2023-07-23 19:33:37
On the ground, the campaign for the second round of the presidential election on August 20 continues. Bernardo Arévalo, candidate of the Semilla Movement, incarnation of aspirations for change, and Sandra Torres, who is eyeing the conservative electorate, are increasing their meetings across Guatemala. But the battle is also raging at the top of the state, while the power in place tries to block the way to Bernardo Arévalo.
Bernardo Arévalo in the crosshairs of justice
Since the first round, and the surprising second place of Bernardo Arévalo, the Guatemalan justice has multiplied the initiatives against the Social Democratic candidate and his formation, accused of irregularities during its creation, in 2017. On Friday July 21, a search was even carried out at the headquarters of the Semilla Movement, in order, according to the prosecution, to“obtain clues that solidify the investigation”.
For the 64-year-old former diplomat, son of former President Juan José Arévalo (1945-1951), there is no doubt that “this act is part of the political persecution of the corrupt minority who know they are losing power day by day”. For twelve years, Guatemala has been governed by the right, which got the better of the International Commission against Impunity, set up by the UN in 2006 to fight against corruption.
The man leading the charge against Bernardo Arévalo, the prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, was also placed last year on the American list of “corrupt actors”. The State Department accuses him of obstructing investigations into corruption cases. “Curruchiche is not a prosecutor, he is a criminal”chanted the demonstrators gathered on Friday in front of the party to denounce the ongoing search.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the Constitutional Court block power
Faced with this power offensive, Guatemalan institutions seem to be holding firm. This is the case of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the country, which suspended on Thursday July 13 a court decision prohibiting the Semilla party from competing in the second round.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) is also resisting. Refusing to comply with the court order to disqualify Semilla, he had his offices searched twice.
Worried about the attitude of the power in place, considering that there is “a certain, future and imminent threat that the denounced authorities will violate the democratic rule of law”, the TSE asked the Constitutional Court on Friday to order the public prosecutor, but also the police, the army, the Supreme Court and other institutions of the country to guarantee the second round.
The Constitutional Court, however, rejected this request, considering that the second round had already been assured since a resolution of July 13 in which the Court had declared that the ballot “cannot be assigned” by the actions of any institution. The Constitution specifically provides that a “party cannot be suspended after calling an election”.
The international community is alarmed
Despite these guarantees, the international community is closely monitoring the situation in Guatemala. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, condemned the ” raid targeting the Semilla Movement seeing in the attitude of the power of “attacks for political purposes”.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also expressed concern about“interference in the electoral process in Guatemala, in a context of lack of independence of the public prosecutor’s office”.
Brussels and Washington are not left out. “Attempts to revoke the election results” will inevitably have “an impact on Guatemala’s international relations, including with” European Union, warned Peter Stano, an EU spokesman. Washington, for its part, added relatives of the president to its list of “corrupt actors”, including a judge active against Bernardo Arévalo.
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