Guatemalans Cast Ballots; Army Vows to Respect Vote

Long before daybreak Sunday, men and women trudged from their remote villages to this town’s central square to fulfill what they called “our obligation.”

In a smoky chill, they gathered in lines that crisscrossed the cobblestone plaza, waiting to cast their votes for this country’s first civilian president in 16 years.

The military has ruled or controlled the government in Guatemala for more than 30 years; the last three presidents have been generals who took power through fraudulent elections or coups.

Vows From Military

But this time, the military, discredited for its human rights abuses and handling of the economy, has vowed to respect the outcome of this election in which eight civilians vied for the presidency. In spite of these assurances, many Guatemalans have expressed doubt that the military will actually give up power.

Guatemalans, who by law must vote, also selected 100 members of the Legislative Assembly and more than 300 mayors.

Voting went slowly throughout the day and evening as poll workers demonstrated over and over again how to vote. International observers said the balloting appeared to go smoothly for the most part.

Results Expected Today

Election returns were not expected until today. Pre-election polls indicated that the front runners in the presidential race were politically centrist Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo, a Christian Democrat, and Jorge Carpio Nicolle of the more conservative Union of the National Center.

If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff election will be held Dec. 8. The new president is to be sworn in for a five-year term on Jan. 14.

The voters in the largely Indian town of Chichicastenango, about 90 miles northwest of the capital of Guatemala City, seemed skeptical that their hard lives would improve with a new president--civilian or otherwise.

“One votes in the hope that things will get better, but who knows?” said Rafael Perez, a farmer and father of six.

Voting Lines Crowded

Like many of those in the tightly packed lines, Perez speaks an Indian language and only halting Spanish. He said he could not read or write and that he would vote by picking one of the colored party symbols on the ballot.

Several voters in line said they could not identify the current president with certainty and did not know for whom they would vote.

But the Indians long have protected themselves with secrecy and are not inclined to talk freely with outsiders. Silverio de Leon Lopez, a Christian Democratic assemblyman from Chichicastenango, said that while many of the Indians still may not know the difference between a military and civilian government, an increasing number do.

“After so much killing in 1980 to 1982, they understand now,” De Leon said.

Human Rights Abuses

Many Indians have been among the 30,000 to 50,000 Guatemalans who, by the estimate of human rights groups, have died or disappeared in the country since 1978. The armed forces, fighting a war against about 2,000 anti-government guerrillas, are blamed for most of the abuses.

In the nearby town of Chiche, 19-year-old Cristobal Lux said he definitely wants to see a civilian president take over because “we are in a severe economic crisis.”

Nearly half of the country is unemployed or working in marginal jobs, and inflation is at least 30%. Many of those who labor in unskilled jobs earn 50 cents a day.

Unlikely to Yield Power

Although Guatemalan and foreign political observers have generally predicted clean elections leading to a civilian presidency, political analysts say they doubt that the military will give up its power.

They say that even without the presidency, the military can continue to exercise control through the minister of defense, who by law must be a high-ranking officer, and through inter-governmental coordinating committees in each province that have been run by the military and approve all projects from health care to public works.

The army also oversees 900,000 men in obligatory-service civil defense patrols that are set up to guard highways and towns against the approximately 2,000 guerrillas who operate in the countryside under the umbrella group called the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity.

The military government of Gen. Oscar Mejia Victores as well as the candidates have called the elections the democratization of Guatemala.

Voting Urged by Church

But the Roman Catholic Church leadership, while encouraging Guatemalans to vote, issued a pastoral letter warning that elections do not make a democracy.

“Certainly the celebration of general elections can be a first step for the country to arrive at a better situation. But in order to gain the success we hope for, we must have not only freedom in the moment of voting, but a whole series of certain social, political and economic conditions that unfortunately do not exist in Guatemala,” the pastoral letter said.

About 2.7 million Guatemalans were registered to vote. As the day wore on, more and more Guatemalans could be seen with purple ink on their fingers--evidence that they had voted.