Yesterday Guatemalan went to the polls for a second time to vote for the two candidates in the presidential run-off. No one got more than 50% of the vote in the general election, so the top two candidates campaign for another 6 weeks. The orange guy lost and the green guy won.
Speaking with most people, they didn't really have faith in any of the candidates. A man I had breakfast with on Saturday told me that it was basically like choosing a terminal disease.
Colom of the party U.N.E. won with 53% of the vote. The accusations he's fought during the campaign is that he is a Mayan priest who is going to commit the country to idols once elected and that his party bought votes by giving away sheet metal for example. His platform is to clean up police and judge corruption while addressing the root of violence which is poverty.
Pérez Molina, the guy who lost, was accused of killing a lot of people during the civil war as a part of the military and of being financially backed by some drug lords. His platform was to beef up the military and police while reinstating the death penalty. (He seems really keen on killing people)
You can read about the results in this article by the CBC and watch these TV adverts for Colom and for Pérez Molina.
6 comments:
Hmmm...sounds like the "hidden agenda" propaganda that was touted here in Canada...that never came true.
Glad the green guy won. He sounds less violent.
Don't underestimate the amount of doom that there already is in this country... Presidents have done incredible damage to Guatemala in the past.
So are you happy with the winner?
So the green guys like the Dems (give stuff to people to make em vote) and the Orange guy is like the Republicans (just kill/torture everyone). O feel the same about this election as the the fellow you mentioned felt about yours. Vote for the lesser evil. Yuck.
I guess I'm fine with the U.N.E. winning. I certainly like their policies more than the other guy. As far as buying votes... that's the way to get elected in this country. The problem of ignorance is severe and it is very difficult to enjoy a democracy when so many people don't know their right hand from their left.
I like the comparison with the Dems and Reps. Man, I'd hate to live in the States.
It would be a funny comment "choosing a terminal disease" if it didn't appear so true. Looking at the accusations, I would have voted for the green guy.
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