1/15/2024 0 Comments Signal financial org![]() ![]() Despite this, leading candidate Torres has vowed to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan. China has been calling on Guatemala to make the “right choice” and has overtly increased its footprint in the region in the last few months-first through Honduras’ decision to break off ties with Taiwan in March and then with reports of late-stage talks for the establishment of a Chinese military training facility in Cuba. The outcome of the runoff election has the potential to tip the region’s balance toward China once and for all, thus shaping the future trajectory of not just Guatemala but also the broader interests of the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. Guatemala is host to one of the last two Taiwanese embassies in Central America (the other is in Belize), and one of only seven in Latin America and the Caribbean. That’s a tall order when considering the two candidates for the August runoff. And the economic challenges facing the country, including poverty, inequality, and fiscal deficits will require comprehensive policy measures and hard reforms from whoever takes office in 2024. The outcome could determine whether the Biden administration has a reliable partner for its strategy in Central America-which is designed to help quell the surge of migrants on the US-Mexico border and to combat graft and corruption. The next president’s decision to align with China or maintain relations with Taiwan will reverberate beyond Guatemala’s borders. The emergence of more left-leaning governments is in line with trends from other recent elections in the region (Honduras, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil, for example). For one, Guatemala’s next president will be less ideologically conservative than the last three administrations in Central America’s most populous country. Nonetheless, Guatemala’s runoff election to replace term-limited Alejandro Giammattei will have far-reaching implications, both for the region and beyond. For this cycle, political parties brought a record number of legal actions against each other, with at least three presidential candidates and other candidates for congress barred from running. The low voter turnout of 60 percent and high percentage of null votes- four times as high as in the last elections, making up nearly a quarter of all votes-reflect a prevailing sense of apathy among Guatemalan voters and an erosion of confidence in an electoral process that, to date, has been marred by seemingly arbitrary court decisions on candidates’ eligibility to run. Sandra Torres, a well-known but polarizing figure in her third bid for the presidency, and Bernardo Arevalo, a congressman, first-time presidential hopeful, and former diplomat with a strong anti-graft message, have advanced to the second round, which will be held on August 20. The election on Sunday held to this pattern, although abstention and null votes (a blank ballot or write-in for an ineligible candidate) were the clear winners. What does an election reveal if not the winner? Since the end of Guatemala’s Civil War in 1996, no candidate has won a presidential election in the first round. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |