One last shot for Torres

Five marches in support of Sandra Torres will arrive in front of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) this morning to pressure the court into overturning prior court and electoral body decisions that banned her from registering as a candidate for president. UNE-GANA is expecting some 50,000 supporters to show up in support of Torres. The CSJ will hold a public hearing at which Torres is supposed to attend and might make a decision over the course of the weekend.

In other news, Rigoberta Menchu was officially inscribed as the Broad Front's presidential candidate. You can read more about the Broad Front's campaign and a profile of Menchu at Prensa Libre. There's a lot of excitement on the left for the party in this year's election. Unfortunately, it's not going to translate into widespread support for their presidential candidate. 

Reuters has a piece on Return of Guatemalan military looms as left falters that is okay. I wouldn't really call Colom "leftist." He has some leftist credentials has promoted greater social assistance programs than his predecessors, but at the same time he has rely heavily upon mano dura security solutions. He strongly supports CAFTA. He's calling for a regional NATO-type force. He seems to have no qualms using force to dislodge campesinos and to resolve land conflicts. He seems to be more interested in resource extraction than the environment. 

Anyway, it would totally surprise me if the CSJ overturned prior decisions and inscribed Torres. As we know, stranger things have happened however. I wish there were a serious candidate that could challenge Otto Perez Molina in September, but even if Torres is somehow inscribed, she's not going to be that person.