Ex-general is Guatemalan president
Source: Agencies |
November 8, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A RETIRED right-wing general promising a crackdown on violent crime won Guatemala's presidential election last Sunday and will be the first army man to take power since democracy was restored in 1986.
Otto Perez had 54.2 percent support with results in from 98 percent of polling stations while his rival, wealthy businessman Manuel Baldizon, trailed with 45.8 percent.
Guatemala's electoral tribunal declared Perez the winner late on Sunday, and his supporters began celebrating in the streets.
It was a clear move to the right for Central America's largest economy and came after leftist President Alvaro Colom failed to contain violent crime or protect the country from Mexican drug cartels using it as a key smuggling route.
Perez, 60, won the runoff election by promising a "firm hand" against crime. He has vowed to deploy troops on the streets and increase the size of the police force.
"From the first day on, Guatemalans are going to see they've got a president committed to defending the lives and safety of all Guatemalans," Perez said late on Sunday, vowing to devote at least 60 percent of his time on security.
Supporters set off fireworks and joined a street party near the convention center in Guatemala City where the votes were counted. They sported the Patriot Party's orange colors on shirts and caps and waved their fists in the air, imitating Perez's clenched-hand campaign emblem.
Guatemala's murder rate is about eight times that of the United States and many of the country's 14.7 million people want a tougher stance on crime. "There's even extortion in the schools," said housewife Elsa Guzman, 59. "I trust the army more. The army is not afraid to go out at night, but the police don't even go out at night."
Human rights groups fear Perez's crime-fighting message may have a dark side in a country with a history of military dictatorships and extra-judicial killings by security forces.
The Guatemalan army murdered suspected leftists and committed many massacres of peasants during the 1960-1996 civil war, in which about a quarter million people were killed or disappeared.
Perez was a commander in some of the most violent areas and there have been allegations that troops under his command committed abuses. But he was also seen as a progressive officer inside the army and had a key role in supporting the 1996 peace accords which ended the war.
The election campaign focused mainly on Guatemala's battle against street gangs and Mexican drug traffickers moving South American cocaine up through the country to the US. Military experts say cartels and gangs control around 40 percent of Guatemala, a huge challenge for the next president.
Otto Perez had 54.2 percent support with results in from 98 percent of polling stations while his rival, wealthy businessman Manuel Baldizon, trailed with 45.8 percent.
Guatemala's electoral tribunal declared Perez the winner late on Sunday, and his supporters began celebrating in the streets.
It was a clear move to the right for Central America's largest economy and came after leftist President Alvaro Colom failed to contain violent crime or protect the country from Mexican drug cartels using it as a key smuggling route.
Perez, 60, won the runoff election by promising a "firm hand" against crime. He has vowed to deploy troops on the streets and increase the size of the police force.
"From the first day on, Guatemalans are going to see they've got a president committed to defending the lives and safety of all Guatemalans," Perez said late on Sunday, vowing to devote at least 60 percent of his time on security.
Supporters set off fireworks and joined a street party near the convention center in Guatemala City where the votes were counted. They sported the Patriot Party's orange colors on shirts and caps and waved their fists in the air, imitating Perez's clenched-hand campaign emblem.
Guatemala's murder rate is about eight times that of the United States and many of the country's 14.7 million people want a tougher stance on crime. "There's even extortion in the schools," said housewife Elsa Guzman, 59. "I trust the army more. The army is not afraid to go out at night, but the police don't even go out at night."
Human rights groups fear Perez's crime-fighting message may have a dark side in a country with a history of military dictatorships and extra-judicial killings by security forces.
The Guatemalan army murdered suspected leftists and committed many massacres of peasants during the 1960-1996 civil war, in which about a quarter million people were killed or disappeared.
Perez was a commander in some of the most violent areas and there have been allegations that troops under his command committed abuses. But he was also seen as a progressive officer inside the army and had a key role in supporting the 1996 peace accords which ended the war.
The election campaign focused mainly on Guatemala's battle against street gangs and Mexican drug traffickers moving South American cocaine up through the country to the US. Military experts say cartels and gangs control around 40 percent of Guatemala, a huge challenge for the next president.
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