Newspaper Article

WALKING THE TIGHTROPE IN GUATEMALA

Stephen Kinzer, chief of The New York Times's bureau in Managua, Nicaragua, is co-author, with Stephen Schlesinger, of ''Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in, Guatemala.'', STEPHEN KINZER

1986

Overview

''Your presence here with me is a message to all those who have benefited from the riches of our country,'' the President shouted to the great crowd of peasants in straw hats assembled on the square that faces the ornate palace. ''The people of Guatemala do not want to challenge or confront them. All we ask is that they remember that we exist, that we have needs and that we want to grow food so we can have more to share with everyone.'' That afternoon, Mr. [Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo] seemed more like a protester than a president. Indeed, the marchers said they had come to support him, rather than to make demands. A large sign in the crowd described Guatemala's situation succinctly: ''We voted for you, and we want you to govern us, not the military.'' One afternoon, Mr. Cerezo spoke to a large group of CACIF members - the country's top businessmen and landowners - at the antiseptic Camino Real Hotel in Guatemala City. The President began by assuring his audience that when he speaks of ''the people,'' as he so often does in his speeches, he is referring ''not just to that group of people who have little,'' but to everyone in the country, entrepreneurs and landowners included. He appealed to them to ''share national leadership with me'' by abandoning ''egotistical attitudes.'' Today, the overwhelming majority of Guatemalans still give Mr. Cerezo the benefit of the doubt. He has been preparing himself diligently for this job his entire adult life, and so far he has not made a major misstep. ''You hear a lot of people saying he should do this or that differently,'' said Mario Solorzano, the Democratic Socialist leader, ''but, so far, you don't hear anyone saying, 'I could do better.' ''

• Publisher: New York Times Company
• Subject: AGRICULTURE / Arevalo, Marco Vinicio Cerezo / CEREZO AREVALO, MARCO VINICIO (PRES) / ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND TRENDS / GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES / KINZER, STEPHEN / POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT / REFORM AND REORGANIZATION