That the candidate who is emerging as the second favorite in the national polls to lead Guatemala, Sandra Torres, resorts to making propaganda videos on TikTok explaining that they gave her a “Harry Potter movie box” because her glasses resemble those of the Movie character “and they call me Sandra Potter”, according to analysts shows the tendency of politicians to evade the crucial problems that afflict the country.
Likewise, on other social media platforms, candidates from different parties can be seen challenging their adversaries to take tests that have nothing to do with the tasks or scope of the inauguration of head of state, nor with the approach to the crucial issues he faces. Guatemala.
The general elections on June 25 in Guatemala, when the successor to Alejandro Giammattei is elected, as well as the plenary session of the National Congress and the mayors will be a test for the Central American country, under observation of the international community.
Analyst Rubén Hidalgo, from the Central American Institute of Political Studies, commented to the Guatemalan newspaper Free Press which is the first electoral process that shows a disconnection of the presidential candidates “to the serious debate.”
On the contrary, the formula of these new campaigns aims to evade the electorate from “proposals for problems” and to become creators of content that abounds on social networks with messages without any substance, rather than to attract “likes”.
“Instead they have sought emotional and even ridiculous formulas of humor to win the sympathy of the citizen,” says Hidalgo. This expert considers that basically “what is worrisome is the reading they have of the citizen; that he does not seriously care about the national problem, that he is unaware of the facts and therefore they consider that they are attending to the requirement of the population with antics”.
Guatemala’s Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo has said that while candidates use these social media platforms and the dynamics they impose, presidential hopefuls are obligated to address the country’s issues.
In that institution, they understand the changing dynamics of audiences and media consumption that set different guidelines for advertising with “less traditional” ways because casualness currently prevails.
The one who is ahead in the polls, Carlos Pineda, of the Citizen Prosperity Party, is already advanced in the use of social networks to spread his messages that permeate the Guatemalan citizenry.
For a long time he could be found on various social networking platforms in some messages sitting in front of the screen synthesizing the content of a graph to explain in a simple way the scope of corruption, unemployment, health problems and any other problem that afflicts the country.
Other times also outdoors with countrymen talking about country issues in a casual way. In recent days, the temptation of other candidates, such as Edmond Mulet, from the Cabal party -among the favorites in the race- has challenged Pineda in networks to see who wins a competition of kayak.
They report spending on advertising
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has provided some data based on the counts of the Specialized Unit for the Control and Audit of Finances of Political Parties that indicate the spending on advertising propaganda on social networks.
In April, political parties spent 1.3 million quetzales (about $221,000) to advertise on digital platforms. The amount corresponds to payments only for political guidelines on Meta, Facebook and Instagram.
On other platforms where there is no payment, such as TikTok, the campaigns bet on what the algorithms can generate with the messages of their candidates to push more followers and group them into their bases.
The electoral process in Guatemala has not been exempt from criticism of the TSE and the country’s justice system for rejecting applications such as that of the indigenous leader Thelma Contreras and others who seek to break traditional politics and power groups in the Central American country.
Nor does it escape persecution against justice operators independent and media outlets where international organizations and Guatemalan civil society have warned of the serious deterioration of press freedom and the free exercise of journalism.
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