Guatemala eventually reached the second round of the presidency, not without controversy surrounding the contest. This Sunday, candidates Sandra Torres and Bernardo Arévalo will count their support to find out who will be the president’s successor Alejandro Giammattei.
It was a long and troubled career in which, to the surprise of both, Arévalo was promoted to second place by the seed movement. The Attempts to annul his candidacy or take legal action to suspend his party’s legal personality.
Arévalo’s surprise marked the period after the first round of voting and led the election progressive candidate to become voters’ favoriteaccording to the latest polls.
Torres won the first round but the scenario for this Sunday is very different. A survey released Wednesday by pollster Cid Gallup conducted between Aug. 4 and 13 of 1,819 Guatemalans of legal age and eligible to vote across the country found that Arévalo would receive 61% compared to 39% for the social democrat and former First Lady. Another study published on the same day by the newspaper Prensa Libre shows a similar result, albeit with a slightly greater difference.
Other polls, such as those by Innovem, bring the numbers closer and reinforce the intention to vote in favour Torres has 47.67% compared to 44.87% for Arévalobetween August 10th and 15th.
In any case, Neither of the two competitors has a parliamentary majorityAs such, they must negotiate and agree with political groups from across the spectrum in order to govern. This appears to be difficult as the ruling party has not stopped questioning the viability of a candidacy for Arévalo, the first politician in decades with a left-wing discourse and a real chance to govern Guatemala.
The election campaign ended on Wednesday. The one in Arévalo took place in the capital with a large assembly. That’s what the candidate said there Sunday “is a huge opportunity where once again we feel like the decision is in our hands.”. It’s not an ordinary second round in which the candidate who wants lies and misinformation wants to compete against him, but no, this is a different choice,” Arévalo promised Fighting corruption is her main management focus.
Sandra Torres signed an agreement with a this Tuesday Organizing retired soldiers to get their support for the second round Elections were held on Sunday, and there were also events with crowds. “Let’s get into that with heels from crime and violence, while welfare will return in the first hundred days of my government because there is a lot of poverty, unemployment and hunger. They’ll be better off with me,” he told those present.
During her campaign, Torres — a social democrat who did that tightened his speech to appeal to conservative voters– He based his campaign on security, economy and social protection. He proposed sending the army into the streets and increasing the number of police officers from 43,000 to 70,000. also want to build four maximum security prisons and install an artificial intelligence video surveillance system to reduce crime on the streets.
On the other hand, he said that he would abolish the tax on basic basket products, reduce electricity costs and set up an aid fund 150,000 single mothers from Guatemala.
against corruption
His opponent Bernardo Arévalo is also a social democrat, but more left-leaning. The son of the former President of Guatemala Juan Jose Arevalo He said his government’s goals are to “save the state from corruption,” to fill the development deficit in areas such as education and health, and to step up public and private investment.
Its social development program includes Expansion of the educational offer by half a million more students in schools, the creation of 400 health units, and the expansion of residential community services to support construction of houses, electricity and water supplies. The candidate promises to improve security by increasing it 12,000 cops plus the facility’s payrolland set up a heavy sentence prison to house the most dangerous criminals.
However, the election environment has a sword of Damocles: this Thursday the prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche announced possible arrests of Semilla party leaders. “We don’t rule out searches, we don’t rule out arrest warrants, we don’t rule out requests for a preliminary hearing after August 20,” the prosecutor told reporters in the capital. “I estimate that after August 20 they will have to register the political party suspension in the system,” Semilla added, referring to a measure already ordered by the controversial judge Freddie Orellanabut overturned by the Constitutional Court.
Curruchiche faced Semilla as Arévalo was among the chosen ones in the first round. It is alleged that irregularities occurred in the collection of citizens’ signatures to register the organization as a political party. His critics have denounced political motives behind the decision of the US-sanctioned prosecutor for corruption.