Former TV comedian is new Guatemalan president

An estimated 54 percent of Guatemala’s 15.8 million people live below the poverty line of $1.50 a day, and 6,000 people a year died as a result of violence, one of the highest murder rates in Latin America.

Critics say Torres, whose National Unity of Hope (UNE) party has traditionally fared well in poor rural areas, used her role as the head of a powerful welfare committee under Colom to make state handouts dependent on political loyalty.

But evidently the corruption issue outweighed everything else for voters.

Running on the slogan “Not corrupt, nor a thief”, Mr. Morales capitalized on his image as a political outsider, setting himself apart from an establishment tainted by corruption.

An election was called for last month after the country’s former President, Otto Pérez Molina stepped down in the face of a bribery scandal.

He is accused of leading a corrupt network of politicians and customs officials.

Polls show corruption is the main concern in Guatemala, above insecurity and unemployment. A few 32 million registered voters in Argentina were eligible to elect one of three front-runners to succeed outgoing President Cristina Fernandez, who stands down after eight years in office in December.Morales, 46, added that one of his main priorities was to “fight against the corruption that is consuming us”.

Morales, like Torres, promised during the campaign to keep Attorney General Thelma Aldana, a key figure in the investigation, and the United Nations commission in place. Carson, another outsider and cultural personality, is nipping at his heels with hardly any other presidential candidate on the GOP side anywhere near either of them in polling.

Morales will have to govern with just 11 seats in the 158-seat Congress. In June, 12.9% of voters supported Morales, but by September he garnered 24% of the votes to secure the first spot in Sunday’s runoff.

Under USA pressure, Perez renewed the CICIG’s mandate in April, and several graft scandals soon came to light involving senior officials. After being impeached, stripped of his presidential immunity and arrested last month, Perez is now behind bars awaiting trial.

A popular comedian known for performing in blackface was named the victor of Guatemala’s presidential elections on Sunday.

Late Sunday, Torres acknowledged her defeat while Morales celebrated with supporters.

There were hundreds of massacres in which entire village communities were wiped out, and a large number of refugees fled over the border into Southern Mexico.

Perez said he opposed CICIG’s work because it was trampling on Guatemala’s sovereignty but that Biden demanded he renew its mandate and threatened to halt USA aid to Guatemala if he refused. “That’s a risk.” The United States falls at number 17 on the worldwide Transparency corruption perceptions index, with a score of 74 on a scale where 0 is “highly corrupt” and 100 is “very clean”.

During the period in which Ovalle was involved, there were scores of documented massacres in the Ixil Triangle alone. Ex-President Perez Molina, plus the acting President Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre all have claimed there was no genocide.