2008 Woodie Awards
Election of Alvaro Colom: new hope for Guatemala?
New President promises reform in health care, poverty and education
Katy Osborne
Issue date: 1/17/08 Section: World Views
Alvaro Colom, the leading candidate for the National Unity for Hope (Guatemala's leftist political party), narrowly won the November 2007 presidential election and will take office January 14th, 2008. Colom, an industrial engineer and Mayan priest, defeated retired army general Otto Perez Molina, with close poll results of 52.71% to 47.29%.
Molina's campaign was dominated by the idea of ruling the country through the use of the military and an iron fist mentality. These strategies were used to curb Guatemala's overwhelming social inequalities, as well as the drug and gang problems.
On the contrary, Colom's campaign promises improved health care, decreased poverty, and schools for poor, rural and indigenous citizens. Colom also seeks to create a government that will model national unity for the rest of the country. However, considering Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in Spanish-speaking Latin America (where a significant amount of the population lives on 1 or 2 US dollars per day), Colom's political goals will not be easy to accomplish.
In 1996 Guatemala ended it's 36-year-long civil war, which was predominantly led by Mayan insurgents against the army. Over the 36 years, more than 200,000 people were killed or simply disappeared. Although the war has ended, the country is still filled with immense poverty rates, corruption, widespread street gangs and drug problems. Illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are also among the highest in Central America, while life expectancy is among the lowest. Half of Guatemala's 13 million citizens are Mayan Indians, who suffer discrimination and economic exclusion due to the fact that people of European ancestry dominate the country's power.
Although Colom and Vice President, Rafael Espada, are a part of the country's elite, they plan to move the country leftward, raise taxes, protect human rights and widen access to health care, education and housing. In addition to Guatemala's social problems, its archaic legal system makes any reforms almost impossible to carry out without constitutional amendments; this will also pose a challenge to the administration's goal of closing social inequalities. However, in an interview, Colom told the Associated Press that he believes that the country will be better in four years and in very good shape in twenty years.
Molina's campaign was dominated by the idea of ruling the country through the use of the military and an iron fist mentality. These strategies were used to curb Guatemala's overwhelming social inequalities, as well as the drug and gang problems.
On the contrary, Colom's campaign promises improved health care, decreased poverty, and schools for poor, rural and indigenous citizens. Colom also seeks to create a government that will model national unity for the rest of the country. However, considering Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in Spanish-speaking Latin America (where a significant amount of the population lives on 1 or 2 US dollars per day), Colom's political goals will not be easy to accomplish.
In 1996 Guatemala ended it's 36-year-long civil war, which was predominantly led by Mayan insurgents against the army. Over the 36 years, more than 200,000 people were killed or simply disappeared. Although the war has ended, the country is still filled with immense poverty rates, corruption, widespread street gangs and drug problems. Illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are also among the highest in Central America, while life expectancy is among the lowest. Half of Guatemala's 13 million citizens are Mayan Indians, who suffer discrimination and economic exclusion due to the fact that people of European ancestry dominate the country's power.
Although Colom and Vice President, Rafael Espada, are a part of the country's elite, they plan to move the country leftward, raise taxes, protect human rights and widen access to health care, education and housing. In addition to Guatemala's social problems, its archaic legal system makes any reforms almost impossible to carry out without constitutional amendments; this will also pose a challenge to the administration's goal of closing social inequalities. However, in an interview, Colom told the Associated Press that he believes that the country will be better in four years and in very good shape in twenty years.
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taylor
posted 10/31/08 @ 1:48 PM EST
it blew.
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