Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ally cited as symptoms of weak leadership and an inability to coordinate efforts to reach a
common goal.
Among the positive aspects of his presidency were infrastructural projects, or
megaproyectos,
including new roads and airports to make Guatemala more attractive to in-
vestors. The creation of so-called
gabinetes móviles
(mobile cabinets) was also a welcome
aspectofBerger'sadministration,allowingthoseinruralareastheopportunitytohavetheir
demands personally addressed by the president and his cabinet members during visits to
their towns and cities. Continued economic growth and a more favorable investment cli-
mate were duly recognized by international financial organizations. The full effect of DR-
CAFTA, which officially took effect on July 1, 2006, remains to be seen.
The 2007 Elections
The 2007 elections featured an interesting mix of presidential hopefuls, including
Rigoberta Menchú and well-known evangelical pastor and radio personality Harold
Caballeros. The front-runners were Álvaro Colom, a self-proclaimed social democrat of
the UNE party (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, or National Unity for Hope), and Otto
Pérez Molina of the Partido Patriota (Patriot Party), an ex-military hardliner whose main
campaign promise was to combat Guatemala's rapidly deteriorating security situation with
a“stronghand.”Tonoone'ssurprise,PérezMolinaandColomwouldeventuallyfaceeach
other in a November run-off election when none of the dozen or so presidential candidates
received a majority vote in the September polls.
CICIG became a hot campaign issue in July 2007 after two rogue UNE party con-
gresspeople inexplicably voted against its creation during a congressional assembly, des-
pite assurances by Colom that he and his party were pro-CICIG. This also raised questions
about whether or not Colom truly held the reins of power over UNE—questions that came
to the forefront when one of these congresspeople, party Adjunct Secretary General César
Fajardo, was accused of masterminding a plot against Colom's campaign manager, José
Carlos Marroquín. The attempt on Marroquín's life was supposedly in retaliation for the
firing of ex-military personnel (formerly members of ex-President Portillo's security team)
fromColom'ssecurity detail. CICIGwaseventually approvedbyGuatemala'scongresson
August 1, 2007.
The weeks leading up to the November run-off were a thrill ride, with both candidates
vehemently accusing each other of corruption. Newspapers readily dished out the dirt on
both of the candidates' supposed past follies and present hypocrisy. Meanwhile, voters
feared Pérez Molina's “strong hand” policies would return Guatemala to the dark ages of
the civil war, but they were also suspicious of Colom's appeals to social democracy, which
smacked of demagogy and were vaguely reminiscent of the Portillo campaign. It should
be noted that Pérez Molina, a retired army general, was part of the reformist wing of the
Guatemalan military and was a signer of the 1996 peace accords, so it's not clear just how
