Guatemalan candidate brings campaign to Southern Nevada

Monday, July 8, 2002 | 8:48 a.m.

Alvaro Colom, a soft-spoken business consultant who is running for president of Guatemala, may have signaled a growing trend with his visit to Las Vegas last week.

The third-party candidate is probably the first Latin American political figure since Mexico President Vicente Fox to push plans on integrating immigrants living in the United States -- but he almost certainly won't be the last, observers said.

And he also won't be the last Latin leader to court Las Vegas on a par with urban centers like Los Angeles, Miami and New York when seeking support, both political and financial.

The city's new role arises from the Census 2000 figures that showed the state's Hispanic population increased 254 percent in the decade -- mostly in Southern Nevada, which has 300,000-plus Hispanics. About 60,000 of them have roots in Central America -- 10,000 to 12,000 of them from Guatemala, said Aldo Aguirre, a local candidate for honorary consul of Guatemala.

Aguirre said a second candidate in the 2003 Guatemalan elections has contacted him about plans to visit Las Vegas in the coming months.

"What we've learned is that Las Vegas is sort of a jumping-off point, not only because of the growing population of Guatemalans here, but because the community is well-organized and includes financially successful individuals," said Colom, who represents the National Unity for Hope party.

Colom, a former key player in the late '90s peace process that put an end to a 36-year civil war, pitched ideas during his visit that included legalizing undocumented Guatemalans, giving expatriates the right to vote and channeling some of the $1.2 billion his countrymen send back home every year to much-needed projects such as roads and schools.

"We've seen that our family members in the United States have worked hard to overcome obstacles, and we want to integrate them more into the country," Colom said.

All of the ideas echoed proposals of Fox, who created a cabinet position to help Mexicans living in the United States after winning the 2000 election.

"There's no doubt you're going to see a trend here," said Michele Waslin, immigration policy analyst for the Washington-based National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.

"President Fox has had some success in ... a block of changes that can't be ignored by either his or Washington's government, and it's obvious other Latin governments will follow step."

Colom also found Guatemalan and non-Hispanic businessmen and women who may support his campaign. If elected, he said, he also would take advantage of the dual citizenship available to Guatemalans and introduce legislation allowing nationals abroad to vote.

"In any case, each of the 12,000 or so Guatemalans living in the Las Vegas area has family members back home. In my country, there are municipalities of 500 people, so a little support goes a long way."