On January 11, 2004 former Guatemala City Mayor Oscar Berger was sworn in as Guatemala's new President, ending a bruising political campaign that had begun in May of 2003. Berger, a wealthy businessman and rancher, defeated Alvaro Colon in a runoff vote in late December. The US was quick to congratulate the Guatemalan people on an election that "met international standards," a conclusion dutifully echoed by the US media. But one has to wonder about those standards, for this was a violent and politically vacuous contest between wealthy, middle-aged men posing as populists.
The early part of the campaign was dominated by the attempts of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to run for office. Rios Montt originally came to power in a coup in March 1982. He ruled the country for a bloody 17 months that saw the razing of several hundred indigenous villages before he was overthrown. When civilian rule was re-established, the new Constitution specifically prohibited individuals involved in coups from running for President.
Rios Montt, however, made his ambition to become President well known. In 1998 he formed the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) and made two attempts to run for President, both rejected by the courts as unconstitutional. In 1999, however, the FRG won the Guatemalan Presidency under Alfonso Portillo, and Rios Montt assumed the Presidency of the Congress.
In 2003, on his third attempt, Rios Montt finally won approval from the country's highest court to run for President. The circumstances surrounding this vote were somewhat questionable and opposing candidates quickly challenged the Rios Montt candidacy in the courts. The FRG bused several groups of peasant supporters into Guatemala City on Thursday, June 24 for two days of carefully choreographed riots that terrorized the city and left one journalist dead.
"Black Thursday" seemed consolidate opposition to Rios Montt. He ended up with only 11 percent of the vote during the first round of elections on November 9. As no candidate won a majority, an automatic runoff between Berger and Colon took place in December.
The Rios Montt candidacy was only the most visible problem in this election. The attempted purchase of votes was widespread, and notably absent from the electoral process was any serious discussion of the issues facing Guatemala, such as those outlined below.
Peace Accords and Human Rights. Eight years ago, the Guatemalan government signed Peace Accords with the National Revolutionary Union of Guatemala, thus ending the country's decades long civil war. The Peace Accords, which promised a broad set of political and social reforms, have not been fully implemented. In fact, 2002 and 2003 saw the acquittals of military personnel convicted in high profile human rights cases (specifically, the murders of Bishop Gerardi and anthropologist Myrna Mack).
Social conditions. A 2003 World Bank (WB) report noted that in 2000, over half of all Guatemalans—about 6.4 million people—lived in poverty. About 16 per cent lived in extreme poverty. Noting that poverty rates have likely risen since 2000, the WB said that economic growth in Guatemala "has not been particularly pro-poor." The WB added that malnutrition rates among Guatemalan children are among the worst in the world. Almost half of children under five are stunted.
HIV/AIDS. Since 1995 our small group, HIV Medicines for Guatemala, has been working closely with the Luis Angel Garcia Family Clinic (an AIDS clinic) at the Hospital General San Juan de Dios, one of Guatemala's two national hospitals. In the December 2003 issue of International Journal of STDs and AIDS we published data from 1999 and 2000 showing that AIDS represented 5.6 per cent of admissions to the medical and surgical wards. Currently the Chief of Medicine estimates 14 per cent of patients are HIV positive. These patients are largely young (mean age 33), economically active and heads of households. The mortality among these patients was a horrifying 23 per cent, more than double the mortality of the non-HIV patients on the wards. In 2003 the Guatemalan government was ordered by the Inter-American Human Rights Court to provide anti-retroviral therapy to AIDS patients, but has done very little.
CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement). CAFTA is an oddly named treaty under negotiation between the US and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua (there are also plans to include the Dominican Republic). It was negotiated essentially in secret over the course of 2003, and it was not until the end of January 2004 that the final text was released. Under current Fast Track Authority, Congress will have no say in the details of this treaty; it is given 90 days to either approve or reject the treaty in its entirety. Critics, such as the Council on Hemispheric Relations, point to Mexico where, following the adoption of the NAFTA, the percentage of Mexicans living in poverty rose from 58 to 79 per cent.
The following resources offer information about Guatemala: The Council for Hemispheric Affairs publishes frequent press releases about news throughout Latin America. The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. The UN Verification Mission in Guatemala publishes human rights reports and updates on fulfilling the 1996 Peace Accords. Our website for HIV medicines has some background on the AIDS situation in Guatemala. More complete information can be found on the website of the Asociación Aguabuena. Breaking news on CAFTA is available at the Stop CAFTA web site.
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