On Sunday, June 25, Guatemalans voted in the possibly corrupt presidential elections, which many people have called “the erosion of the rule of law” (New York Times, 2023).
In recent weeks, the Guatemalan presidential race dwindled down over 20 candidates to the top three: Sandra Torres, Zury Ríos, and Edmond Mulet.
Aged 67, Sandra Torres was once arrested because of campaign finance violations. Aged 55, Zury Ríos is the daughter of a dictator who committed genocide against Indigenous Guatemalans. Aged 72, Edmond Mulet was a former diplomat.
On Sunday, with a quarter of the votes counted, Torres held a lead of 15 percent while Bernardo Arévalo, a centrist running against corruption, climbed to second place with 12 percent of the votes. However, results will vary as the rest of the votes are counted.
Several candidates were eliminated by the electoral authority because they were deemed “threatening to the political and economic establishment” (New York Times, 2023). The disqualification of several candidates raised many questions about the lawfulness of the election. This was seen as another blow to Guatemala’s already tumultuous democracy.
Freedom of the press has also been challenged. José Rubén Zamora, the founder of a newspaper called elPeriódico, was sentenced to six years in prison for exposing the Guatemalan government’s corruption through his newspaper.
Many problems were brought up in the election related to the large number of Guatemalans who have chosen to migrate to other countries. This was due to the increase in crime and the cost of living at an alarming rate. These problems made the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, severely unpopular.
At this point in the election, the results could sway to any of the top candidates.
In recent weeks, the Guatemalan presidential race dwindled down over 20 candidates to the top three: Sandra Torres, Zury Ríos, and Edmond Mulet.
Aged 67, Sandra Torres was once arrested because of campaign finance violations. Aged 55, Zury Ríos is the daughter of a dictator who committed genocide against Indigenous Guatemalans. Aged 72, Edmond Mulet was a former diplomat.
On Sunday, with a quarter of the votes counted, Torres held a lead of 15 percent while Bernardo Arévalo, a centrist running against corruption, climbed to second place with 12 percent of the votes. However, results will vary as the rest of the votes are counted.
Several candidates were eliminated by the electoral authority because they were deemed “threatening to the political and economic establishment” (New York Times, 2023). The disqualification of several candidates raised many questions about the lawfulness of the election. This was seen as another blow to Guatemala’s already tumultuous democracy.
Freedom of the press has also been challenged. José Rubén Zamora, the founder of a newspaper called elPeriódico, was sentenced to six years in prison for exposing the Guatemalan government’s corruption through his newspaper.
Many problems were brought up in the election related to the large number of Guatemalans who have chosen to migrate to other countries. This was due to the increase in crime and the cost of living at an alarming rate. These problems made the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, severely unpopular.
At this point in the election, the results could sway to any of the top candidates.
