June 26, 2023
Introduction:
Read more here: https://www.latinorebels.com/2023/06/2 ... ections/(Latino Rebels) Left-of-center opposition legislator Bernardo Arévalo shattered all forecasts, seizing second place in Guatemala‘s presidential elections on Sunday and advancing to an August runoff. Arévalo will face political boss Sandra Torres in a test of whether Guatemalan voters can achieve political change via the ballot despite the profound suspicions of presidential efforts to contaminate the election.
Eighth-Seed Upset
With 98 percent of ballots counted as of 9 a.m. ET on Monday, social-democrat Congressman Bernardo. In an August 20 runoff, he will face former first lady and legislative power broker Sandra Torres of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party (15.6 percent), who has studiously avoided criticizing the dismantling of democratic institutions in the country.
“We can now say that it’s a definitive trend,” Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) magistrate Gabriel Aguilera announced at 3:20 a.m. “It would be most responsible to make the announcement tomorrow [Monday], but the two who are leading are UNE and Semilla.”
Semilla was founded in 2017 in the spirit of the 2015 mass anti-corruption protests that ended with President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti’s imprisonment on customs fraud charges. Since its inception, the party has invoked the democratic tradition of the Guatemalan Revolution (1944-1954).
Four years ago, Semilla proposed as a presidential candidate former attorney general and International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala ally Thelma Aldana, who controversially removed from the race while leading the polls and currently in exile. The party has since used its six seats in Congress —the most among the country’s handful of left-of-center parties— to condemn corruption and mismanagement during the pandemic.