Guatemala: Insight into Polls
Written byEduardo Avila
Luis Figueroa of Carpe Diem [ES] notices the decline in polls for Alvaro Colom, who has participated in the past three elections. Also of note, is that Nobel Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchú, has risen from 1.4% in January to 6.2% in May. He believes that her numbers could be higher if more of the indigenous population is polled
Written byEduardo Avila
2 comments
Hi. Thank you for mentioning Carpe Diem. I just want to correct something that looks like a wrong translation. I do not say that Menchu´s numbers coud be higher if more of the indigenous population “is polled”, because I do not think that there is a cause efect relationship between being indigenous and supporting Menchú; I say that her numbers could be higher if their supporters among the indigenous and popular leadership becomes a reality. Cheers!!
I’m sure Luis Figueroa has his reasons to “correct” what he says “looks like a wrong translation.” Nonetheless, one has to reconcile the fact that, despite Rigoberta Menchu’s current poll numbers being up, such statements about the only indigenous candidate not getting as much support from “the indigenous and popular leadership” come from an individual that leans to the right and has no close ties with the majority of the population in Guatemala.
Keep in mind that I state this because I do believe that people from such elites as the ones being represented by personalities like Luis Figueroa are terrorized with the possibility of an indigenous person becoming president, let’s not mention the fact that this person is also a woman since that would be an entire and separate matter to discuss.
The possibilities of Rigoberta Menchu becoming president are not a reflection of her ethnicity. The grassroots work and the ample knowledge she has about her own country are reflected on her candidacy. The reality about politics in Guatemala when it comes to “deciding” who the next president is going to be, is that such decision has only been decided by its people in two occasions.