A NEW TEST FOR GUATEMALA AT THE POLLS

By Rigoberta Menchu and - - Reprint | | Print |

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MEXICO CITY, Aug 1 2003 (IPS) - Once again Guatemala has become a test case for building a democracy, writes Rigoberta Menchu, who received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1992. Guatemala\’s high court recently declared legal the candidacy for president Efrain Rios Montt, who came to power in a coup in 1982. The decision, influenced by the ruling party, violates the basic juridical principles of any nation and the Guatemalan constitution. Elections are set for 9 November with a run-off on 28 December. In this article for IPS, the author writes that Montt should be behind bars for the crimes against humanity committed when he was in power. The most serious element in this new chapter of Guatemala\’s permanent crisis is the extension and strengthening of clandestine structures of power which have hijacked the state and placed it in the service of its own criminal activities. There is a very real threat that the ruling party will attempt to keep itself in power through fraud and intimidation. Strict vigilance is the only way to guarantee free elections.

Once again Guatemala has become a test case for building a democracy — a democracy characterised not only by the rite of elections but also the participation of all sectors of society and the oversight of all state powers.

What we have seen since January 2000, when President Alfonso Portillo took office, is a demonstration of how to corrupt a democracy through nepotism, the abuse of power, institutional weakness, impunity, and the intimidation of opposition voices.

The crowning of this plan to take over the state was the recent decision of Guatemala’s high court, the Court of Constitutionality (CC), declaring legal the presidential candidacy of Efrain Rios Montt, who came to power in a coup in 1982 and ruled the country until 1983.

Until now the CC was the country’s last moral and legal reserve. It should be remembered that the CC blocked the sinister plan of then-president Jorge Serrano Elias in 1993 to lead a self-coup in the manner of former president of Peru Alberto Fujimori, currently a fugitive from justice.

On two previous occasions –in 1990 and again in 1995– the CC barred the nomination of Montt as a candidate because article 186 of the Guatemalan constitution prevents him from serving as president. These decisions were on unambiguous legal grounds.

But thanks to the influence of the ruling party, Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), the CC has now approached the matter in a political manner and handed down a decision that goes against the basic juridical principles of any nation and violates Guatemalan law.

This development seriously jeopardises the political, juridical, and institutional stability of the country. It is a clear demonstration that there are forces capable of driving the country’s institutions down shady paths and deals a serious blow to the principles of legality, justice, and certainty, which it bends to its own partisan political ends.

The most serious element in this new chapter of Guatemala’s permanent crisis is the extension and strengthening of these clandestine structures of power which, allied together, have hijacked the state and placed it in the service of its own criminal activities.

Now Guatemalans, with the support of the international community, must promote unity as the only mechanism adequate to restore the rule of law, strengthen the institutions that guarantee democracy, and fulfil the peace agreement signed in January 1996 to finally end the 36 years of civil war.

The governments and organisations that are friends of the Guatemalan people should begin immediately to closely monitor the development of the electoral process leading up to the 9 November elections and the subsequent run-off on 28 December.

There is a very real threat that the ruling party will attempt to keep itself in power through fraud, manipulation of voter roles, vote-buying, the enlistment of members of the Civil Self-defense Patrol as an electoral force, and the use of public resources and intimidation against citizens to discourage voting.

Strict vigilance is the only way to guarantee free and transparent elections and insure that Guatemalans can vote without pressure or fear.

Responsibility for the violent acts of July 24 and 25, when armed mobs in the employ of Rios Montt assaulted independent journalists, lies directly with the government and the ruling party. This was a clear demonstration of the lengths to which they will go to achieve their objectives.

It is inconceivable that Rios Montt is running for president when he should be behind bars, condemned for the crimes against humanity committed when he was in power.

Guatemalan society has shown its elevated civil and democratic spirit, which are the animating force behind the Civil Front for Democracy, an alliance of 50 organisations. Its objective is clear: to revive and strengthen the rule of law. This is the way for Guatemala to vindicate its institutions, which were contaminated by the interference of the FRG.

Only through national dialogue can Guatemalans continue to move towards a real and fully inclusive democracy, with justice and equality. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)