New president

By the end of today Guatemala will have a new president. Unfortunately, most people I have talked to agree that there really isn't much of a viable option. It's sad to think that people have no hope for the future and are pretty resigned to the fact that there isn't a leader out there to bring the country out of insecurity and poverty. I guess we'll see what happens over the next four years and have to hope for the best. I'll update when we know who it will be.

Update: We have a new president here in Guatemala. The fireworks started going off half an hour ago or so. And the winner is, of course, Otto Perez Molina of Partido Patriota. Here's an article (in Spanish).

Another update: Here's a NYT article in English, with some interesting facts. It appears my host mom was among the 50% or so of Guatemalans who did not vote, largely feeling that choosing between the two candidates was a "choice between two deadly diseases." I sincerely hope Molina proves everyone wrong and manages to improve the security situation (with money from who knows where) while maintaining human rights standards and tal vez righting some of the wrongs of the past.