The people of Guatemala elected former television comedian Jimmy Morales as their new president on Oct. 25.
Amidst government corruption scandals, the people of Guatemala were ready for a change. The statement of desire for change was made clear when Morales won 67 percent of the overall vote, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“When I was back in Guatemala there were several protests, and they were because the president and vice president were involved in corruption,” sophomore Guatemalan Josue Silvestre, said. “It makes me sad seeing all of the corruption that is back at home in the government. You cannot trust anyone anymore.”
Morales, however, promised in a television annoucnement to be someone that the people of Guatemala can trust as he seeks to rid the Guatemalan government of corruption.
“People criticize him because he’s a comedian, but I think any person can be a president if they do it for the right reasons,” sophomore Guatemalan Derack Estrada, said. “I think Jimmy Morales is really a good Christian person, he has a lot of degrees, he has a good education, and I think he’s a prepared person.”
Being a comedian, in fact, may provide Morales with the perspective that is needed in the Guatemalan government, Silvestre said.
“He feels empathy with all of us because what’s different with him from all the other candidates is that he comes from a really humble background,” Silvestre said. “He made his own way in order to grow up in Guatemala and I think he had the idea that all of us need one opportunity to do that. I have hope in him because he looks like someone who is a righteous person, like someone honest. He looks like someone who has really struggled with what we struggle with right now, and really has that desire to make Guatemala a better culture.”
Whatever inexperience Morales might have, the people of Guatemala seem to be looking for an honest person that they believe to have found in Morales. Estrada hopes that Morales will take office and remember his humble beginnings as he fights against corruption.
