GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Outsider Bernardo Arévalo appeared to be the “virtual winner” of Sunday's election to be Guatemala’s next president after voters angry at widespread corruption and leaders’ failure to tackle it made a decisive choice for change.
A potential victory by the progressive candidate is almost certainly distressing politicians who have been enjoying impunity for corruption, along with some members of the monied elite and their allies in organized crime.
Some of Arévalo’s supporters gathered at a plaza downtown in the capital waving flags and blowing horns. The two candidates offered starkly different paths forward. Torres became an ally of the outgoing, deeply unpopular Giammattei in her third bid for the presidency. Arévalo, with the progressive Seed Movement, rode a wave of popular resentment toward politics to his surprise spot in the runoff.
Political analyst Renzo Rosal noted the heavier than usual presence of uniformed agents from the Attorney General's Office at voting centers across the country “could be taken as a form of intimidation.” The Associated Press saw such agents at several voting centers. Poll workers at each voting table immediately began tallying ballots. One person would unfold each ballot, show it to the party observers at the table and announce which party received the vote.
González wants to continue on to college and study business administration. She loves to cook and dreams of having her own restaurant one day, but the threat of extortion is so great that she's unsure if it's possible. “People can't keep a business,” she said.
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