Guatemala Election Links

Here are a stories on this weekend's election in Guatemala.

Guatemala Drug Violence Fuels Former General’s Presidential Bid (Bloomberg)

Retired general promises security in Guatemala vote (Reuters)

Controversial Guatemalan Presidential Front-Runner Banned from Campaign Spending (InSight Crime)

Guatemalan Women Enter the Political Limelight Ahead of Sunday’s Elections (Kara Andrade and Nic Wirtz for Americas Quarterly)

There's not much new to report. The continued insecurity and poor economic conditions in Guatemala, no candidate to represent the governing party, a second place finish in the last election, and nearly unlimited resources compared to its competitors, means that we are only waiting to hear whether Otto Perez Molina and the Patriotic Party (PP) win a first round victory or need to take it to a second round in November.

Obviously, Perez will want to take victory this weekend. Although surveys indicate he will win against any challenger in a second round, it's not a chance he'll want to take.