Voters head to polls to choose a new president

This photo combo of file images shows from left, Sandra Torres, National Unity of Hope, UNE, presidential candidate, in Guatemala City, Aug. 18, 2023, and Bernardo Arévalo, Seed Movement presidential candidate, in Guatemala City, July 13, 2023.

Moises Castillo/AP

SANTO DOMINGO XENACOJ, Guatemala — After a tumultuous campaign, Guatemalans began voting Sunday to elect a new president, hoping that the country’s next leader will provide relief from rising prices and get a handle on crime and corruption.

The two candidates offer starkly different paths forward. Former first lady Sandra Torres became an ally of outgoing, deeply unpopular President Alejandro Giammattei in her third bid for the presidency. Her opponent, Bernardo Arévalo, with the progressive Seed Movement, rode a wave of popular resentment toward politics to his surprise spot in the runoff.

Central America’s most populous country and the region’s largest economy continues to struggle with widespread poverty and violence that have driven hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans to emigrate in recent years.

Early on Sunday, residents of Santo Domingo Xenacoj lined up to vote at the local primary school. The Volcano of Fire puffed in the distance as men in jackets and women in traditional embroidered blouses wrapped in shawls against the chill came out to vote.

Juan Xocoxi Chocoyo, a 60-year-old farmer and driver, was the first in line. He said he shared his vote only with God, but that the issues weighing on his mind as he entered the voting booth were the lack of work and the rising cost of everyday products.

He is unemployed and subsists on the corn and beans he grows. He used to grow a variety of vegetables, but it became too expensive.

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