Guatemala will elect this Sunday the 52nd president in its history, cin ballot between former first lady (2008-2012) Sandra Torres Casanova and progressive academic Bernardo Arevalo de Leonin the midst of an atmosphere of uncertainty.

9.3 million Guatemalans invited to vote must decide whether Torres Casanova of the National Unity of Hope (UEH) first woman to rule or if Arevalo de Leon from the Seed Movement becomes first progressive president in the history of the Central American nation.

Current electoral process most controversial in Guatemala since the establishment of democracy in 1986 and has been overshadowed by the role of the State Ministry (Prosecution), which since July 12 has tried to cancel the Seed Movement and prevent the participation of Arévalo de León.

According to experts interviewed EFEin these elections the continuity of a system that weakened democracy is at stake and that it guaranteed impunity for the traditional politicians of the Central American country.

Candidates

Torres Casanova, 67 She is a seasoned politician who believes in her alliances with mayors across the country and in the rural structure that her party has been building for over 15 years to win elections.

former first lady lost the second round of 2015 and 2019 and, according to experts, his past of corruption has generated strong anti-voting in the country’s urban areas.

In the first round, June 25, Torres Casanova took first place with nearly 900,000 votes.who represented 15% of the electorate.

For his part, Arévalo de León, 64, driven by an anti-corruption bid and the image of his father, former President Juan José Arevalo Bermejo (1945–1951), surprised on June 25 by winning second place with over 600,000 votes, despite polls placing him in eighth place.

His success led a government ministry composed of prosecutors sanctioned by the United States for corruption to initiate Crusade of arrest warrants and attempts to cancel the match for an alleged case of anomalies in the Seed Movement registration process in 2018.

One week before the voting place of voting Arevalo de Leon – favorite with 61% intention to vote, while Torres Casanova is gaining 37%.

tension and uncertainty

Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who is leading the case against Semilla, did not rule out that after voting for the presidency issue arrest warrants and pre-trial requests against party members for an alleged corruption case.

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the US Department of State lead the international actors that asked to “respect the will of the people” to speak out in elections in a Central American country.