Tens of thousands of pro-democratic protesters in Guatemala remain firm as demonstrators call for the resignation of Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras, who suspended president-elect Bernardo Arevalo’s political party amid allegations of voter registration fraud. Protestors argue that Porras is attempting to undermine democracy by preventing the peaceful transition of presidential power set for Jan. 14.
Arevalo won the Guatemalan presidential election at the end of August with a 20-point margin of victory on an anti-corruption platform. A center-left politician, Arevalo has been subject to multiple legal attacks. Most notably, the Associated Press (AP) reported that authorities raided electoral facilities to confiscate vote tally sheets. These were conducted by Porras, alleging that this was a necessary action to investigate election irregularities.
“The people of Guatemala have spoken forcefully,” Arevalo told reporters after initially winning the election. “Enough with so much corruption.”
In response to Porras’ measures, protesters blocked roads and highways across the country. These have created mass traffic and sent commerce into disarray as many demonstrators are farmers and members of indigenous groups.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei called for the end of the blockades and said he would not be removing Porras from power. The prosecutor’s office also expressed that the attorney general will not be resigning.
“We are requesting the appropriate arrest warrants so that justice can be applied,” Giammattei said in a taped message responding to the unrest. He also asserted that protestors “have received support and advice from foreigners,” vowing to also arrest them.
Arevalo has accused Giammattei of remaining silent on the issue of a peaceful transition of presidential power. The president-elect wrote a letter addressing this and requesting the removal of Porras from office, Reuters reported.
“The people have interpreted your silence as consent to the undermining of our democratic institutions,” Arevalo said in the letter. “Your silence is an insult to the Guatemalan people.”
In May 2022, the U.S. Department of State formally designated Porras’ involvement in significant corruption, prohibiting her and her immediate family from entering the U.S. under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act.
“During her tenure, Porras repeatedly obstructed and undermined anti-corruption investigations in Guatemala to protect her political allies and gain undue political favor,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “Porras’s pattern of obstruction includes reportedly ordering prosecutors in Guatemala’s Public Ministry to ignore cases based on political considerations and firing prosecutors who investigate cases involving acts of corruption.”
With the U.S. and other onlookers standing against Porras, demonstrations will likely continue until the investigation into Arevalo is dropped or the attorney general resigns. However, it is also possible that the government uses violence to quell public discontent. Being one of the most turbulent elections in recent Guatemalan history, the outcome of these movements will reveal what direction the country is heading.
