Guatemala Reaffirmation

As he stepped from his bulletproof Mercedes-Benz, cheering well-wishers mobbed President-elect Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo outside the headquarters of his Christian Democratic Party at Guatemala City's Camino Real Hotel. Cerezo, a 42-year-old lawyer, had just been declared the victor in a runoff election for the Guatemalan presidency. The second round of balloting came after national elections last month failed to produce a candidate with a majority. This time Cerezo captured 68% of the vote, soundly defeating his opponent, Newspaper Owner Jorge Carpio Nicolle, 53, of the center-right National Center Union Party. Even Christian Democratic Party leaders were surprised at the size of his victory. Declared Cerezo last week: "We have buried the era of stolen elections. We are going to work for democracy."

The new President's inauguration, scheduled for Jan. 14, will mark Guatemala's return to civilian rule after 15 years of military dictatorship. Cerezo's election is thus expected to clear the way for increased military aid from the U.S., which has earmarked $10 million for Guatemala in fiscal 1986 providing that a civilian government is in power and Guatemala improves its human-rights record. U.S. officials termed the balloting "fair and honest," but warned that they will closely monitor Cerezo's progress in reversing a legacy of government violence against civilians. In 1977 Guatemalan officials rejected U.S. military assistance because it was conditioned on respect for human rights.

Critics of the outgoing government of General Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores contend that political kidnapings and killings, aimed mostly at peasants, union members and university students, persist. Families of the "disappeared" blame government security forces. Last week Cerezo announced that one of his first goals will be to clean up the security apparatus. He declared, "The army cannot limit the power of the head of the armed forces (the President), and if they try to do so, they will have to create a coup."

The new President's top priority, though, will be to reinvigorate the country's depressed economy. Guatemalans currently suffer a nearly 50% rate of joblessness and underemployment, inflation of almost 60% and a $2.3 billion foreign debt. Cerezo vowed last week to end corruption, which, he believes, "eats up 25%" of the $600 million annual national budget.