PEOPLE PROFILE: ALVARO COLOM
PEOPLE PROFILE is published every Tuesday and describes the professional
background of key people emerging in the political and economic scenario.
------------------- ALVARO COLOM----------------------
WHO IS ALVARO COLOM?
Guatemala's presidential candidate for the left-of-centre Unidad Nacional de
la Esperanza (UNE). He will compete in a run-off on 28 December after coming
second to Oscar Berger of the right-of-centre Gran Alianza Nacional (Gana) on 9
November.
Why watch him?
He pipped retired General Efraín Ríos Montt of the ruling Frente Republicano
Guatemalteco (FRG) to the post. The other political parties have agreed to rally
behind him in the run-off. Whether they stick to this promise when Berger starts
offering inducements, however, remains to be seen.
Born: 15 June 1951
Place of birth: Guatemala
Education: Industrial engineer. University of San Carlos, Guatemala
Public life: President and founder of Grupo Mega. Executive director of legal assistance and conflict resolution (Contierra). Advisor to peace secretariat (Sepaz). Executive director of national peace fund (Fonpaz). Deputy economy minister under former President Alvaro Arzú.
Timeline:
1977-1982 Director of the chamber of trade and industry. Member of the
consultative council of AGEXPRONT.
1984 Founder of the Comisión Nacional de la Industria Maquiladora
1990 Head of AGEXPRONT board of directors.
1990 Vice-president of Guatemala's export union, delegate for private sector on
the Comité Estratégico Textil.
1996 Broker between the national council of Mayan elders and the Western world.
1999 Member of the directorate of the Fundación para el Análisis y Desarrollo
de Centroamérica, FADES.
1999 Runs for the former guerrillas' Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteco
(URNG) in the presidential elections.
2003 Runs on the UNE ticket for presidential elections and comes second.
Strong points: He is a candidate for the centre-left with a history of working in institutions defending human rights and indigenous rights. This is likely to make him a more popular choice than Berger, especially outside of the main urban areas. The UNE is a new party untarnished by links with the military during the civil war, unlike Guatemala's traditional parties.
Weak points: Although he was never active with the guerrillas, his sympathies were with them and he ran for the URNG in the previous election. He is very unlikely to woo the business sector as Berger has been able to do. He could be hampered by his pronounced stammer as media scrutiny intensifies over the next month.
Prospects: It all depends upon the alliances he manages to strike up. If the other parties rally behind him and if he can successfully court Ríos Montt's support base he stands a very good chance of overturning Berger's ten percentage point advantage from the first round.