Guatemala decided on a change of course on Sunday with the election in the second round of the academic Bernardo Arévalo de León as president and a new rejection of the candidacy of former first lady Sandra Torres Casanova. Arévalo de León obtained 2.4 million votes – 59% of the total – the highest figure in Guatemala's history, while Torres accumulated 1.5 million. Abstention was 55%.
The president-elect, of the Movimiento Semilla party, said on election night that "what the people are calling for is enough of all this corruption". All eyes are now on the Public Ministry (Fiscalia), which since July 12 tried to suspend the candidacy of Arévalo de León and his political party, Movimiento Semilla. Precisely three days ago, the prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche – sanctioned by the United States as the head of the Public Ministry – indicated that there could be arrests of members of Semilla for an alleged case of illegal signatures in 2018.
Regardless of what happens in the coming days, the victory of Arévalo de León reflects the change elected by Guatemalans to turn their backs on the traditional and right-wing parties that have ruled the country for 70 years with Jacobo Árbenz (1951-1954) , the president overthrown by the United States. Considered a progressive and moderate left-wing party, the Movimiento Semilla group was born guided by the anti-corruption demonstrations recorded in 2015 and which led to the fall of the government of Otto Pérez Molina due to a scandalous and millionaire bribery case.
Arévalo de León, who is currently a deputy, came to the elections driven by a solid urban vote, with the promise to fight corruption and the intention to emulate the presidency of his father, Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (1945-1951). He has not yet announced the cabinet for the four-year term that will begin on January 14 to replace the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, who said on Sunday that an "orderly transition" will take place.
Sandra Torres Casanova accumulated the third consecutive defeat (2015, 2019, 2023) in an election for the presidency. The ex-wife of former president Álvaro Colom (2008-2012) did not speak after the victory of Arévalo, who yesterday received the congratulations of the Government of Brazil, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the Salvadoran Najib Bukele .
