GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Guatemala's Next President Faces a Stacked Deck

Lino Miani

Board of Contributors

Jul 31, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

Supporters of Guatemalan presidential candidate Alejandro Giammattei rally in Guatemala City on July 21, 2019.

Supporters of Guatemalan presidential candidate Alejandro Giammattei rally in Guatemala City on July 21. Voters will choose between Giammattei and Sandra Torres in Guatemala's presidential runoff election on Aug. 11.

(JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

Guatemala holds a presidential runoff election on Aug. 11. Dealing with the country's perennial problems with corruption and security will top the victor's list of priorities.
Though the new president will have few options available to deal with those endemic issues, the solutions offered and the approach taken will affect the next administration's ability to manage Guatemala's troubled relationship with the United States.
Facing a lack of U.S. support, Guatemala's next president might consider turning to China to pay for security and development plans, even if that increases tensions with Washington.

Guatemalans will return to the polls Aug. 11 to complete a presidential election marked by corruption scandals and disqualifications involving multiple candidates, including some former front-runners. The two remaining candidates are no strangers to the presidential stage. Sandra Torres, a former first lady who divorced her husband, former President Alvaro Colom, so she could legally run for president, is on her third campaign. In 2015 she finished second to current President Jimmy Morales, who is limited to a single, four-year term. Her opponent, Alejandro Giammattei, is making his fourth run at the presidency. High on the list of issues both face are the perennial Guatemalan concerns about corruption and security. Though both Torres and Giammattei have addressed these issues, understanding how they stack up against them is not so simple....

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