In a landslide, former actor Jimmy Morales wins presidential election in Guatemala


Former actor Jimmy Morales won the Guatemalan presidential election on Sunday, receiving 70 percent of the vote with 92 percent of ballots counted.
Former First Lady Sandra Torres came in a distant second with 30 percent of the vote, The Wall Street Journal reports. Former President Otto Pérez Molina, his vice president, and other officials resigned six months ago due to corruption scandals and protests, and Morales, a social conservative with the National Convergence Front party, ran with the slogan "Neither corrupt nor a thief." In a television message Sunday night, Morales said: "I have been given a mandate, a mandate to clean up corruption that has eaten at this country." International Transparency's Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Guatemala 115 out of 175, and polls conducted in the country show that Guatemalans are mainly concerned with corruption, even more than insecurity and unemployment, the Journal reports.
Before entering politics, Morales was a comedic actor, at one point starring in a television show where he played a cowboy who accidentally becomes president. In early September, 14 candidates participated in a runoff vote, with Morales and Torres, who also ran on an anti-corruption platform, coming out on top. Morales will take office Jan. 14, 2016.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material