(Bloomberg) -- A former first lady and an ex-director of prisons are the front-runners as polls open in Guatemala’s presidential election, both pledging to tackle the poverty and violence that has driven migrants to flee to the U.S.

Sandra Torres, the ex-wife of former President Alvaro Colom, has pledged to deploy the army to tackle gangs and drug violence, and says she’ll boost employment. Alejandro Giammattei, who oversaw the nation’s riot-prone jail system from 2002-2007, has also pledged measures to curb crime, including tougher penalties for illegal gun ownership.

Nineteen other candidates are also on the ballot. Voting centers are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with results expected later Sunday night. If none of the candidates get more than 50%, there’ll be a runoff vote in August. Voters will also elect legislators for congress, and mayors.

Guatemala has traditionally been a close U.S. ally, but relations soured this year when U.S. President Donald Trump said he would cut off aid to the country, as well as to El Salvador and Honduras, over their failure to curb migration. Extortion by gang members, and extreme poverty aggravated by a drought that has hit coffee farmers, have driven many to flee northward.

All the main candidates would uphold the nation’s conservative macroeconomic policies, economist and former Foreign Affairs Minister Fernando Carrera said in an interview this month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael McDonald in San Jose, Costa Rica at mmcdonald87@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Bristow at mbristow5@bloomberg.net

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