Alvaro Colom: Closer to
the Decisive Moment
After winning the first
round of elections, but
down in the polls,
social-democratic
Candidate Alvaro Colom
hopes to become the next
Guatemalan president in
next Sunday's elections.
The candidate for Unidad
Nacional de la Esperanza
(UNE) finished 5 points
ahead of Otto Perez
Molina, of Partido
Patriota (PP), in the
Sept. 9 elections, but
the latest surveys show
that he is now a little
bit behind or
technically tied with
the PP candidate.
Colom is a 56-year-old
engineer who became a
public figure when he
was the director of the
National Peace Fund (FONAPAZ)
from 1991 to 1997. He
also negotiated the
return of 45,000
Guatemalan refugees from
Mexico.
In 1999, he became a
politician when he was
named the presidential
candidate for Alianza
Nueva Nacion (ANN), a
leftwing coalition
headed by the ex rebel
Unidad Revolucionaria
Nacional Guatemalteca.
In 2000, shortly after
the elections, Colom
left the ANN and created
Unidad Nacional de la
Esperanza (UNE), a party
that groups sectors from
different political
currents.
Colom, a center-leftwing
politician himself, has
based its government
platform on four major
axes: job creation,
poverty eradication,
production growth and
governability.
He has not planned to
take deep measures, such
as the agrarian reform,
to solve the problems in
rural areas, but he
rather wants to promote
the industrialization of
the countryside and
strengthen small- and
medium-size companies.
Regarding violence, a
scourge affecting the
country, Colom disagrees
with the "firm hand"
policy promoted by his
opponent and prefers
preventive measures and
the strengthening of
law-enforcement
institutions.
Observers said the
second round of
elections would be the
toughest in the
country"s recent
history, so the result
will be known when the
Supreme Election Court
announces the winner
next Sunday. |
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