Guatemala Will Vote for New President but Critics Say...Candidates Were Weeded Out

Guatemalans head to the polls on June 25 to pick a new president, as regional watchers warn of a downward spiral of kleptocracy and weakening rule of law in Central America’s most populous nation.

Social democrat Sandra Torres, the right-wing Zury Ríos and center-right Edmont Mulet lead the pack of more than 20 presidential hopefuls in the general elections. Other candidates have been blocked from running, including leftist indigenous leader Thelma Cabrera, and most recently, former frontrunner Carlos Pineda – sparking accusations of political meddling against the country’s electoral court.

“One thing we can say about Guatemala right now is this Supreme Electoral Tribunal has a very suspicious pattern of eliminating any candidate who is publicly supportive of anti-corruption,” Will Freeman, a fellow in Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN. [...]

“The reason why it feels very important this year is because we’ve seen a real backlash in Guatemala over the past few years against a movement to battle corruption,” Carin Zissis, a central America expert and editor-in-chief of Americas Society/Council of the Americas, told CNN. [...]

The 72-year-old centrist Mulet has taken a vocal anti-corruption stance in recent months. The technocrat, who has held legislative and diplomatic roles, including a stint at Guatemala’s ambassador to the United States, led United Nations bodies on Haiti and chemical weapons. His background has added to the sense that he is someone who could build on that experience in Guatemala, according to Zissis...[...]

Commentators have lamented their proposals have been lacking and overly simplistic, said Zissis. “And as a result, in a country that has such big challenges, the question ends up being, what are these candidates going to do to solve the problems?”

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