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Preliminary election results suggested that Guatemalan anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arevalo won the presidency on Sunday, a win that many voters hope will end rampant accusations of corruption and the authoritarianism of previous regimes.
Once 94 percent of the ballots had been tallied, Arevalo, a 64-year-old former diplomat and the son of a former president had established an unassailable lead over Sandra Torres, a former first lady, with a 59 percent to 36 percent edge.
He takes over as the nation is torn apart by violence and food insecurity, which leads to new migratory surges. The majority of Central Americans trying to enter the US right now are from Guatemala.
Several of Arevalo’s followers went outside to celebrate after media outlets predicted the election result. Several Guatemalans expressed the hope that a better future will be ushered in by Arevalo’s victory.
Although many other opposition candidates were disqualified from running, Arevalo unexpectedly emerged from political obscurity to lead his Semilla party in the creation of a sizable anti-corruption movement.
His win represents a rejection of the powerful, long-standing political parties in Guatemala.
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When Arevalo unexpectedly finished in second place in the first round of voting in June, his party was momentarily banned at the request of a well-known prosecutor before Guatemala’s highest court overturned the decision.
After attempts by some officials to disqualify Arevalo and his Semilla party from the race, the campaigning period was tainted, and the election is now being keenly monitored by the international community, including the United States.
Alejandro Giammattei, the outgoing president and a conservative, has committed to facilitate a smooth election and transfer of power.
Yet many Guatemalans are still doubtful after witnessing the government target judges and anti-corruption campaigners, many of whom fled into exile, and dismiss investigators from a UN-backed anti-corruption commission.
Bernardo Arevalo was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1958. His father, Juan Jose Arevalo, was the first democratically elected president of Guatemala.
He received his doctorate from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and sociology degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He has written books on the military in South America as well as on post-conflict civilizations.
Before being elected to Congress in 2019, he worked on peace-building missions in Geneva while serving as deputy minister of foreign affairs and ambassador to Spain in the 1990s. He’s got six kids.
Source: SCMP
