by JEFF ABBOTT
PHOTO/Jeff Abbott
Since April 2015, Guatemala has been gripped by a corruption scandal following revelations of a criminal network operating at the highest levels of government. This scandal has lead to the resignation and arrests of both the President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President of Guatemala, and led to the resignation of dozens of public officials. Despite the current climate of corruption, scandal, and crisis, Guatemalans turned out to vote for the President’s replacement. Though they vote believing that the politicians in the current race are all corrupt.
On the day prior to the elections a few hundred protesters gathered to demand that they be delayed. Protesters argued that in this climate of crisis, the country could not legitimately hold elections. During the protest, a small theater collective preformed a skit with three characters, one dressed as a pig, the other a monster, and the third as the devil. Each one represented the 3 front-runners, Baldizon, Morales, and Torres, and were paraded around by a woman who represented the clueless television personalities that are common in mainstream national television. At the end, the crowed was asked to vote for one of the three candidates, who were all equally horrible.
This skit represents Guatemala’s current electoral process as a tragic three-ring circus. The tragic clown is Morales, the marionette that he is, is front and center.
To the surprise of many observers, nationalist candidate and former comedian Jimmy Morales won a majority of votes. He was unable to obtain a majority, and will face Sandra Torres, a center-left for the political party United Nation in Hope, or UNE in the Spanish acronym, who campaigned on development and jobs, in a runoff election on October 25.
For many, Morales, who has a long running comedy show on Guatemalan television, was not a serious candidate. But he ran on a nationalist platform, and presented himself as an outside candidate who was “un-corruptible.” Because of this, he managed to win the first round. However, behind this “political outsider” are many of the same forces and influences that led to the current political crisis.
The Protests’ Influence on Elections
One of the most surprising results that has come from the protests during the elections has been the popular backlash against Dr. Manuel Baldizon, who many had considered to be the presidential frontrunner. Baldizon, a wealthy businessman and politician from the department of Peten, had become a target of protesters in the lead up to the elections.
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