2 Conservatives Face Off in Guatemalan Elections

Winding their way past improvised snack stands blaring marimba music, Guatemalans cast their votes for president on Sunday in a race that businessman Alvaro Arzu is expected to win handily.

Unofficial returns from a smattering of precincts showed the 49-year-old former Guatemala City mayor with a commanding lead in the capital and his 44-year-old opponent, Alfonso Portillo, slightly ahead in some eastern rural areas.

Turnout in the runoff--matching two conservatives winnowed from a field of 19 candidates--appeared to be somewhat higher than in the first-round November vote. The winner of Sunday’s election will take office in a week, replacing former human rights champion Ramiro de Leon Carpio.

Arzu, who led the first round with 36.5% of the vote, entered Sunday’s faceoff with a nine-point lead, according to the latest poll. He has promised to implement free-market economic reforms and complete peace talks to end Guatemala’s roughly 35-year civil war in the first year of his administration.

Portillo has pledged that if he wins he would appoint former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to a new military post with more power than the defense minister. Portillo is openly running as a proxy for Rios Montt--who was banned from seeking the presidency because of his role in a 1982 coup--with the slogan, “Portillo to the Presidency, Rios Montt to Power.”

Portillo has tried to capitalize on the former general’s support base in the countryside while virtually ceding the capital to Arzu. Televised early returns from a few Guatemala City precincts heavily favored Arzu, who is remembered fondly for improving the flow of traffic and getting city finances on a sound footing as mayor.

Early returns showed Portillo leading by a 2-to-1 margin in his hometown of Zacapa and ahead in some other rural areas, but not enough to offset Arzu’s lead in the capital.

The tremendous popularity of the former dictator does not appear to have rubbed off on his protege. Portillo’s name was not even mentioned during the midday service at the Christian Church of the Word, the evangelical church that supplied many of Rios Montt’s advisors when he became president following the 1982 coup and that remains a bastion of support.

“The case of Efrain is an injustice, the result of unjust laws,” Juan Velasquez shouted to the congregation, referring to the former general’s banned candidacy. “That is why we do not know who to vote for, why we are confused.”

Arzu supporters appeared sure of their choice. Blue and yellow ribbons--the colors of Arzu’s National Advancement Party--were tied around trees in the medians of the capital’s major avenues, and Arzu banners were strung overhead.

Alejandro Arrellano, 21, said he had no difficulty choosing between the candidates. “Arzu has better projects than the other party,” he said, adding that he likes Arzu’s plans for economic growth.