Otto Fernando Pérez Molina the 62 year old Guatemalan politician and retired military officer who has been President of Guatemala for the past twelve months has been the subject of an article published by Mike Allison on Aljazeera titled ‘Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina's first year in office’. Allison states ‘Otto Perez Molina of the Patriotic Party stepped onto the international stage in February 2012, after announcing to Guatemala and to the world that he would support the decriminalisation of marijuana and other illegal drugs. While his proposal brought accolades abroad, his first year in office has been much more of a mixed picture, at best, for the people of Guatemala. Upon his inauguration on January 14, 2012, President Perez confronted a challenging environment following four tumultuous years under Alvaro Colom. Fifty-four percent of the population lived in poverty, a three percentage point increase from the start of Colom's term. …For the last few weeks, all the Guatemalan newspapers have been running stories about social unrest throughout the country over land conflict, mining, and indigenous rights. The massacre in Totonicapan, the earthquake and devastation in San Marcos, repression against civil society, tensions surrounding the poorly conceptualised, planned and executed end of the world celebrations, and Otto Perez Molina's military history make for poor relations between a large number of Guatemalans and the government. These are real concerns about the situation here as Guatemalans head into 2013 and the second year of this administration. I'm afraid that adverse decisions with regards to the prosecution of human rights violators and the increased reliance on the military to resolve problems that do not have military solutions will only stoke the flames of discontent which is unfortunate and dangerous for the people of this beautiful country.”  Inspired by Mike Allison, Aljazeera ow.ly/gXCq5 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gXCpm President Otto Perez Molina’s first year in office (January 28 2013)

Otto Fernando Pérez Molina the 62 year old Guatemalan politician and retired military officer who has been President of Guatemala for the past twelve months has been the subject of an article published by Mike Allison on Aljazeera titled ‘Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina’s first year in office’. Allison states ‘Otto Perez Molina of the Patriotic Party stepped onto the international stage in February 2012, after announcing to Guatemala and to the world that he would support the decriminalisation of marijuana and other illegal drugs. While his proposal brought accolades abroad, his first year in office has been much more of a mixed picture, at best, for the people of Guatemala. Upon his inauguration on January 14, 2012, President Perez confronted a challenging environment following four tumultuous years under Alvaro Colom. Fifty-four percent of the population lived in poverty, a three percentage point increase from the start of Colom’s term. …For the last few weeks, all the Guatemalan newspapers have been running stories about social unrest throughout the country over land conflict, mining, and indigenous rights. The massacre in Totonicapan, the earthquake and devastation in San Marcos, repression against civil society, tensions surrounding the poorly conceptualised, planned and executed end of the world celebrations, and Otto Perez Molina’s military history make for poor relations between a large number of Guatemalans and the government. These are real concerns about the situation here as Guatemalans head into 2013 and the second year of this administration. I’m afraid that adverse decisions with regards to the prosecution of human rights violators and the increased reliance on the military to resolve problems that do not have military solutions will only stoke the flames of discontent which is unfortunate and dangerous for the people of this beautiful country.”

 

Inspired by Mike Allison, Aljazeera ow.ly/gXCq5 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gXCpm