By: Staff Writer
August 22, 2023
Bernardo Arevalo, the left leaning anti-corruption outsider has won the Guatemalan presidential election over former first lady of Guatemala, Sandra Torres.
Mr Arevalo’s agenda is now simple: Weed out corruption, in what seems to be at a ubiquitous state in Central American politics and Guatemala is no different.
Mr Arevalo, a 64-year-old former diplomat and son of Guatemala’s first democratically elected president, won 58 percent of the vote during Sunday’s polls, trouncing Torres at 37 percent, according to preliminary results.
Organization of American States (OAS) chief Luis Almagro also applauded the vote late on Sunday.
“A salute to the people and government of Guatemala for an exemplary election day, a true civic celebration,” Almagro wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mr Arevalo, in his platform, proposed passing legislation that would break up monopolies in the telecommunication and pharmaceutical industries to generate more competition. He has also promised to bring down the cost of electricity, strengthen consumer protections and provide more employment training.
In addition, Arevalo said he will improve the country’s credit rating by strengthening the rule of law and fighting corruption.
He has also made combating corruption a centrepiece of his campaign and has proposed a 10-measure plan that includes the creation of an anti-corruption cabinet and policies to disqualify people convicted of corruption from holding public office.
His party, the Seed Movement, was founded in 2017 on the promise of curbing corruption. It had started to organise as early as 2015 though, in the wake of protests against President Otto Perez Molina, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for customs fraud.
Not since the deposed Jacobo Árbenz in 1954 has a presidential nomimee promised to deal with monopolies at the very least as Arbenz tried to deal with the United Fruit Company. Where it is hoped that Mr Arevalo does not go wrong is with nationalising any of these privately owned entities, then he would be asking for more trouble than Arbenz asked for in the 1950’s and in today’s time, it may not work out so well for him and Guatemala.
Mr Arevalo also has also called for the hiring and training of 12,000 new professional police officers. He also has pushed for the improvement of police stations across the country, which are often in dismal condition.
He backs the construction of one new prison for those accused of serious crimes, as well. With many extortion threats in Guatemala originating from within the country’s prison system, Arevalo has promised to crack down on illegal activity behind bars.
This sounds eerily similar to what Nayib Bukele is doing in El Salvador in terms of cracking down on the criminal gangs in that country. Strengthening security is paramount in Central America and it is hoped that Arevalo strikes a more balanced tone in his approach than Bukele did in El Salvador.