Alliance of Encuentro por Guatemala and Viva

Montenegro and Caballeros
Prensa Libre

Political parties continue to prepare for September's elections, meeting with supporters throughout both the capital and the interior of the country. During one rally, an unknown gunman riding in a vehicle shot into a group of National Unity of Hope (UNE) supporters, injuring a forty-seven year old woman.

Meanwhile, Nineth Montenegro of the Encuentro por Guatemala (EG) and Haroldo Caballeros of Vision con Valores (Viva) agreed to form an alliance for this year's elections. Caballeros will most likely head the binomial ticket and Montenegro will head the party's congressional list.

Guatemala employs proportional representation for selecting members of congress and therefore it is extremely important to head your party's list as it maximizes one's chances of getting elected. It's even more important for these two parties as the control a combined total of one seat in the current congress.

Party officials hope that the alliance will be more than simply an alliance of convenience and that the relationship will transcend the campaign. Given Guatemala's political party history, that is unlikely however.    

Meanwhile, Otto Perez Molina and Roxana Baldetti of the Patriotic Party continued to critize the government for using its social cohesion program to attract supporters.