GUATEMALA CITY — The wave of political turmoil that toppled Guatemala’s president has overshadowed Sunday’s vote to elect a new leader — an election many fear could put a lid on the anti-corruption drive.
Tens of thousands who demonstrated for the ouster of President Otto Molina Perez got part of their wishes when the president resigned to face possible corruption charges in a customs fraud scheme. He was spending the weekend in a military lockup.
But a second major demand wasn’t met: the postponement of the election that many said offered little alternative to the old guard.
“The people are rejecting this political system, the mafia takeover of democracy. They feel like voting is simply selecting the next person who will loot the country,” said Manfredo Marroquin, president of the influential civic group Citizen Action.
“They are not rejecting democracy,” Marroquin said. “What they’re demanding is to reset, run an antivirus and start over from scratch.”
Leading in most polls with roughly 30 percent backing is Manuel Baldizon, a wealthy 44-year-old businessman and longtime politician. His running mate is accused by prosecutors of influence trafficking, but as a candidate he enjoys immunity from prosecution.
Baldizon’s most competitive rivals are a comedian with no political experience, a former first lady and the daughter of an ex-dictator accused of genocide.
If none of the 14 candidates reaches 50 percent, a runoff will be held Oct. 25.
Critics see Baldizon, who finished second in the last presidential race, as an example of what’s wrong with the country’s political class. He initially campaigned on the slogan “It’s his turn” — a reference to the fact that the last four elections have been won by the previous runner-up. At protests, demonstrators have chanted: “It’s not your turn.”
Baldizon’s closest rivals include Jimmy Morales, a TV comic who boasts of his outsider status, and Sandra Torres, who divorced former President Alvaro Colom ahead of the last presidential race to try to get around rules barring presidential relatives from running. She is a businesswoman and longtime political party figure with a master’s in public policy.
Also on the ballot is Zury Rios. Her father, former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, faces charges of crimes against humanity for killings by security forces during his 1982-83 regime.
“Whoever wins is going to be watched under a magnifying glass,” said Arnoldo Arriaza, director of a prominent business association. “Before, nobody pointed a finger at those who were corrupt, and now we all know who they are and where they are.”
