The retired general who won Guatemala's presidency in November seems an unlikely advocate of a kinder approach toward counternarcotics policy. Otto Perez — whose party's symbol is a clenched fist — campaigned on the promise that his government would crack down on the crime ravaging parts of the country. A former member of the special forces known as Kaibiles, he also served as director of military intelligence.
But his reluctance to join a stalemated war against drugs is understandable. As a military man and a pragmatic politician, Perez wants to fight battles he has a chance of winning. The two Latin American presidents joining Perez's call for a debate on legalization also campaigned on the issues of crime and public safety: Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos, a former minister of defense, and Costa Rica's Laura Chinchilla, a former minister of public security.
Perez, Santos and Chinchilla suffer from the counternarcotics fatigue spreading among Latin American politicians and pundits who see the "war on drugs" as a debilitating waste of blood and treasure. They are looking for an honorable withdrawal from a seemingly unwinnable fight. They want to put their resources and energy into more politically profitable pursuits — strengthening public education, eliminating hunger or combating street crime.