Otto Pérez Molina: Difference between revisions

Otto Pérez Molina
Otto Pérez Molina
	File:Otto perez molina.jpg
Personal details
Born	1 December 1950 (age 73); Guatemala City, Guatemala
Political party	Patriotic Party
Alma mater	School of the Americas; Inter-American Defense College
Military service
Rank	Brigade General

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Otto Pérez Molina (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and general who won the 2011 Presidential elections in Guatemala as the Patriotic Party (Partido Patriota) candidate. He was the candidate of the Patriotic Party in the 2007 presidential election, campaigning under the slogan "Mano dura, cabeza y corazón" ("Firm hand, head and heart"), advocating a hard-line approach to rising criminality in the country. After receiving the second-largest number of votes in the initial contest on 9 September, he ultimately lost the election to Álvaro Colom of the National Unity of Hope in the second round on 4 November 2007.^[1]

Born in Guatemala City, Pérez is a graduate of Guatemala's National Military Academy (Escuela Politécnica), ^[2] the School of the Americas^[3] and of the Inter-American Defense College.^[4] During his time in the army he served as director of military intelligence and inspector-general of the army. In 1983 he was a member of the group of army officers who backed Defence Minister Óscar Mejía's coup d'état against de facto president Efraín Ríos Montt. While serving as chief of military intelligence in 1993, he was instrumental in forcing the departure of President Jorge Serrano after Serrano attempted a "self-coup" by dissolving Congress and appointing new members to the Guatemalan Supreme Court. In the wake of that incident, Guatemala's human rights ombudsman, Ramiro de León, became president and appointed Pérez as his presidential chief of staff, a position he held until 1995. Pérez also represented the military in the negotiations that led to the 1996 Peace Accords, putting an end to Guatemala's 30-year-long Civil War. Between 1998 and 2000 he represented Guatemala on the Inter-American Defense Board.

General Pérez retired from active military duty in January 2000. On 24 February 2001, he founded the Patriotic Party. In the general election of 9 November 2003, the PP aligned itself with two other parties in the Grand National Alliance and Pérez was elected to Congress as a national-list congressman.

Accusations of human rights abuses

In July 2011, Guatemalan indigenous organization Waqib Kej presented a letter to the United Nations accusing Pérez of genocide and torture allegedly committed in Quiché in 1982.^[5]^[6] Among other evidence, they cited a 1982 documentary in which a military officer whom they claim is Perez Molina is seen near to 4 dead bodies, allegedly tortured prisoners. ^[7]

File:Roxana Baldetti y Otto Pérez Molina.jpg

Otto Perez with Roxana Baldetti received credentials accrediting them as candidates for President of Guatemala 2011

Attacks on Pérez's family and associates

On 11 November 2000, Pérez's son, Otto Pérez Leal, was attacked by gunmen while driving with his wife and infant daughter. On 21 February 2001, three days before Pérez was scheduled to launch his new political party, masked gunmen attacked and wounded his daughter Lissette. The same day, masked gunmen shot and killed Patricia Castellanos Fuentes de Aguilar, who had just departed her house after meeting with Pérez's wife, Rosa María Leal. Human rights groups claimed that the attacks were politically motivated.^[8]^[9]

During the 2007 presidential campaign, several members of the Patriotic Party were killed by armed assailants, including a 33-year-old indigenous woman, Aura Marina Salazar Cutzal, who was secretary to the party's congressional delegation and assistant to Pérez.^[10]^[11]

References

^ "Guatemala heads for run-off vote". BBC News. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
^ [1]^{[dead link]}
^ "Notorious Guatemalan School of the Americas Graduates". Derechos.org. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
^ "Apoyo Crónica Guatemala.- Otto Pérez Molina, el general retirado que apuesta por "mano dura" para resolver los problemas" (in Spanish). Europapress.es. 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
^ Ian Bremmer (July 21, 2011). "In Guatemala, troubles ahead and troubles behind". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
^ "Denuncian a Pérez Molina por genocidio y tortura de indígenas en Guatemala" (in Spanish). Europa Press. July 20, 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
^ Asier Andrés (July 7, 2011). "Harbury pide a relator de ONU que investigue a Pérez". El Periodico de Guatemala. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8344.htm
^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18333.htm
^ http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20071009/actualidad/44459/
^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/08/america/LA-GEN-Guatemala-Election-Violence.php

External links

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[1] "Guatemala heads for run-off vote". BBC News. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2011-09-13.

[2] [1]^{[dead link]}

[3] "Notorious Guatemalan School of the Americas Graduates". Derechos.org. Retrieved 2011-09-13.

[4] "Apoyo Crónica Guatemala.- Otto Pérez Molina, el general retirado que apuesta por "mano dura" para resolver los problemas" (in Spanish). Europapress.es. 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2011-09-13.

[5] Ian Bremmer (July 21, 2011). "In Guatemala, troubles ahead and troubles behind". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 23 July 2011.

[6] "Denuncian a Pérez Molina por genocidio y tortura de indígenas en Guatemala" (in Spanish). Europa Press. July 20, 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.

[7] Asier Andrés (July 7, 2011). "Harbury pide a relator de ONU que investigue a Pérez". El Periodico de Guatemala. Retrieved 17 September 2011.

[8] ttp://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8344.htm

[9] ttp://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18333.htm

[10] ttp://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20071009/actualidad/44459/

[11] ttp://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/08/america/LA-GEN-Guatemala-Election-Violence.php

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-'''Otto Pérez Molina''' (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and general. He is the Patriotic Party candidate and frontrunner in the 2011 Presidential elections in Guatemala. He was the candidate of the [[Patriotic Party (Guatemala)|Patriotic Party]] (''Partido Patriota'') in the  [[Guatemalan general election, 2007|2007 presidential election]], campaigning under the slogan "''Mano dura, cabeza y corazón''" ("firm hand, head and heart"), advocating a [[Law and order (politics)|hard-line approach]] to rising criminality in the country. After receiving the second-largest number of votes in the initial contest on 9 September, he ultimately lost the election to [[Álvaro Colom]] of the [[National Unity of Hope]] in the [[Two-round system|second round]] on 4 November 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6986834.stm |title=Guatemala heads for run-off vote |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-09-10 |accessdate=2011-09-13}}</ref>
+'''Otto Pérez Molina''' (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and [[General officer|general]] who won the [[2011 Presidential elections in Guatemala]] as the [[Patriotic Party (Guatemala)|Patriotic Party]] (''Partido Patriota'') candidate. He was the candidate of the Patriotic Party in the  [[Guatemalan general election, 2007|2007 presidential election]], campaigning under the slogan "''Mano dura, cabeza y corazón''" ("Firm hand, head and heart"), advocating a [[Law and order (politics)|hard-line approach]] to rising criminality in the country. After receiving the second-largest number of votes in the initial contest on 9 September, he ultimately lost the election to [[Álvaro Colom]] of the [[National Unity of Hope]] in the [[Two-round system|second round]] on 4 November 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6986834.stm |title=Guatemala heads for run-off vote |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-09-10 |accessdate=2011-09-13}}</ref>
 Born in [[Guatemala City]], Pérez is a graduate of Guatemala's National Military Academy (''Escuela Politécnica''), <ref>[http://www.partidopatriota.com.gt/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=110 ]{{dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref> the [[School of the Americas]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.derechos.org/soa/guat-not.html |title=Notorious Guatemalan School of the Americas Graduates |publisher=Derechos.org |date= |accessdate=2011-09-13}}</ref> and of the [[Inter-American Defense College]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europapress.es/noticia.aspx?cod=20070908101612&ch=69 |title=Apoyo Crónica Guatemala.- Otto Pérez Molina, el general retirado que apuesta por "mano dura" para resolver los problemas. |publisher=Europapress.es |date=2007-09-08 |accessdate=2011-09-13 |language=Spanish}}</ref> During his time in the army he served as director of military intelligence and inspector-general of the army. In 1983 he was a member of the group of army officers who backed [[Ministry of Defence (Guatemala)|Defence Minister]] [[Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores|Óscar Mejía]]'s [[coup d'état]] against ''de facto'' president [[Efraín Ríos Montt]]. While serving as chief of military intelligence in 1993, he was instrumental in forcing the departure of [[President of Guatemala|President]] [[Jorge Serrano Elías|Jorge Serrano]] after Serrano attempted a "[[self-coup]]" by dissolving Congress and appointing new members to the Guatemalan Supreme Court. In the wake of that incident, Guatemala's human rights ombudsman, [[Ramiro de León Carpio|Ramiro de León]], became president and appointed Pérez as his presidential chief of staff, a position he held until 1995. Pérez also represented the military in the negotiations that led to the 1996 Peace Accords, putting an end to Guatemala's 30-year-long [[Guatemalan Civil War|Civil War]]. Between 1998 and 2000 he represented Guatemala on the [[Inter-American Defense Board]].