Fredie Cano arrived at the La Sala nightclub in Antigua Guatemala to take advantage of and consume liquor hours before the Dry Law begins, which prevents establishments from selling, buying and consuming drinks of this type, before, during and after the elections in this country that are held on Sunday, June 25.
“I’m enjoying a Friday night before prohibition arrives because a responsible drunk drinks today and doesn’t drink the weekend,” Cano joked to the Voice of America.
This young man who works as a tour guide in Guatemala assures that during Prohibition, people experience it in different ways. Some drink on Fridays to avoid doing it during the election weekend, while others decide to buy enough alcoholic beverages so that they do not lack on those days when sales are prohibited.
“The reality that always exists is that many people buy alcohol today and have it for the weekend. That happens, not everyone respects it (the Dry Law) ”, she indicates.
The Dry Law It is applied from twelve o’clock on the day before the general elections, that is, Saturday June 24 at noon and runs until Monday June 26 at 6:00 a.m.
Those who are detained for violating this legal norm will be sanctioned with fines and could even be arrested within a period of between 15 and 30 days for violating provisions that aspire to common security, public order and health.
In Antigua Guatemala, the capital of the department of Sacatepéquez and one of the main tourist sites in the country, the bars gave their maximum on Friday before the regulations came into force to attract their customers and carry out promotions and offers.
Darling Hernández, a worker at the Antigua Cerveza El Arco bar, explains that most places do their best to sell alcohol before the regulated abstinence period begins.
“Today (Friday) I think it’s going to be a crazy day because yes, I think many people are going to take advantage of today to go out to clubs, to dance and everything because they already know how Latinos are: they tell us that there will be dry law and we go crazy,” he says.
“People become euphoric and very crazy,” he reaffirms, alluding to the ban prior to the elections.
In the case of foreigners who visit Guatemala, Hernández assures that they still do not understand why they are banning alcohol, because in other countries that does not happen. “The truth is something inexplicable to them.”
Leo Rivers, originally from the United Kingdom, arrived in Antigua Guatemala about four hours ago. He says that it is the first time he has visited the country.
This young foreigner tells the VOA that the regulations “are a bit outdated”.
“I can understand why someone would (activate dry law). I personally have made terrible mistakes and very bad decisions while drunk, so it makes sense, but it’s very old-fashioned.
And Olivia Talavera, originally from Colorado and who is also visiting Guatemala, agreed with that.
“I think it’s fair to want everyone to make a good decision, but I think you can make a good decision if you drink a beer just as you can make a bad decision if you don’t drink a beer. I don’t think they are directly related.”
She assures that in the United States “I have heard little about laws related to alcohol that only focus on election time.”
“I have been to places in America (USA), where there are certain areas and certain states where it is very difficult to obtain (alcoholic) drinks, but that is for religious reasons, not political ones.”
For his part, Daniel Turcios, a 29-year-old photographer from Guatemala, explains that the decision, rather than a matter of good sense when voting, occurs because of the Latin American culture where people “drink too much liquor.”
“We are a culture that takes a lot, it has always been like that,” he points out, although he acknowledges that the regulations have a negative impact on the tourism sector, as is the case in Antigua Guatemala, where the presence of foreigners abounds.
“I know many bar owners who close the bar better because they don’t have an account and the fine is very extensive. If it is even mandatory to cover the drinks, they cannot have visible bottles, they have to cover them”, says Turcios.
In order to make a profit, this young man explains that “always the day before the regulations come into force, many parties are organized, many after partiesas to promote business, more than anything to make up for the weekend that they are not going to sell”.
We’re a culture that takes a lot, it’s always been that way
According to the Guatemalan Ministry of the Interior, some 35,000 police officers will be deployed 48 hours before the elections in the different voting centers.
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