Guatemala (AFP)
Conservative Alejandro Giammattei, elected on Sunday as President of Guatemala, said he "does not want confrontation" with US President Donald Trump but demanded "respect" on Monday evening in an interview with AFP.
The elected president, who agrees to have "a strong character," has announced that he will "be respectful" in his dealings with Donald Trump. But he demands "reciprocity" from his American counterpart.
"All diplomacy comes down to reciprocity, if he respects me, I respect him, if he treats me well, I treat him well, if he treats me badly, I treat him badly," he said. warned.
Without criticizing frontally the controversial migratory pact concluded at the end of July with Washington by the government of the outgoing president Jimmy Morales, Mr. Giammattei announced that the text will have to be submitted for the approval of the Guatemalan parliamentarians.
- Humiliating agreement -
This humiliating deal, imposed by Donald Trump under the threat of economic reprisals, opacity and whose terms remain unclear, has raised an uproar in Guatemala.
According to the White House, the small country of Central America would henceforth be considered as a "safe third country" with which asylum seekers will have to take their first steps.
For many NGO leaders, Guatemala can not receive migrants en route to the United States even though it can not even provide for its own population.
For the elected president of Guatemala, the migratory issue is not new, but "it was magnified because it became a political campaign theme in the United States."
"I understand the position of President Trump" in the perspective of the campaign for his reelection, conceded Mr. Giammattei. "He wants to assert his image of the man who keeps his promises, that's good, I understand him, I understand President Trump," he said.
- Investment bank -
In order to retain the candidates for emigration, Mr. Giammattei proposes to economically develop the deprived area on the border with Mexico, both on the Guatemalan side and on the Mexican side, by creating an "investment bank" under the aegis of the Organization of American States (OAS).
"We could create a gigantic pole of development that could benefit both countries," he says, announcing that he will plead this case in Mexico City as well as in Washington during the "transition period". here his taking office is scheduled for January 14, 2020.
He also announced that he will meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele next week in San Salvador to whom he will propose to join a railway project linking the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. "This is an incredible investment, and we can count on more than one million jobs created in four years," says Giammattei.
With the Salvadoran president, he will also address the subject of the fight against "maras", the criminal gangs that terrorize populations in both countries.
"The fight must be multinational, must be done at the regional level.C organized crime does not respect the borders," said the President-elect of Guatemala, also promising "a fierce fight against drugs, cartels (drug traffickers) of which many are Mexican and operate in Guatemala ".
- "The Cicig, it's over!" -
Regarding the fight against corruption, which gangrene his country, Mr. Giammattei dismissed any possibility of resorting again to the Cicig, the UN mission against impunity in Guatemala, declared undesirable for having impeached the outgoing president Jimmy Morales.
"The Cicig is over!", He said, recalling that "President Morales has decided not to renew his mandate", which ends in September, three months before the handover.
"There will be more Cicig, but the corruption continues (...) The system produces corrupt," denounced the president-elect, promising to tackle the very causes of corruption.
Asked about the "de facto powers" that profit from corruption at all levels of Guatemalan society, Mr. Giammattei promised to "confront them", including in his own camp, in his own party. "The powers of fact (...) do not scare me, I fear only God," he exclaimed.
© 2019 AFP