The sociologist Bernardo Arévalo won, by surprise, the presidential elections in Guatemala in August at the head of the progressive Semilla movement with 58% of the votes. He has to take office on January 14 but shortly after the elections the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, began a persecution against him that included the registration last week of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with the aim of questioning the results and outlawing Semilla.
Arévalo, 64, denounced an “attempted coup d'état” and, as a protest, decided to suspend his participation in the transition process with the government of conservative Alejandro Giammattei, in addition to submitting a request for protection to the courts.
More and more international voices are warning of the risk that Arévalo will not be able to take office, after winning the elections with the promise of ending the endemic corruption and the growing authoritarianism protected by Giammattei, which has even led to prison or exile. to critical journalists.
On Monday, the Secretary General of the OAS stated that “the complaints expressed by the Public Ministry are without clarity and without legal classification, they are clearly persecutory of a political party.” And he demanded that “the persecution against the Semilla party must stop.”
On Tuesday, the case reached the UN General Assembly, from whose lectern the Brazilian president Lula, first, and the Argentine Alberto Fernández, later, denounced the risky situation that Arévalo is experiencing.
At the end of the day, Giammattei himself responded to the criticism from the same UN forum and denounced “international interference.” “Contrary to the lack of truth that has been said in this space, I will hand over power to whoever was elected,” the president promised.
Arévalo has called on the population to take to the streets in defense of democracy and this week there have already been protest mobilizations by peasants and indigenous movements.
