Guatemala: Running Headless
Guatemala has been running without its head of state for about a week. The former president, Otto Perez Molina, was forced to retire following a wave of resistance against his administration after the Guatemalan Supreme Court ordered investigations against him in early June, revealing a stream of corruption scandals that shook the nation.
The former president has been accused of controlling a criminal group known as La Línea, which collected bribes from importers in exchange for safe, tax-free entrance to Guatemala. On September 3, Perez Molina resigned the presidency in response to pressure from outraged protestors and the U.N.-sponsored International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Congress appointed a new Vice-President, Alejandro Maldonado, to serve as an interim leader during the ongoing elections
The recent crisis has brought politics to the center stage of Guatemalan life. The first round of elections took place on September 7, only a few days after Perez Molina’s resignation. Voter turnout for this first round reached 70.4%--the highest in the nation’s history—proving that the outraged population is eager to participate in the democratic process to prevent a repetition of the Perez Molina regime.
Only two of the original 14 presidential candidates will move on to the definitive second round. Despite his poor performance in pre-election polls, Jimmy Morales, a former comedian and theologian, gained the greatest share of first round votes. His non-political background gave him a leg up with voters frustrated with the traditional ruling class.
Two candidates tied for second place: Sandra Torres, a former first lady, and Manuel Baldizón, the pre-election favorite. Both candidates received about 19% of the votes, and will compete over the course of this week to reach the second round of elections.
Guatemala’s political crisis is one of several presidential corruption scandals that have emerged in Latin America over the course of this summer. In the north, Mexico’s Peña Nieto struggled to deny state involvement in El Chapo’s spectacular prison escape. In the south, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff has lost much popularity due to her involvement in a corruption scandal in the state-owned oil giant Petrobras. While this rise in scandals highlights how corruption remains entrenched in the region, it may also constitute an opportunity for civil society to demand a cleaner rule from its leaders.