Tension in Guatemala: Urgent meeting of foreign ministers due to delay in Arévalo’s investiture

Bernardo Arevalo Oath should be taken at the National Theater but The ceremony has been delayed because Congress, controlled by parties related to outgoing President Alessandro Giammattei, has blocked the recognition process. Of elected and re-elected representatives.

Parliament has not been able to agree on the election of a new board of directors and is debating whether to declare Arévalo’s party “independent” based on a court order suspending the Movimiento Semilla party.

If delegates are declared “independent” they cannot sit on the board of directors or chair parliamentary committees.

according to the constitution of guatemalaThe inauguration of the President is scheduled for 4:00 pm (10:00 pm GMT), even if there is no formal swearing-in ceremony.

The inauguration ceremony should have started already.

In view of this irregular situation, Chancellor attending the inauguration Colombian President Gustavo Petro revealed that Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Arnoldo Andre, has called for an urgent meeting.

“It is the responsibility of the representatives to respect the popular will expressed in the elections. Efforts are being made to violate democracy through illegalities, petty issues and abuse of power. “The Guatemalan people and the international community are watching,” Arevalo said.

Parliament remained in a state of uncertainty, while hundreds of Arévalo supporters gathered around Congress to protest these delaying maneuvers.

Nine heads of state have been invited to this program King of Spain, Felipe VIand the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric; colombia, gustavo petroand panama, laurentino cortizoIn addition to, among others, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

Earlier, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala, the country’s highest court, had given this decision this Sunday. Semilla Movement Party, of the elected President, Bernardo Arévalo de Leonis suspended.

This decision was confirmed by several sources, Semilla leaves the movement without the possibility of becoming part of the board of directors of the Congress For the period 2024-2025.

Similarly, The ruling establishes that the 23 representatives of the Arévalo de León political group must be independent for the period 2024–2028.Without any political party affiliation, despite the fact that in 2023, the same court had already ordered that all officials elected in the previous year’s elections would assume office as soon as they were elected.

The suspension stems from a criminal order dated July 12, issued by Judge Freddy Orellana, who was accused by the United States Department of Justice of miscarriages of justice and corruption.

The criminal case in charge of Orellana is due to an alleged case of false signatures in the founding of the Semilla movement in 2018.

Since Arévalo de León placed second in the June 2023 presidential elections, Guatemala’s Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) launched judicial harassment to prevent the 64-year-old academic from taking possessionLike representatives of the Semilla movement.

The Guatemalan Congress suspended Arévalo de León’s party in August, but the decision also led to the legislative body’s president, Shirley Rivera, being later sanctioned by the United States.

On September 1, Arévalo de León accused Attorney General Consuelo Porras and Criminal Judge Orellana of attempting a “coup” to prevent him from taking office on January 14.

Porras’ judicial actions have led to mass protests and road blockades demanding his resignation since October, and Arévalo de León has warned that starting tomorrow he will ask him to resign.

The president-elect will be sworn in this Sunday for a four-year term, replacing current President Alessandro Giammattei.

,What they are doing here is delaying the installation of Congress in the tenth legislature because they do not want to give Arévalo a capture.Castillo, from former first lady Sandra Torres’ National Unity of Hope (UNE) party, defeated Arévalo de Leon in the 2023 elections, Castillo told reporters.

The swearing in of the new Guatemalan Congress, composed of 160 representatives for the 2024-2028 period, is due to take place this Sunday to give way to the investiture of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León.

,“Preparations are being made for a coup,” added Castillo, who is a lawmaker in opposition to the government currently headed by Alejandro Giammattei.

Amid tensions in the legislature, the president-elect said in messages on his social networks that in Guatemala “the Constitution will be respected and there will be a change of government”.

“My commitment to Guatemala is stronger than ever. We will go forward and they will not stop us,” Arévalo expressed in a message on X (formerly Twitter), in which he thanked former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica for his good wishes.