Widely Favored in Polls, Arvalo Faces Long Path to Presidency 48 Hours before Vote
Friday, August 18, 2023
Roman Gressier and José Luis Sanz
With the presidential election set for Sunday, two polls this week place opposition legislator and former diplomat Bernardo Arévalo (64) with a gaping lead over former first lady and political boss Sandra Torres (67) in what would be the latter’s third consecutive second-round loss since 2015. Cid Gallup puts the gap at 50 versus 32 percent; Guatemalan firm ProDatos found it to be even wider, at 53.6 versus 29.
Torres has sought to cast her opponent as a foreigner —“the Uruguayan candidate” she repeated at least a half-dozen times in their only televised debate on Monday— as well as an anti-family radical. But Cid Gallup found that Arévalo’s negatives had not increased. In July, 20 percent of respondents in a preceding poll evaluated him negatively; in the more recent poll on Wednesday, he registered 19 percent.
In recent weeks false billboards, engineered voices, and social media videos impersonating Semilla have proliferated with messages in favor of same-sex marriage and against Christians and private property. Among Torres voters, though, just 21 percent said the country would worsen if he wins.
The looming questions are whether voting will be peaceful, just how successful any attempt to delay the certification of the results will be, and, once the winner is known, what efforts may arise to obstruct the January 14 inauguration.
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https://elfaro.net/en/202308/centroamerica/27006/widely-favored-in-polls-arevalo-faces-long-path-to-presidency-48-hours-before-vote