Free Republic

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A former general promising to get tough on rampant crime and drug violence easily won Guatemala's presidential election on Sunday, marking a shift to the right in the poor Central American nation. Otto Perez Molina of the conservative Patriotic Party won 55 percent of the vote, topping tycoon-turned-political populist Manuel Baldizon of the Democratic Freedom Revival party, who had 45 percent, according to Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Perez, 61, is the first former military leader elected president in Guatemala in the 25 years after the end of brutal military rule. While that concerns some international groups,...

Guatemalans are voting in presidential and parliamentary elections after one of the bloodiest campaigns in the country's history. More than 50 candidates, activists and their relatives have been murdered in the run-up to the elections. The two main presidential contenders are Alvaro Colom, a centre-left businessman, and a former general, Otto Perez Molina. They have vowed to fight crime and reduce poverty. Mr Colom, who is running for the presidency for the third time in a row, has promised to overhaul the security forces and the judicial system, which many criticise for being slow, corrupt and inefficient. Mr Perez Molina...