The elected president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de Leónassured this Tuesday that the accusations with which they seek to remove her immunity are false, in a case of alleged damage to local heritage that began today with the judicial process against a former candidate for deputy.
Arévalo de León, of the party Seed Movementdefended his innocence and that of the members of his party, in a case presented on November 16 by which the Public ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) also seeks to implicate the vice president, Karin Herrera.
LOOK HERE: Guatemala: Arévalo denounces “assault against democracy” after request to strip his immunity
“No one should be persecuted for their political opinions. Truth and justice will prevail“, stressed the president-elect in his communication channels.
“We will not let them trample the seed of hope“added the 64-year-old academic, surprisingly elected in this year’s elections when polls placed him in seventh or eighth position.
Arévalo de León, currently a deputy, was present this Tuesday in Congress, where according to local media he warned that the case against him has no substance.
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, the former candidate for deputy Marcela Blanco24 years old, gave his first statement in the judicial process that began on November 16 against 27 people (five currently detained) for an alleged case of damage to national heritage.
This case is the same one for which Arévalo de León and Herrera are linked, as well as several deputies from the Semilla Movement and also from the opposition.
In the presentation of the case, on November 16, the Prosecutor’s Office said that the accusations originate from the forcible takeover in 2022 of the campus of the University of San Carlos (the only state one), by dozens of students, in rejection to the elections held that year at the house of higher education.
MORE INFORMATION: Guatemala: Prosecutor’s Office will request the withdrawal of the immunity of the elected president and vice president
Arévalo de León had warned since September 1 that the attorney general, Consuelo Porrascarries out a “coup d’état” against him to prevent him from taking office on January 14.
“This is political persecution for denouncing corruption“, Blanco told EFE this Tuesday, upon his arrival at the Court Tower of the Guatemala city prior to the initiation of the procedure against him.
Judge Victor Cruzsanctioned by USAbegan the judicial procedure at the end of this Tuesday morning, in which it will decide whether to charge Blanco and five other detained university students and professors.
Since July 12, the Prosecutor’s Office has judicialized the electoral process of Guatemala and attempted to cancel Arévalo de León’s party, as well as reverse the results of the elections held on June 25 and August 20.
Pro-democracy protests
Also this Tuesday, several caravans of vehicles demonstrated against the attempts of the Prosecutor’s Office to prevent the investiture of Arévalo de León.
The caravans, coming from the west of the Central American country, ended their journey in the center of Guatemala City, where they joined indigenous organizations and other sectors to protest in defense of democracy.
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This Tuesday’s protest in the center of the country’s capital was called last week by indigenous communities and supported by the transport union of the department (province) of Sololá, organizers of the caravans, following the new movement of the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office). ) against the elected president and his party.
On November 17, the secretary general of the United Nations Organization (UN), Antonio Guterrespointed out that it is “alarmed” for the latest actions of the Prosecutor’s Office and made a “call on the authorities to guarantee that the democratic will expressed at the polls is respected”.
