DEMOCRACY'S DELICATE HOLD

Guatemalans are bracing for a January 7 runoff election after frontrunner Alvaro Arzu, a popular reform-minded industrialist, fell short of the 50 percent majority he needs to win. His opponent is Republican Front leader Alfonso Portillo, the hand-picked choice of former dictator Efrain Rios. "This election is being closely watched by the international community, which fears that a Portillo victory would mean a serious setback for democracy," TIME's Mike Leffert reports from Guatemala City. "Business is also worried that a Portillo win could threaten privatization projects and guarantees for property rights." Weary of their country's 35-year-old civil war, some Guatamalans are beginning to yearn for a return to the militaristic, authoritarianism of Rios administration.