 |
| Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu trails in the polls. Rodrigo Abd/AP |
Guatemalans to vote for security
National elections on Sunday are shaped by one of the world's highest murder rates.
from the September 7, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 2
Page 1 | 2
Candidates' platforms offer plans to add more police to the 19,000-strong force, strengthen the judiciary, and purge the state's institutions of organized crime and corruption.
Perez Molina chose a fist for his campaign icon with the slogan "mano dura" or "tough hand," an explicit reference to his zero-tolerance stance on crime. Colom says he, too, will be tough, but that he'll also focus on crime's social causes, such as marginalization and poverty.
Most analysts say that impunity is the main reason that crime has flourished in Guatemala, where almost all cases go unsolved. The other factor is the country's growing role in the drug trade. The US State Department considers it a major drug-transit country for cocaine and heroin heading to the US and Europe. It's not the sole factor in the rise in killings, but the traffickers are seeking to exert control over their territory. "Guatemala is used to violence ... but now organized crime and drug traffickers are directly affecting the elections ... especially at the local level," says Raquel Zelaya, the director of the Association for Social Research and Studies in Guatemala City.
Despite platforms that revolve around security, many question whether the next president will have the will or power to change the status quo. "Everyone has different proposals," says Helen Mack, a human rights activist, But she doesn't see a candidate willing to take the steps necessary to address "the roots of impunity."
Lowest rate of tax collection
None of the candidates, for example, are talking about fiscal reform, even though Guatemala has one of the lowest tax collection rates in the world, says Ms. Zelaya. "Without resources, we can't do anything to improve security," she says.
And some say that fighting crime is taking precedence over other key issues, such as jobs. "There is an urgent demand among the population to address violence," says Francisco Garcia, a member of the pro-democracy group Electoral Watch in Guatemala, "and I believe there is a lot of manipulation, so that people vote for the one who is most likely to act against violence."
Erick Hernandez, a resident of Guatemala City, says that if jobs were created, then violence would dissipate. According to the US State Department, 80 percent of Guatemalans live in poverty, and its infant mortality and illiteracy are among the worst in the hemisphere. "If people were educated and had jobs," says Mr. Hernandez, "they wouldn't need to rob."
1 | Page 2
RSS feed
