Guatemala’s youth hope that Sunday’s presidential election can change their fortunes in a country where poverty, violence and corruption have pushed hundreds of thousands to flee to the US.
“As young people, we hope that our country will change, that new opportunities will arise, and that every youth without a job will have one because of the new government,” said nursing student Wilson Itzep, from the town of Chinique in the west of the Central American country.
Like many young people, he is supporting Bernardo Arevalo, who pulled off an upset in the first round and advanced to the runoff, his anti-corruption message firing up voters.
Photo: Reuters
Opinion polls just days ahead of Sunday’s election showed Arevalo — the son of reformist former president Juan Jose Arevalo — dominating his rival, former first lady Sandra Torres.
The election campaign has been tense, with Arevalo accusing authorities of political persecution after prosecutors tried to suspend his Semilla (Seed) party and ordered raids against its offices.
Raids were also carried out at the offices of the electoral tribunal after it failed to follow orders to disqualify Semilla.
The 64-year-old sociologist told Agence France-Presse in an interview in June that his priority would be fighting corruption, to give the country “the future it deserves, and not the swamp they have kept us in for the last 20 years.”
Torres, 67, is the ex-wife of deceased leftist president Alvaro Colom. She was arrested for fraud in a case that never went to trial. She is taking her fourth shot at the presidency — and her focus has been on high levels of violent crime, a major voter concern — as well as tackling poverty.
Either way, with two social democrat candidates, Guatemala is set to have its first leftist leader in almost a decade.
The Guatemalan foreign ministry estimates that more than 2.8 million Guatemalans reside in the US, with about half a million residing there legally.
“Yes, I have felt the need to emigrate due to the lack of work and poverty, but if Semilla wins, maybe I will stay,” said Itzep, who sees Arevalo as “someone who is going to bring order and justice.”
HIGH VIOLENCE RATE
Young people from 18 to 25 years old make up 16 percent of voters in the country.
The Central American nation has some of the worst poverty, malnutrition and child mortality rates in Latin America, the World Bank said.
The murder rate is one of the highest in the world, with many killings attributed to gang violence related to drug trafficking.
Both candidates oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage and elective abortion in the Catholic-majority country.
Carlos Leon, 25, a water delivery man from the western city of Zacapa, said he would vote for Torres as he believes she can protect the family values he holds dear.
She “will create more jobs, training” and give money to families so that “children don’t abandon school,” Leon said.
However, kindergarten teacher Dulce Chitic, 21, from the northeastern town of Jocotenango believes a Torres victory would leave Guatemala “worse off than it is now,” citing her previous legal woes.
Torres was detained in 2019 on charges of illicit campaign funding, but the case was dropped last year.
“I have friends who have left because they believe that going to another country is better,” Chitic said. “They believe that they will grow as people and that the economy will be better, but I think that if we change our perspective, we can do it here too.”
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