Latin America created a history on Sunday, August 20 when the left wing candidates swept the Presidential elections in two countries Guatemala and Ecuador by defeating the right wing and the establishment candidates. Guatemalan anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arevalo was voted as president by getting 58 percent of the votes polled while in Ecuador, the protege of former left wing president. Rafael Correa, Luisa Gonzalez got first position in the first round by securing 33 per cent votes as against the nearest rival’s 24 per cent votes. Gonzalez will be contesting in the run-off on October 15.
Arevalo, a 64-year-old ex-diplomat and son of a former president, had a 58% to 37% lead over former first lady Sandra Torres with 99% of votes counted. His victory comes as violence and food insecurity roil the country, triggering fresh waves of migration. Guatemalans now represent the largest number of Central Americans seeking to enter the United States. Guatemala had always witnessed right wing coups whenever progressives got strength. The unambiguous verdict given by the voters on Sunday in a comparatively peaceful elections, boosted the morale of the Latin American Left in the continent.
Arevalo has vowed to “purge institutions co-opted by the corrupt” and to get people committed to what he calls the fight for justice to return to Guatemala after scores of prosecutors, judges and journalists fled the country. He faces blowback from entrenched interests and a Congress which his party does not control. “This victory belongs to the people of Guatemala and now, united as the Guatemalan people, we will fight against corruption,” Arevalo told a news conference after his victory.
President Alejandro Giammattei congratulated Arevalo on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and invited him to start an “ordered transition” once results were formalized. The new president takes over on January .14 next year. Arevalo is the son of former president who brought about big changes in land distribution and rights for indigenous during his rule in 1950s. Guatemalan people are lookin forward with hope towards a regime which will work for the welfare of the poor and fight drug trafficking and corruption.
Arevalo unexpectedly emerged out of political obscurity to build a large anti-graft movement with his Semilla party, after many other opposition candidates were barred from running. His victory marks a repudiation of Guatemala’s established political parties that wield huge influence. Arevalo’s Semilla party is a coalition of anti right parties and movements and has got the support of Guatemalan Communist Party.
Beyond his anti-graft policies, Arevalo said he wants to expand relations with China alongside Guatemala’s longstanding allegiance with Taiwan. How he plans to do that remains to be seen, given China’s policy that no country it has ties with, can maintain separate diplomatic relations with Taipei. This year, Honduras became the latest country in the region to switch allegiance from Taiwan to China.
In Ecuador, the Leftist frontrunner Luisa Gonzalez looked set to take on a surprise candidate, the youthful son of one of Ecuador’s richest men, in a run-off election on October 15 this year. . Gonzalez, a lawyer close to former socialist president Rafael Correa, was leading with 33 percent of the vote, as 80 percent of the vote was counted.
President of the National Electoral Council Diana Atamaint said results showed no candidate had hit the threshold to win outright, after a tense day of voting under heavy security. “We are heading to a second round election on October 15,” she told journalists.
Gonzalez will likely go head to head with Daniel Noboa, 35, who had 24 percent of the vote despite not figuring as a favorite in opinion polls ahead of a chaotic election marred by the assassination of a serious contender.
“We are making history,” Gonzalez said, hailing her “triumph” in the first round. Noboa, said the “youth” had chosen him to beat Correa’s party. The run-off election is set for October 15, and the stakes are high in a once-peaceful nation engulfed by drug violence.
The small South American country has in recent years become a playground for foreign drug mafias seeking to export cocaine from its shores, stirring up a brutal war between local gangs. The murder of serious presidential contender Fernando Villavicencio on the campaign trail just 11 days before the vote underscored the challenges facing the country.
Gonzalez, who sees herself as a defender of Correa’s socialist legacy, had long been leading opinion polls, with Villavicencio second until his murder. She has said the former president Correa will be a close advisor if she is elected. Correa was sentenced to eight years in jail after an investigation by Villavicencio into corruption, and fled to Belgium where he has been living in exile for six years. Villavicencio was replaced at the last minute by a close friend and another journalist, Christian Zurita, who came in third with 16 percent of votes. If Gonzalez wins presidency in runoff, Correa might return from exile just as Eve Morales returned to Bolivia after his left party won the presidency.
In Guatemala, President elect Arevalo has to consolidate the base of his party Semilla and prepare for take over on January 14, but in Ecuador, the left coalition has the task of expanding the support base of Luisa Gonzalez against the rightwing businessman. Daniel Noboa. Gonzalez has a good image and she has big support of the women. The left forces are confident that Ecuador also will be electing a pro people president on October 15 like Guatemalan people elected Arevalo on Sunday. (IPA Service)
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