[Attempt to weaken the new president’s parliamentary group
backfires as his Semilla party assumes presidency of Congress.]
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AFTER THREAT OF COUP AND NINE HOURS OF DELAY, THE PRESIDENT OF
GUATEMALA IS SWORN IN  
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January 15, 2024
Peoples Dispatch
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_ Attempt to weaken the new president’s parliamentary group
backfires as his Semilla party assumes presidency of Congress. _

Swearing in of Bernardo Arévalo after a delay. Photo: Bernardo
Arévalo social media,

 

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, took office in the early hours
of this Monday January 15, in a ceremony that began more than nine
hours late, which caused tension and fear that it was another coup
attempt. With last-minute political maneuvers in the Guatemalan
Congress, opponents tried to attack the ruling party and weaken the
president.

Arévalo
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his party Movimiento Semilla, that have been persecuted by the courts
since his victory at the polls
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August 2023, even faced obstacles on the day scheduled for his
inauguration. A court decision determined that deputies elected by
Semilla, Arévalo’s party, would assume their positions as
independents and not as representatives of the party. After heated
debates and international pressure, they managed to garner the support
of other parties to reverse the decision, recover the legislative
bench, which is a minority, and also win the presidency of the new
Congress.

Amid the attempts to undermine the swearing in process, thousands of
Guatemalan mobilized on the streets of the capital to express their
support for Arévalo and the Semilla Party, demanding that the
maneuvers by the judiciary cease. Indigenous communities from across
Guatemala had converged in the capital to back the swearing in of
Arévalo. They had mobilized for weeks
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a national strike in October and November during intensified efforts
by the judiciary to delegitimize the Semilla Party and annul the
elections.

Due to the right-wing’s coup attempt, the president’s inauguration
which had originally been scheduled for Sunday January 14 at 4:00 pm,
only took place at 9:00 am on Monday January 15. International
representatives who were in the country for the ceremony even signed a
document defending Arévalo’s mandate and demanding the completion
of the inauguration. This includes Brazilian Vice President Geraldo
Alckmin, the representatives of the European Union and the
Organization of American States, and foreign ministers and presidents
of other countries. Colombian President Gustavo Petro, even announced
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would not leave Guatemala until the new president was inaugurated.

The latest attempt to undermine the electoral process highlights some
of the numerous challenges Arévalo faces as leader of Central
America’s most populous nation, where he has promised to bring
sweeping reforms, fight corruption and tackle rising costs of living
and violence, the central factors that drive migration to the United
States.

“Our democracy has the strength to resist and, through unity and
trust, we can transform the political landscape in Guatemala,” said
Arévalo moments after taking office, replacing conservative Alejandro
Giammattei, whose government was embroiled in corruption scandals.
Giammattei did not attend the ceremony.

Arévalo reiterated that, in his government, he will combat the misuse
of public resources. “We will not allow our institutions to bend
again in the face of corruption and impunity.” The president also
spoke of “boosting progress” in the country, inviting political,
social, professional and business leaders to come together on a path
of dialogue and peace.

“We are facing a historic opportunity to reverse decades of social
abandonment and institutional deterioration,” he said as hundreds of
supporters gathered in the Plaza de la Constitución in Guatemala
City, the country’s capital, to celebrate. He emphasized that the
Guatemalan people demonstrated “wisdom” and that the Superior
Electoral Court and Supreme Court protected the “sovereign desire”
to “live in democracy.”

HISTORIC MOMENT

The unexpected victory of the president and the progressive movement
he represents is a historic moment for Guatemala, which has long been
governed by conservative parties. As a career diplomat, sociologist,
and son of a former president, 65-year-old Arévalo, faced constant
opposition from established political parties, which repeatedly tried
to undermine his electoral victory. The attorney general of Guatemala,
an ally of Giammattei, made several attempts to hinder Arévalo’s
rise to the presidency, including attempts to suspend his and the vice
president’s legal immunity, to suspend the Semilla Party, and to
annul the election.

In addition to dealing with internal issues, the government of
Arévalo and Vice President Karin Herrera will have to balance demands
from the United States to curb migration amid record remittances that
support the local economy. Acting under US pressure, Giammattei
frequently used the police and army to contain migrants passing
through Guatemala and used aggressive tactics such as firing tear gas
into crowds.

In his inauguration speech, Arévalo stated that his government is
committed to treating migrants crossing Guatemalan territory with
“dignity, respect and compassion, just as we will demand that
Guatemalan migrants be treated abroad.”

Arévalo’s swearing in was attended by the presidents of Honduras,
Xiomara Castro, of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and of Colombia, Gustavo
Petro, as well as the king of Spain, Felipe VI, and the head of
European Union diplomacy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell. Brazil was
represented by vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and diplomat Benoni
Belli, chosen by the government to represent the country at the OAS
(Organization of American States), who sent a small delegation to the
inauguration in support of the democratic ritual. Due to the delay,
Boric and Felipe 6º had to leave before the inauguration.

However, the delays did not appear to dampen the joy of many of
Arévalo’s supporters, who set off fireworks as they celebrated late
into the night. “We have a lot of hope in the new president,” said
Eli Montes, a 27-year-old doctor who waited for hours to hear Arévalo
speak. “He has the opportunity to promote change and leave a
Guatemala that is on the path to development to the next
government.”

_Based on reports by Brasil de Fato and Telesur._

* Guatemala
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* democracy
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* coups d'etat
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* migration
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