run a campaign like José Antonio Kast did in Chile in 2021 against Gabriel Boric: money from the corporate interests, a MAGA-style campaign and, of course, scaring the electorate with the most baseless of lies. Unfortunately, both Torres and Arévalo gained most of their support in the rural areas. Arévalo will need to motivate the anti-corruption vote in the Capital City/Mixco/ Villa Nueva urban areas. Bernardo Arévalo votes on Sunday.Īrévalo also has an advantage due to the antivotos: those that have been ‘Never-Torres’ votes in the last two run-offs. Four years ago, absenteeism in the second round reached about 58%.Īrévalo is already speaking to this apathy: “We believe voters were fed up and tired of a political system which has been co-opted by the same-old groups and were looking for a decent alternative,” Arévalo told a press conference, thanking voters for their “courage”. The two candidates face off on August 20th. “But let’s say that he does get to the runoff with Torres, I think his chances could be pretty good actually because you are just seeing that such a large share of Guatemalan society rejects the status quo wants someone different – and now he is going to have a platform he has never had before to spread his message,” Freeman added. I just don’t think we can count that out,” he said. ![]() “I think there’s a serious chance that the powers that be in Guatemala will try to eliminate him from the running, legally. Freeman feared Arévalo could suffer a similar fate between now and the second round. Three prominent candidates were sidelined from Sunday’s election after controversial decisions from electoral authorities. “The clearest message to me is that, try as they might, the established political interests in Guatemala could not suppress this demand for change or for an outsider who would really shake up the political system.” “I do think, for now, that it is good news and that everyone who hopes for the restoration of democracy in Guatemala should be breathing a sigh of relief – even if it is not a complete one,” said Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He runs as a member of the Movimiento Semilla, which first emerged as an analysis group after the 2015 protests that led to the resignation of the then president, Otto Pérez Molina. Arévalo also supports the UN efforts to combat political and business corruption in Guatemala.Ĭomments about Arévalo’s performance were reported in The Guardian by a representative of the Council on Foreign Relations (presented here without my personal comments): During his career he held positions such as consul in Israel, vice minister of Foreign Affairs in his country and ambassador to Spain and is currently a deputy in Congress. Arévalo is a sociologist and former diplomat. Arévalo is the son of first democratically-elected president in Guatemalan history: Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (elected in 1945 after the Guatemalan revolution of 1944). The big surprise was the second-highest vote getter: Bernando Arévalo with 11.8% of the votes. (Mexicans may remember that it took three tries – and three ideological adjustments – for Andrés Manuel López Obrador to win the Mexican presidency in 2018.) Last week, I wrote about Torres’ activities as first-lady and her commitment to social programs to combat poverty and her movement toward more business- and security-oriented policies (including emulating the security strategy of the Nayib Bukele government in El Salvador to “militarize” prisons and build more maximum security prisons). Torres was first lady during the government of Álvaro Colom from 2008-2012. This is her third time heading for the run-off. Since no candidate received a majority of votes counted, a run-off election between the top two candidates will be held on August 20th.įormer first-lady Sandra Torres received 15.7% of the votes. According to the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE), absenteeism reached 40% among the more than 9.3 million Guatemalans voters and 17% of the votes cast were spoiled. As the results have come in from Sunday’s presidential election in Guatemala, it is clear that apathy is the overall winner.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |