Social Democrat Bernardo Arévalo sworn in as Guatemala's new president

Europe 1 with AFP 10:09 a.m., January 15, 2024

Social Democrat Bernardo Arévalo, elected in August on a promise to fight corruption, was sworn in as Guatemala's new president on Sunday night, after months of uncertainty and last-minute tensions. The ceremony was held more than nine hours late due to lengthy debates in Parliament ahead of the inauguration, which was attended by Latin American leaders, representatives of the European Union and the United States.

Significant tensions...

With his left hand on the Constitution and his right arm raised, Bernardo Arévalo, 65, swore to serve Guatemala to cheers from the audience at the National Theatre in Guatemala City. MPs allied with outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei first managed to get the 23 MPs from Bernardo Arévalo's Semilla party registered as independents, after the prosecutor's office temporarily suspended Semilla for alleged fraud when it was created in 2017. "They are trying to violate democracy with trifles, abuses of power," Arévalo said on the social network X, fearing that his inauguration would be postponed.

"MPs have a responsibility to respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box. The Guatemalan people and the international community are watching," he added.

Outside parliament, hundreds of Arévalo supporters broke through roadblocks to approach the building, but without clashes with police, AFP reported. A joint statement from the delegations of the countries present at the inauguration even called on "the Parliament to comply with its constitutional mandate to hand over power as required by the Constitution". "The Guatemalan people expressed their democratic will in fair, free and transparent elections, endorsed by the international community through its election observation missions. This will must be respected," says the text signed by the EU, the Organization of American States (OAS) and several Latin American governments.

... and many obstacles

In a game of alliances, the newly installed Assembly elected a member of Semilla, Samuel Pérez, 31, as the new president of the unicameral parliament. It was a resounding victory for the Arévalo camp. Since his surprise victory, the 65-year-old former diplomat and sociologist has faced many obstacles in the country, which is ranked 150th out of 180 in the ranking of the anti-corruption association Transparency International.

The public prosecutor's office has multiplied legal appeals (annulment of the elections, suspension of his political party, lifting of his immunity as an elected official) roundly denounced by the United States, the EU, the UN and the OAS. Bernardo Arévalo has repeatedly denounced a "slow coup d'état" to thwart the outcome of the polls.