The elected president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León, assured this Sunday, January 14, in the midst of maneuvers to prevent the normal development of his inauguration, who will be invested as head of state of the Central American countryreplacing Alejandro Giammattei, as ordered by law.
The president-elect’s message comes after a hectic and eventful morning session in the Guatemalan Congresswhere the outgoing deputies have not yet sworn in the new magistracy.
Uncertainty has taken over the situation in Parliamentwhile hundreds of Arévalo supporters gathered around Congress to protest these delaying maneuvers.
Chaos in Congress
Clashes, insults, deputies locked in locked rooms and general chaos describe what is happening in the Guatemalan Congress, as confirmed by the EFE agency.
The deputies of the new legislature had planned to elect the new president of Congress at noon (18:00 GMT), but at the edge of 3:00 p.m. local time (21:00 GMT), the outgoing Congress had not even certified the 160 new members of Parliament.
This circumstance raised fears of an eventual “coup d’état.”as the president-elect himself has been denouncing, accusing the head of the Public Ministry, Consuelo Porras, and “other corrupt actors” of obstructing and preventing his inauguration.
“They are delaying the installation of Congress in its tenth legislature because they do not want to give Arévalo possession“, José Inés Castillo, of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party, of former first lady Sandra Torres, defeated by Arévalo de León in the 2023 elections, declared to the press today.
The swearing-in of the new Guatemalan Congress for the period 2024-2028 must be carried out as a prerequisite to the investiture of the elected president, Bernardo Arévalo de Leóna ceremony that is scheduled to be held at the National Theater before a dozen heads of state attending the Guatemalan capital.
“The coup d’état is being brewed”Castillo warned.
Meanwhile, international guests have begun to arrive at the Miguel Ángel Asturias National Theater to attend the inauguration, despite the fact that The president of Parliament who must swear in the new president has not yet been appointed.
Nine heads of state are invited to the event, including the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric; Colombia, Gustavo, Petroand Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, among others, as well as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
The tension of this day has been the general tone of an electoral and transition process marked by the attempts since last July by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) to outlaw the Semilla Movement party – the main support for the president-elect – and to prevent Arévalo de León from taking possession this January 14.
