Guatemala: Outsider Defeats Traditional Politicians

In elections with less abstention than expected, Jimmy Morales, the filmmaker candidate for a nationalist center party, will run in the second round of the presidential election with an opponent who has yet to be chosen.

Monday, September 7, 2015

The 2015 elections in Guatemala saw the participation of 65% of eligible voters, which is auspicious in light of calls for abstention from different social sectors. Blank votes will not exceed 4% of those cast.

Confirming his rapid rise in the polls in the last six months, Jimmy Morales won 24% of Guatemalan votes, when votes from 97% of the polling stations had been counted, ensuring the candidate of the Frente de Convergencia Nacional (FCN Nación) party a definite place in the presidential election runoffs.

On the other side of the ballot paper, there was a tie between Sandra Torres from the Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (National Unity of Hope party or UNE), and Manuel Baldizón, of the Renewed Democratic Freedom party (known as Lider), although recent data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) gives the lead for the former.

Jimmy Morales holds a degree in Business Administration and Masters in Strategic Studies in Security and Defense, is professionally dedicated to acting as a comedian and television producer. He began his political career in 2011 appearing unsuccessfully as a candidate for the mayoral office of Mixco. In his initial statements after the elections, he noted his intention to fight corruption, and to convene a National Constituent Assembly.

Impact of elections on business

Neither the political crisis that culminated in the resignation of former President Otto Perez Molina, or the results of these elections, have had a significant impact on short-term business in Guatemala, beyond the state's fiscal problems which have worsened in recent years.

See: Guatemala: Political Crisis Not Affected Sovereign Rating

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