Elections in Guatemala

Hi, well the elections are mostly over. It was very quiet here in Panajachel. Long lines for people to get to the ballot boxes.    Apparently, there is a charge of Q1 to vote and this money is then given to the political parties who ran. I am not sure how that works and it is the first that I have heard about it but one of our staff members told us about this.

There was trouble in San Antonio Palopo yesterday after the elections. Apparently, there was a large group who were not happy with the man who won the mayor's position. We heard that a large group were throwing rocks at the municipal building. We saw a police car return from there with the windshield broken and a lot of body damage from having rocks thrown at it.  We did not deliver the weekly groceries to our pre-school/ after school program in San Antonio yesterday because of this unrest but there was enough food in the school to feed the children. We will probably be able to deliver the rest of the food today.   We thought about closing the school but decided that it was far enough away from the problem area not to warrant that and it is so important for the children to be able to eat.

 One of the main issues for Guatemalan people is the end to violence and kidnappings.  Both these candidates have promised this.

In Panajachel, the candidate for Mayor was from Oto Perez Molina's party and he has won the office of the Mayor for the next four years. 

Presidential hopefuls Otto Pérez Molina, who received 36% of the vote, and Manuel Baldizón, with 23.5%, will compete in a runoff election on November 6th.

Sharon

MAYAN FAMILIES
Panajachel, Guatemala.
Web:       www.mayanfamilies.org