![]() ![]() Perez Molina and Colom are both well ahead of the other 12 candidates, including Rigoberta Menchu, a Nobel peace prize laureate and Mayan activist. “Guatemalans have to decide if we are to return to abuse and perversion of the law, or if we want to rely on the law to govern.”Ĭolom’s campaign has focused primarily on the need to clean up the police force and the judiciary. “Guatemala was ruled with a ‘strong fist’ for 50 years,” Colom said, referring to the country’s military rulers. In the eastern part of the country, several suspected drug dealers are running for public office in an effort to gain control over key trafficking routes.Ĭolom has said a vote for Perez Molina would be a step backward into the dark days of Guatemala’s civil war that killed almost 250,000 people.Ī UN-backed report has blamed the army for 85 per cent of civil war killings. Much of the violence ahead of the elections is believed to have been carried out by drug gangs trying to force their congressional and local candidates into office. ![]() He supports the death penalty and has said the government should selectively declare a state of emergency in areas overrun by drug traffickers and tattooed street gang members, blamed for a wave of killings. “But until that happens, we are going to have to use the army to patrol the streets.” ![]() “Our proposal is to gradually increase the number of police,” Perez Molina said on Friday before campaigning officially ended. Perez Molina, a former head of military intelligence during the civil war between 19, has capitalised on the violence with his “strong fist” message against crime and corruption. Mariana Sanchez looks at how violence has plagued campaigning in Guatemala ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |