Elections

So Guatemalans went to the urns last Sunday and voted on who their next president will be. I was here in the US so I wasn't able to vote.

A lot of people are upset about that since the money that Guatemalans send back home are the single biggest income the country as a whole receives. Bigger than any import or industry.

So shouldn't the group of people that contribute the most to the country's economy have at least a vote on that country's future?

That's the debate.

I used to think so, and I may still. But it's interesting reading the Guatemalan papers online and reading the reader comments.

Some people are passionate about them being able to vote. Others think that it doesn't really matter since, how are we going to know who to vote for if we are here?

This touches on another particular detail about the typical Guatemalan in the US: most of us don't go back often, or ever.

Almost every Guatemalan I've ever run into in this country hasn't been back for at least 5–10 years. Some for 20 and some for 30. But they still send the money.

They have no idea how the city has changed in just the last 10 years, never mind more than that. So how are these people who never go back, contribute as they may, know who to vote for? One reader made a good comment about how they have their own politics to worry about. They need to follow US politics so they can make wise decisions about their own future.

It's very hard to know what's going on in Guatemala, even when you're there. The press is awful, inaccurate, and sometimes plain wrong.

But there's still something that bothers me about not being able to vote simply because I'm here. Maybe if the press was more reliable, better opinions could be formed. But as it stands now all you can go on is what you hear from your family and friends back home.