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Warning: Graphic content Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Military jets escort two flights after security scares 11 Sep 2011 Egypt security forces raid unit of Al Jazeera 11 Sep 2011 Three passengers detained in Detroit after flight from Denver 11 Sep 2011 Clooney charms Toronto playing a family man 11 Sep 2011 Military jets escort two flights over security scares 11 Sep 2011 Discussed 199 Obama to propose $300 billion jobs package: report 99 Obama to call for urgent steps on economy 80 Nearly 40 percent of Europeans suffer mental illness Watched Twin towers of light shine in New York sky Sun, Sep 11 2011 Buenos Aires Fashion week sizzles Mon, Aug 22 2011 NASA launches robotic moon probes Sat, Sep 10 2011 Retired general takes early lead in Guatemala election Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Crime fears color Guatemala's presidential vote Sun, Sep 11 2011 Retired general promises security in Guatemala vote Fri, Sep 9 2011 U.S. researchers broke rules in Guatemala syphilis study Mon, Aug 29 2011 Analysis & Opinion My September 11th 9/11 in history: chapter or footnote? Related Topics World » Guatemala's Patriot Party (PP) presidential candidate Otto Perez Molina shakes hands with his supporters after casting his ballot in Guatemala City September 11, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Edgard Garrido By Mica Rosenberg and Mike McDonald GUATEMALA CITY | Mon Sep 12, 2011 2:22am EDT GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A right-wing retired general promising a crackdown on rampant crime held an early lead in Guatemala's presidential election on Sunday but may fall short of the support needed to avoid a run-off vote. Otto Perez, the 60-year-old head of the right-wing Patriot Party, had 36 percent support with about 15 percent of the ballots counted, the election authority said. Perez needs to win 50 percent of the votes cast to avoid a second-round vote in November. If he falls short, he will likely face Manuel Baldizon, a well-off hotel owner and former congressman who sports slicked-back hair and square glasses and has promised more financial help for the elderly and poor. No presidential hopeful in the coffee- and sugar-exporting nation has won in the first round since Guatemala returned to democracy in 1986 after decades of military rule, but Perez said his message had resonated with voters. "Even if we go to a second round, everyone knows that our proposals for security and jobs and the work we have done for more social inclusion in rural areas ... leaves us in a good position," he told local radio as the counting continued. If he wins, Perez would be the first military man to lead Guatemala since the return of democratic rule 25 years ago. Baldizon, who defected from the ruling National Unity Party in 2008 to found the Renewed Democratic Liberation Party (Lider), was running second with 25 percent support after result were in from 1,579 of the 16,668 polling stations. Campaigning focused on Guatemala's losing battle against street gangs and Mexican drug-trafficking cartels moving South American cocaine up to the United States. About a dozen people are murdered every day in the country of 14.7 million and Perez gained support by promising a "mano dura" -- or "firm hand" -- against crime in jingles, slick TV ads and ubiquitous orange campaign posters. Similar policies in other Central American countries, like El Salvador, have meant sweeps by security forces to put in jail youths just for belonging to street gangs. "I like the idea of a 'firm hand,'" 30-year-old secretary Andrea Velasquez said at the polling station where Perez voted. "We need a military solution to end the violence." The run-up to the election, which will also select legislators and mayors, was marred by more than 30 political murders since the start of the year, according to the independent human rights ombudsman. One former mayoral candidate is in jail accused of killing two rivals. MORE SECURITY SPENDING Baldizon, 41, got a boost in the polls last month when President Alvaro Colom's wife, Sandra Torres, was forced to pull out of the presidential race. He scrambled to pick up her supporters. Colom was barred by the constitution from seeking re-election. A law from Guatemala's era of military dictatorships also stops close relatives from running for office. Several courts ruled against Torres' run even after she divorced Colom in a bid to skirt the rules. Both Perez and Baldizon say they want to increase security spending. The brutal Zetas cartel from Mexico is accused of massacres and beheadings in rural areas along Guatemala's lucrative smuggling routes, while street gangs wreak havoc in towns and cities. Perez wants to hire 10,000 new police and 2,500 soldiers, and Baldizon has suggested creating a national guard and supports the death penalty. Deploying the military to the streets -- a model used by Mexico against the drug cartels -- has different implications in Guatemala, where the army committed many atrocities during the 1960-96 civil war. Perez commanded troops during the war and served as the head of a military intelligence unit accused of engineering assassinations of political rivals. He denies allegations he was involved in human rights abuses and points to his role signing the 1996 peace accords with leftist guerrillas as proof that he is a pragmatist. Some voters who still have memories of the war were not convinced. "Soldiers are not trained to govern," said 75-year-old Eduardo Higueros. Last month, Standard & Poor's put Guatemala's credit rating on negative watch due to a rising deficit, expected to top 3 percent of gross domestic product next year, and a paltry tax take, among the lowest of all the countries the agency rates. ($1=7.88 Guatemalan Quetzals) (Additional reporting by Herbert Hernandez in Guatemala City and Jorge Dan Lopez in Flores; Editing by Kieran Murray) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) 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