By David Toro Escobar |
Guatemala City (EFE).- Presidential candidate Edmond Mulet considers that the general elections on June 25 in Guatemala are the “last chance” to prevent the Central American country from becoming “a Nicaragua”, after the degradation of the democracy suffered in recent years.
Mulet, 72, and former United Nations chief of staff, is running for the presidency of Guatemala for the second consecutive time and poses curbing corruption as his main electoral offer.
“Little by little, Guatemala is on the way to being a new Nicaragua and we are not reacting as a society, we are not realizing the dangers we have,” said Mulet, from the right-wing political party Cabal, during an interview with EFE.
In the diplomat’s opinion, one of the main symptoms of the “degradation of the democratic system” is the permanence without an expiration date of the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice in their position, since the elections to replace them were not held in 2019 as established the law.
“The first thing is to fight corruption. We can talk about development, education, health and unemployment challenges, but all of that is irrelevant if we don’t stop and cut short the corruption that has infected all of Guatemala,” Mulet wielded.
Stepping Out of the Shadow of the “Old Politics” in Guatemala
The party that postulates the diplomat is made up of some politicians linked to the Patriot Party, which led Otto Pérez Molina to the presidency (2012-2015), currently imprisoned for various cases of corruption.
“Even Jesus Christ had a Judas sneak in,” Mulet replies about the incorporation of people linked to the old politics in his party and details that the bases of the organization are the ones who choose the candidates for mayors and deputies. “We have politicians committed to the vision of transformation in Guatemala,” he pointed out.
In the 2019 general elections, the diplomat obtained third place out of 19 candidates by adding 493,349 votes, equivalent to 11.2% of the total votes. On that occasion he competed with the Humanist party.
Mulet, a lawyer and diplomat, served as a deputy to the Guatemalan Congress between 1986 and 1993. His diplomatic career began in 1994 with his appointment as ambassador to the United States. Since 2006, the candidate has held various positions within the United Nations (UN).
The significance of migration
From Mulet’s perspective, Guatemala must improve care for compatriots deported from the United States each year. Between 2021 and 2022 alone, 120,000 Guatemalans were forced to return after trying to reach the US.
In addition, also according to official estimates, every year at least 500,000 people try to find the ‘American dream’ starting from Guatemala.
“There is no reintegration and support program for deportees,” says Mulet, who considers it transcendental that returnees can “reintegrate” into their communities.
“The conditions must be created so that the people of Guatemala no longer migrate and the solution is to fight corruption and invest in education,” explains the candidate.
In his opinion, to stop the migratory crisis, “investment conditions” must be created. Mulet recalls that it is the “remittances” from more than three million Guatemalans in the United States “that maintain” Guatemala.
“If it weren’t for sending money from the United States, the country would be bankrupt,” he points out, also recalling that the North American nation “is Guatemala’s main partner” and therefore it is necessary to put “security needs on the table immigration from both countries.
A candidacy at risk?
The electoral authorities of Guatemala have annulled the candidacies of three politicians who appeared with options to win the presidency, a situation widely criticized by experts.
Precisely in March, Mulet’s candidacy also seemed to falter, when the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) took legal action against him, accusing him of obstruction of Justice. All of this because he filed a legal appeal in defense of several investigated journalists.
Elections in Guatemala will be held on June 25 to define the president and vice president for the period 2024-2028. In addition, 160 deputies to Congress, 20 to the Central American Parliament and 340 mayors will be appointed.