The Congress of Guatemala He is trapped in last-minute discussions that delay the investiture as president of the social democrat Bernardo Arevalothe target of judicial maneuvers that sought for months to invalidate the surprise victory he achieved with his promise to combat corruption.
Although the Constitution of Guatemala establishes that Congress must swear in the new president no later than 4:00 p.m. local (22H00 GMT), but when this deadline passed, the new parliament was not even installed.
“Deputies have the responsibility to respect the popular will expressed at the polls. An attempt is being made to violate democracy with illegalities, trifles and abuses of power“Arévalo wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The Congress, mostly on the right, cannot agree on the election of the new board of directors because it debates whether to declare “independent” the deputies of the Semilla de Arévalo party, by virtue of a court order to suspend that political movement due to alleged irregularities in its creation.
The delay in the investiture unleashed unrest among hundreds of Arévalo’s followers, among them many indigenous people, who, between jostling with the police, made their way to approach the parliamentary headquarters. So far the police have not repressed the demonstration.
“The people are watching”
The 65-year-old sociologist, former diplomat and philosopher, Arévalo unexpectedly went to the second presidential round in June with a conservative candidate allied with the ruling partywhom he comfortably defeated with 60% of the votes for his anti-corruption message.
Since then, Arévalo and the Semilla Movement have faced a judicial offensive that he denounced as a “coup d’état”behind which would be the political and economic elite that for decades has governed the country’s destinies.
The Prosecutor’s Office tried to withdraw the immunity of the elected presidentdismantle his progressive party and annul the elections, arguing that there were electoral anomalies.
The attack, based on “spurious” cases according to Arévalo, was condemned by the UN, the OAS, the European Union and the United States.which sanctioned hundreds of prosecutors, judges and deputies for “corruption” and “undermining democracy.”
As a sign of support, The transfer of command is attended by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, delegates from Washington, the king of Spain, Felipe VIand, among others, the presidents of Colombia, Chile, Honduras and Panama.
“The Guatemalan people and the international community are watching“Arévalo added in X.
A meeting of foreign ministers attending the investiture was urgently called by Costa Rica.
Can he govern?
Arévalo will replace the right-wing Alejandro Giammattei, who has been linked to the so-called “pact of the corrupt” and during whose government dozens of prosecutors, judges and journalists who denounced acts of corruption were exiled.
Son of the first democratic president of Guatemala, Arévalo recognizes that he will face enormous challenges because the “political-criminal elites, at least for a time, will continue to be entrenched” in the powers of the State.
Arévalo will ask Attorney General Consuelo Porras, at the head of the judicial offensive, to resign this weekbut analysts do not rule out that the Prosecutor’s Office continues the persecution and asks Congress to withdraw the president’s immunity.
“You will be under permanent harassment. Their greatest challenge is to respond to the people’s desire: not to be governed by the gangsters’ pact. He has to dismantle it to be able to govern“analyst Manfredo Marroquín told AFP.
“It’s not all in your hands”
The Guatemala that Arévalo inherits ranks 30th out of 180 countries in the corruption ranking of Transparency International and with 60% of its 17.8 million inhabitants in poverty, one of the highest rates in Latin America.
Tens of thousands emigrate to the United States every year in search of work and fleeing the violence of gangs and drug traffickers.
“It is not all in your hands, we do not expect a 100% change, but that you do comply with what you have said” declared Hellen Chua, an 18-year-old university student.
According to Arévalo, “the most urgent thing” is to recover the institutions “co-opted by the corrupt”but “the most important thing” is to work for social development.
To do this, he appointed a cabinet of 14 ministers. But was criticized by some followers for including private sector figures or linked to past governments, and only one indigenous.
Son of Juan José Arévalo (president from 1945-1951), promoter of social reforms, He was born in Montevideo and lived as a child in Venezuela, Mexico and Chilein his father’s exile after the coup d’état orchestrated by Washington in 1954 against the progressive Jacobo Árbenz.