Retired Gen. Otto Pérez Molina finished first in Sunday’s presidential election in Guatemala, earning 36% of the vote in a crowded field. Pérez Molina, a conservative, is favored to win an upcoming Nov. 6 runoff against Manuel Baldizón, a wealthy businessman, who garnered 24% support in first-round voting. If he wins the runoff, Pérez Molina will become Guatemala’s first military-trained head of state since the end of the country’s 36-year civil war (1960-1996). During the 1980s, the candidate headed the army’s powerful intelligence unit.
Pérez Molina’s military background and promises of treating violent drug traffickers with an “iron fist” have proven to be political assets in a country with one of the world’s highest murder rates. But he also has no shortage of critics, particularly among victims of the countless war-era human rights violations. The civil war claimed an estimated 200,000 lives. Most of those deaths came at the hands of the military, which some historians accuse of authoring Latin America’s only 20th century genocide.
Le Monde: You’ve been accused of committing human rights violations during the civil war, and of being involved in the killing of the guerilla commander Efrain Bamaca. How do you respond?
Otto Pérez Molina: I retired from the army 11 year ago. Right now I don’t benefit from any immunity, and the current government has done everything possible to hinder my candidacy by bringing up the issue of human rights violations. But they haven’t been able to prove anything at all. They weren’t even able to present a formal complaint with evidence in order to force me into the courts. That’s simply because at no point did I break the law or violate the rights of Guatemalans.
As far as the Efrain Bamaca case goes, there are two versions. One that was presented before the courts. There was a trial that lasted nine years, and in the end the courts ruled that he was killed in combat. The other version, the one put forth by the guerillas, is that he wasn’t killed in combat. But they’ve never been able to prove that. There was an investigation in which 14 military personnel were implicated. I was never on that list. I was never subpoenaed, not even as a witness during those nine years. I have absolutely nothing to hide. Nor do I regret anything. I went into the region [Quiché] to defend the population and reestablish peace. The truth is that I am very appreciated and recognized in that region.
Some people worry that your possible arrival to power will result in a militarization of the state. Is there any basis to those fears?
There is no basis. I don’t envisage militarizing the institutions in charge of security. Instead we want to professionalize the police. We want to create a university track for officers. Helen Mack [a outspoken human rights activist] has done excellent work as the head of a committee planning police reforms. It’s time to move to the execution phase… They say that I’m going to usher in an authoritarian government because I’m a retired general. There’s no basis to that. I respect the Constitution and the laws, and I am going to reinforce democracy.
Are you going to use the army to fight drug traffickers, as President Felipe Calderon has done in Mexico?
The situation in Guatemala is different. This a country used for transferring and storing drugs. In order to take back control of the corridors that the drug traffickers use, we need to use special army units like the “kaibiles” [an elite unit] and the parachutists. And we should fight organized crime by applying laws that permit the use of such things as infiltrating agents and tapping telephones.
Weren’t the Zetas [Mexican drug cartel] trained by the kaibiles?
Some former kaibiles were recruited by the Zetas, who offered them a good salary. But the kaibile unit itself hasn’t been contaminated by the traffickers. We’re talking about an elite unit that has participated in peacekeeping missions all over the world.
If you win the presidency, will the courts continue to pursue cases already begun against military personnel accused of violations during the civil war?
We will respect the independence of the state powers. If the judiciary pursues these cases, we will not intervene. We’ll let them advance in the courts.
Why haven’t you made public the sources of your campaign funding? According to civil society groups, you have gone way past the legal spending limits?
First of all, we’ve said we will mount a frontal attack on the traffickers, so the Partido Patriota (Otto Pérez’ Patriot Party) hasn’t received any money from the drug gangs. We’ve asked our contributors to reveal their identities publicly, but they haven’t wanted to. Not many have given us permission [to reveal their identities]. We must respect their privacy since they’re afraid of being victims of extortion, kidnapping or entrapment by tax authorities The problem of financing political parties is something that should be discussed by the Guatemalan society as a whole.
What are your priorities as far as the region is concerned?
With the United States, we would like to develop a partnership in order to mount a frontal attack against the drug traffickers, as well as protect the rights of Guatemalans living in the United States. The same goes for Mexico, where Guatemalan migrants are kidnapped, extorted and sometimes murdered. Just like there are international criminal courts, we could create a regional court to try drug traffic-related crimes.
Read the original interview in French
Photo- Surizar
