Álvaro Colom beat out an army general proving that Latin American countries want more than just un gran macho to lead them. It doesn’t get less macho than this guy. At least that’s how the U.S. media is painting him. I mean seriously, the New York Times couldn’t find a more flattering pic?

Álvaro Colom is a business man who focused on Guatemala’s poverty throughout the campaign.

Colom himself said that vote was more about saying ‘no’ to the perpetuation of Guatemala’s militaristic history.

If the election results was a sign of moving away from Guatemala’s violent political history, the campaign trail still held strong to that legacy. Dozens of politically motivated killing lined that campaign trail. Additionally, Guatemala is a country tiring of the violence within its borders and Colom’s elections signals a willingness to try something else in the face of more than 5,000 killings so far this year

Indigenous leader and human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu ran but lost in the first round, citing fear of indigenous people as the reason.

Via / NYT