Global community urges inauguration of Guatemala's Arevalo amid delay

People clash with police during a protest against Congress in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

By Sofia Menchu

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -Tensions were rising on Sunday as the inauguration of Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arevalo was delayed without explanation and delegations for countries present for the event and a U.S. official called for the process to be respected.

Demonstrators pushed through barricades and were threatening to storm Guatemala’s Congress after the unexplained delay to first induct Congressional lawmakers Sunday morning. By the time Arevalo’s planned inauguration was due to begin at 3 p.m. local time, the first session still had not started.

Police officers stand guard during clashes at a protest against Congress in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

The presence of police with riot gear was growing on the streets.

Arevalo’s Semilla party sent a message on social media platform X at 4 p.m. saying Arevalo was officially the president of Guatemala, though the message appeared to be deleted several minutes later.

People protest against Congress in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

A spokesperson for Semilla told Reuters that Arevalo was at a hotel in Guatemala City.

U.S. aid chief Samantha Power said there was “no question” that Arevalo is the president of Guatemala and called on all sides to remain calm.

Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina called for Arevalo’s inauguration to be respected on a message shared on X, saying he made the statement on behalf of the delegations present in Guatemala, including from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union.

“The Guatemalan people expressed their democratic will in fair, free and transparent elections, endorsed by the international community through its electoral observation missions. That will must be respected,” Reina said.

People hold Guatemalan flags during a march in support of Guatemala President-elect Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

Guatemala’s top court earlier on Sunday decided that Semilla party lawmakers will not take office affiliated with their party but as independents. That would block them from joining Congress’ board of directors and weakens the new president’s ability to wield power.

The court said it was planning to meet again at 6 p.m.

Vowing to restore democracy and banish deep-rooted corruption in Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America with 17.1 million people, Arevalo, 65, won the August presidential run-off in a sweeping victory.

In the months after, Guatemala’s attorney general – seen as an ally of outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei – has intensified attempts to discredit Arevalo’s victory and hinder his transition.

The attorney general has tried to strip Arevalo and his Vice President-elect Karin Herrera of legal immunity, suspend his Semilla party and annul the election. The “coup” attempt, as Arevalo terms it, has drawn tens of thousands of Guatemalans to the streets. The international community, including the United States, has piled vast pressure on Giammattei’s administration to proceed with the transition of power.

Indigenous people march in support of Guatemala President-elect Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

The events leading up to Arevalo’s inauguration underscore Guatemala’s fragile rule of law, with the country pushed to the brink of a governance crisis that could limit his ability to rule and keep campaign pledges to root out bad political actors, fight organized crime and create new jobs.

Indigenous people march in support of Guatemala President-elect Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

Despite its overwhelming victory in the presidential elections, Semilla – a social democratic, environmentalist and progressive party – barely won 23 of the 160 seats in the legislature.

That makes Arevalo more vulnerable to ongoing political attacks, experts said.

“Actions to criminalize Arevalo and other members of the party could continue,” said Ana Maria Mendez, Central America director of the Washington Office on Latin American Affairs (WOLA), a rights group.

The attorney general’s office has denied that it is attempting a coup and defended its actions as within the framework of Guatemala’s laws.

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Diane Craft, Mark Porter and Richard Chang)

FILE PHOTO: Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arevalo addresses the media after meeting with Honduras President Xiomara Castro, at the Presidential House, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, January 4, 2024. REUTERS/Fredy Rodriguez

Indigenous people march in support of Guatemala President-elect Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin

Indigenous people pray during a march in support of Guatemala President-elect Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin