Current:Home > MarketsGuatemalans angered as president-elect’s inauguration delayed by wrangling in Congress-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Guatemalans angered as president-elect’s inauguration delayed by wrangling in Congress
View Date:2024-12-23 19:17:11
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo waited to be sworn into office Sunday as the old-guard Congress dawdled and delayed the inauguration, sparking angry protests by demonstrators tired of months-long attempts to keep him from taking office.
Supporters who had been waiting hours for a festive inauguration celebration in Guatemala City’s emblematic Plaza de la Constitucion were fed up with yet another delay, and marched to the building where congress was meeting.
They scuffled with lines of riot police, sweeping them roughly out of their way before gathering outside congress demanding legislators stop delaying and name the delegation that must attend the ceremony.
“If they don’t swear him in, we, the people, will swear him in,” said one of the demonstrators, Dina Juc, the mayor of the indigenous village of Utatlàn Sololá.
The inauguration was thus tinged by legal wrangling and tensions, just like almost every day since Arévalo’s resounding Aug. 20 election victory.
Congress, which was supposed to attend the inauguration as a special session of the legislature, engaged in bitter infighting over who to recognize as part of the congressional delegation, as members yelled at each other.
The leadership commission tasked with doing that was packed with old-guard opponents of Arévalo, and the delay was seen as a tactic to draw out the inauguration and weaken Arévalo.
“The commission is taking too long to review (legislators’) credentials, and they are demanding requirements that aren’t even in the law,” said Román Castellanos, a congressman from Arévalo’s Seed Movement.
Arévalo wrote in his social media accounts that “they are trying to damage democracy with illegalities, inconsequential details and abuses of power.”
Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, representing the Biden administration at the inauguration, said via X: “There is no question that Bernardo Arevalo is the President of Guatemala. We call on all sides to remain calm — and for the Guatemalan Congress to uphold the will of the people. The world is watching.”
Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said in the name of the foreign delegations attending the inauguration that the congress must transfer power to Arévalo and respect the will of the people expressed in the elections.
The still-serving attorney general, Consuelo Porras, had tried every legal trick in the book to put Arévalo on trial or in jail before he could take office. And Arévalo’s party won’t have a majority in Congress and may not even have formal recognition there.
Arévalo is an academic, diplomat and the son of a progressive president from the middle of the 20th century, and his election marked a political awakening in a population weary of corruption and impunity.
“I feel enthusiastic, because we are finally reaching the end of this long and torturous process,” Arévalo said before his inauguration. “Guatemalan society has developed the determination to say ‘no’ to these political-criminal elites.”
But as much as Arévalo wants to change things, he faces enormous obstacles. His anti-corruption stance and outsider status are threats to deep-rooted interests in the Central American country, observers say.
Still, the fact he got this far is a testament to international support and condemnation of the myriad attempts to disqualify him.
For many Guatemalans, Sunday’s inauguration represented not only the culmination of Arévalo’s victory at the polls, but also their successful defense of the country’s democracy.
The inauguration was scheduled to have a festive tone: cumbia and salsa music is planned for a huge celebration in Guatemala’s City’s emblematic Plaza de la Constitución.
That Arévalo made it to within a day of his inauguration was largely owed to thousands of Guatemala’s Indigenous people, who took to the streets last year to protest and demand that Porras and her prosecutors respect the Aug. 20 vote. Many had called for her resignation, but her term doesn’t end until 2026 and it’s not clear whether Arévalo can rid himself of her.
Prosecutors sought to suspend Arévalo’s Seed Movement party — a move that could prevent its legislators from holding leadership positions in Congress — and strip Arévalo of his immunity three times.
On Friday, his choice for vice president, Karin Herrera, announced that the Constitutional Court had granted her an injunction heading off a supposed arrest order.
Prosecutors have alleged that the Seed Movement engaged in misdeeds in collecting signatures to register as a party years earlier, that its leaders encouraged a monthlong occupation of a public university, and that there was fraud in the election. International observers have denied that.
One key was that Arévalo got early and strong support from the international community. The European Union, Organization of American States and the U.S. government repeatedly demanded respect for the popular vote.
Washington has gone further, sanctioning Guatemalan officials and private citizens suspected of undermining the country’s democracy.
On Thursday, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, Brian A. Nichols, said the aggression toward Arévalo won’t likely stop with his inauguration.
veryGood! (14211)
Related
- Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
- At least 46 were killed in Chile as forest fires move into densely populated areas
- Joe Rogan inks multiyear deal with Spotify, podcast to expand to other platforms
- John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's Grammys 2024 Appearance Is No Ordinary Date Night
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
- Judge rejects a claim that New York’s marijuana licensing cheats out-of-state applicants
- Why Glen Powell’s Mom Described Him as a “Little Douchey”
- Last year's marine heat waves were unprecedented, forcing researchers to make 3 new coral reef bleaching alert levels
- Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
- Why Jason Kelce Thinks the NFL Should Continue to Show Taylor Swift on TV Game Broadcasts
Ranking
- Elon Musk responds after Chloe Fineman alleges he made her 'burst into tears' on 'SNL'
- California bald eagles care for 3 eggs as global fans root for successful hatching
- Glen Powell Responds to His Mom Describing His Past Styles as Douchey
- Chiefs roster for Super Bowl 58: Starters, backups, depth chart for AFC champs vs. 49ers
- Will Trump curb transgender rights? After election, community prepares for worst
- Edmonton Oilers winning streak, scoring race among things to watch as NHL season resumes
- Are you happy? New film follows a Bhutan bureaucrat who asks 148 questions to find out
- Why Miley Cyrus Nearly Missed Her First-Ever Grammy Win
Recommendation
-
Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon steps down after 10 seasons amid first year in FBS
-
Grim California weather forecast says big cities could face 'life-threatening flooding'
-
Joni Mitchell wins 10th Grammy for her 'very joyous' live album, set to perform at awards
-
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami preseason match in Hong Kong: How to watch, highlights, score
-
Lou Donaldson, jazz saxophonist who blended many influences, dead at 98
-
US, Britain strike Yemen’s Houthis in a new wave, retaliating for attacks by Iran-backed militants
-
With Season 4 of 'The Chosen' in theaters, Jesus' life gets the big-screen treatment
-
What's your favorite Lunar New Year dish? Tell us about it.