voters call for change to curb “corruption and poverty”

Thousands of Guatemalans went to the polls this Sunday to elect their next president of the Republic, as well as their representatives in Congress and municipal authorities.

In total there are 9 million Guatemalans who are called to vote this June 25. For this, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has enabled 3,400 voting centers throughout the national territory.

There are 22 candidates competing for the presidency of the Republic, but according to local polls three are the favorites: Sandra Torres, a former Guatemalan first lady, Edmund Mulet, a former UN diplomat, and Zury Ríos, daughter of the late ex-dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt. .

According to the rules of the Electoral Tribunal, to win the contest in the first round, one of the candidates must obtain 50 percent, plus one of the total votes, so the two candidates who obtain the most votes would face each other in the second round on August 20, 2023 of not obtaining what is necessary.

Among the Guatemalan population there are many expectations with the elections. Some citizens say that their main concern is the economic issue, others corruption.

Guillermo Hernández, a Guatemalan who went to the polls in the morning, told the voice of america that “it is important to exercise their right to vote to decide for our authorities that they are going to govern us for the next four years.”

“We are hoping that it will be a good government and that it creates the conditions for Guatemalans to be in better conditions than we are historically in the country, since the big winner has always been abstentionism. Currently we have seen good influx from early “, he added.

Challenges in the economy and migration

Pamela Aguilar, another 24-year-old Guatemalan, says she holds out hope in the general elections for a change in the economy.

Aguilar, who works at a market research firm, told the VOA that he has seen several relatives, friends and acquaintances who have migrated to the United States in search of better opportunities, since they do not exist in Guatemala.

“Honestly, to change something… It depends on whether we as citizens, as a people, have the mentality of not voting for the same thing. If we vote conscientiously, something will change,” Aguilar said.

“Unemployment, crime, migration and the lack of interest in the history of Guatemala worries us,” he concluded.

“The country has fallen into corruption”

Eric Torres, 23, is another young man who has expectations that in these elections “the candidates who come to represent the country will be much better than those who were there before.”

As a young man, he regrets that the country “has fallen very low, there is a lot of fraud and corruption.”

“I, as a young citizen, would like to see my country, Guatemala, stand out, I would like it to come out of all that and I am hoping that the candidates have a better visualization for us young people. We are the ones who will build our country in the future.”

Will there be a real change?

Analysts say that Guatemala faces great challenges related to the fight against corruption, and the credibility of the judicial system, which has been questioned.

Tiziano Breda, from the Affari Internazionali Institute, told the VOA who sees these elections “like a car that travels on semi-automatic pilot and whose driver selection has been flawed by the exclusion of those who could really change the course of the vehicle.”

Breda refers to the exclusion of at least three candidates from the electoral process, one of them, Carlos Pineda, with a high level of popularity.

The analyst says that among those who remain “surely there may be differences in driving style but, in the end, they are not going to want or be able to change the course of that car and the country in general.”

“The only one who I think could make a bit of a difference, especially on the issue of corruption, is Edmund Mullet, but I believe that, even if he were to win the presidency, it would be difficult for him to have a sufficient majority, enough force in Congress. to make substantial reforms.

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