Monday, January 14, 2008

New Presidente

Today Guatemala gets a new man in the top job and the pollsters have been out asking citizens what they think of the nation's prospects.

47 percent believe it will soon be better off, about 29 percent think it will stay the same, while 17 percent expect life to be worse.

Four years ago, when Oscar Berger took office, only 39 percent of Guatemalans polled in the same newspaper (El Periódico) expected the country to be better managed, while 21 percent thought things would get worse. (The pessimists were generally right that time, though the economy has been fairly robust.)

Amongst the invited dignitaries to Colom's inauguration are Felipe, Príncipe de Asturias. Presumably his dad is doing a bunk because advisors didn't fancy him renewing his slanging match with Hugo Chávez, one of 15 heads of state also attending.

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian is turning up in an effort to fend off China's attempts to lure away the island's diplomatic allies across Central America. Colom has already said that he expects to forge stronger ties with China.

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