Tensions in Congress improve uncertainty in Guatemala earlier than Arévalo’s inauguration | EUROtoday

Bernardo Arévalo’s race to change into the President of Guatemala has been so sophisticated that this Sunday, the day scheduled for him, his vp, Karin Herrera, and the elected deputies to be sworn in, there may be nonetheless a whole lot of uncertainty as a consequence of last-minute obstacles. . The presidential investiture ceremony was scheduled for 3 within the afternoon (native time), after the session of Congress during which the brand new deputies have been to be sworn in. But this stalled amid tensions and generated uncertainty about whether or not the inauguration of the presidential duo can go forward with out the Parliament shaped.

After that hour, Arévalo stated in a message on his X account—previously Twitter—that Vice President Herrera and he are able to take workplace. “Just as the law establishes,” he stated. “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. The Guatemalan people and the international community are watching,” he warned. Meanwhile, residents and worldwide delegations shut ranks to assist the president in his inauguration and assure the switch of energy.

Both Congress and the Public Ministry are surrounded by protesters who demand that the change of command be carried out because the residents determined on the polls. In entrance of the prosecutor’s workplace constructing, the place the indigenous peoples are holding a sit-in that has already lasted 105 days to ensure the peaceable switch of energy, they provided a press convention during which they gave Congress a one-hour deadline to adjust to the swearing-in of the brand new board of administrators. “We call on the other territories to prepare for any call we make,” stated a spokesperson for the group, who additionally requested the inhabitants to stay calm and “not to engage in provocations with coup plotters and corrupt people.”

Among the worldwide delegations which are accompanying Arévalo in Guatemala right now is the King of Spain and a dozen Latin American presidents, together with the Chilean Gabriel Boric, the Honduran Xiomara Castro and the Colombian Gustavo Petro, who has been particularly vital of the makes an attempt to hinder Arévalo’s investiture. “Here in Guatemala, the Congress of the Republic has not yet agreed to elect its board of directors, which is the one that has to take over President Bernardo Arévalo,” Petro wrote shortly after arriving within the Central American nation. The day earlier than, he had referred to as his colleagues to attend the inauguration. “There are forces that threaten a coup d’état. Our solidarity is fundamental,” he stated. Later, Petro reported that Costa Rica referred to as an pressing assembly of overseas ministers in Guatemala City because of the impediments to the investiture.

Around 5 within the afternoon, the secretary basic of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, learn a joint assertion signed by the worldwide delegations current in Guatemala in assist of the president and democracy. “We call on the Congress of the Republic to fulfill its constitutional mandate of handing over power as required by the Constitution today to the elected president Bernardo Arévalo and Karin Herrera,” reads the assertion that he learn accompanied by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, or the excessive consultant of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

“Given the attempts to hinder the inauguration of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo that are being carried out by members of Congress,” Borrell later stated in a press release, “I will propose to the EU member states the application of measures individual restrictive measures against members of Congress that prevent the transfer of powers. “The popular will expressed at the polls must be respected.”

After his shock victory within the August elections along with his promise to fight the corruption that has corroded Guatemala, Arévalo – a 65-year-old sociologist, former congressman and diplomat – has needed to face a string of judicial processes that he himself denounced as an try of a “coup d’état” promoted by the Public Ministry to attempt to stop his coming to energy and disqualify his get together. And though a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court in mid-December provided ensures for his investiture this Sunday, nobody on this nation dominated out last-minute surprises to attempt to hinder the swearing-in. “We don’t know if legally they can come up with something absurd,” Arévalo informed EL PAÍS this Saturday. “So we will be waiting, but with the confidence that in the end that is not going to change the result or the fact that we are going to take possession.”

The day started with a delay within the session of Congress during which the board of administrators was to be appointed, whereas the Constitutional Court (CC) resolved a number of appeals, together with one offered by the ruling Semilla Movement, which would be the third largest pressure within the Chamber, to find out in the event that they might be a part of the candidates to preside over it after the short-term disqualification of the get together. The provisional safety was rejected, so elected deputies should act as independents and will be unable to kind a part of the presidency of that physique or kind commissions.

Support from the inhabitants and worldwide delegations

In the session of Congress there have additionally been moments of pressure in the course of the session of qualification of the credentials of the deputies, an administrative course of that has stalled, which has precipitated a delay within the appointment of the board of administrators and the concern that might hinder the method of switch of energy. After 4 within the afternoon, the Congress session resumed.

The swearing-in and inauguration of Arévalo and Herrera was scheduled for 3 within the afternoon on the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center within the capital. Already sporting the presidential sash, the brand new president plans to present a speech to Guatemalans within the Plaza de la Constitución, the place the place the Semilla Movement was born within the warmth of the anti-corruption protests of 2015.

Supporters of the brand new Government and representatives of indigenous peoples from all around the nation started to maneuver to the sq. early within the morning, who 105 days in the past held a sit-in in entrance of the Public Ministry to demand the resignation of their boss, Consuelo Porras, from the that Arévalo has accused of being on the forefront of the tried “coup d’état” in opposition to him. These actions have maintained a peaceable resistance to ensure the peaceable switch of energy and, along with a world group that has firmly condemned makes an attempt to hinder the method, have been key to sustaining democracy in Guatemala after a number of years during which has seen an increase of authoritarianism within the nation.