Summary:
- Guatemala holds a presidential runoff election, with voters choosing between Sandra Torres and Bernardo Aurevalo.
- The U.S. expresses concerns about potential destabilization of Guatemala's democracy.
- Aurevalo represents a movement against corruption, causing vested interests to oppose his candidacy.
- The election's outcome could impact U.S. border policy due to potential increased migration.
- Aurevalo leads in polls, and a close result might lead to further attempts to influence the election's outcome.
Voters in Guatemala are heading to the polls this weekend to elect a new president. The U.S. is warning of forces looking to destabilize the country's democracy. The election choice is between Sandra Torres, the country's conservative former First Lady, and Bernardo Aurevalo, a progressive candidate focused on fighting corruption.
Wolframan, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains that there have been attempts by the government to keep Aurevalo off the ballot. Aurevalo represents a new middle-class urban movement aiming to combat corruption, a root cause of Guatemala's issues. The political class fears the change he represents and has been trying to prevent his candidacy. The election's impact on U.S. border policy is substantial, as a significant number of Guatemalans have reached the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years. If the elections are subverted or results overturned, this migration trend could escalate.
Aurevalo leads Torres by a substantial margin in the latest poll. A close result could lead to attempts to change the election's outcome through legal or even violent means.