After hours of tension, Arevalo sworn in as Guatemala’s president despite judicial attack

Bernardo Arevalo The oath was taken after midnight this Monday, after hours of intense negotiations following a judicial attack against party representatives Seed,

Guatemala’s Congress holds session this Sunday for presidential investiture of social democracy Bernardo Arevalo after a delay of several hours Due to the discussion in the recognition process of the representatives of the new legislature.

The Guatemalan Congress, with a conservative majority, declared Arévalo’s delegates independent without any political party, reducing the Social Democrat’s power to maneuver before he was sworn in as the country’s president.

According to the biological rules of Congress In Guatemala, representatives declared “independent” cannot be part of the unicameral parliament or the board of directors of working committees to support potential legislative initiatives that a future president may propose.

Hours later it was confirmed that after intense negotiations, the delegates were reinstated to the movement’s parliamentary bench. Seed And he was honored with the post of Speaker of the Parliament.

According to the session broadcast on official television, the session eventually resumed with the report of a commission, which certified the qualifications of the delegates who should be sworn in. After this process, The new legislator will be sworn in to take office in Arévalo.

“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,” Arévalo condemned the unnecessary delay.

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. All of them, They demanded that Parliament hand over power to Arévalo.

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, who lost to Arévalo de León in the 2023 elections, delivered the condemnation in front of journalists.“Preparations are being made for a coup,” Added the MLA.

The chaos in parliament was further deepened by a decision by the Constitutional Court of Guatemala, the country’s highest court, which ruled this Sunday that Semilla Movement Party, The elected President has been suspended.

Decision 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.

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.

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