The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has joined international pressure for Guatemalan authorities to respect Bernardo Arévalo's electoral victory and allow the peaceful transition of power in the Central American country. “He won the election and due to a situation of resistance to change, resistance to democracy, lack of respect for the will of Guatemalans, they are creating obstacles,” the president said in his press conference this Tuesday.
The pronouncement of the Mexican Executive occurs in full political ferment in Guatemala, where different levels of the State have sought to stop Arévalo's arrival to power, scheduled for next January 14. It is also an atypical statement, because the Mexican diplomatic tradition usually avoids taking a clear position on the internal politics of other countries, by upholding principles such as non-intervention and the self-determination of peoples. López Obrador argued that the crisis in neighboring territory is exceptional and denied that his words could be interpreted as an interventionist act. “They are our brothers and we do not want there to be political instability in Guatemala, our southern border,” he said.
“If the popular will is not respected in Guatemala, conflicts can arise,” said the Mexican president when justifying his statement. He also said that the diplomatic consensus in America and the world on the political situation in Guatemala is that democracy be respected. Mexico shares a border of just under 1,000 kilometers with the Central American country and is one of its main trading partners. The statements also mark a rift with the outgoing president, Alejandro Giammattei, who despite ideological differences with López Obrador, has managed to find common ground to cooperate on issues such as immigration management and the application of social programs devised in Mexico development cooperation.
López Obrador insisted on calling on the authorities to enforce the will of Guatemalan voters and asked that the United Nations (UN) also take a position on the situation, after Arévalo denounced judicial persecution to prevent his inauguration. The president emphasized that the leftist candidate “won with a huge advantage” and offered his position without any questions from the media covering the so-called conference. morning.
A Guatemalan prosecutor proposed last Friday that the second round elections, in which Arévalo defeated former first lady Sandra Torres, last August, be annulled. The Organization of American States (OAS) condemned the proposal and denounced “an attempted coup d'état by the Public Ministry of Guatemala.” “The OAS is asking that democracy be respected in Guatemala and I am talking about the OAS, you can already imagine the extreme nature of the actions of certain groups,” said López Obrador, whose Government has had permanent friction with the continental organization. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the highest electoral body, stressed that the results that gave Arévalo victory are valid and ordered that the conservative Giammattei cede power to him. There is still the possibility that an attempt will be made to overthrow the victory at the polls through legal means, with a ruling by a constitutional court, although no instance of the Judiciary has yet exhausted that resource.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) adopted a resolution this week in which it stated that there are “serious risks to the rule of law in Guatemala” and an “imminent breakdown of the constitutional order due to the abuse of power.” Militants and sympathizers of Arévalo's party have denounced political persecution, with arrests and raids that began last July, weeks after the first round votes. The United States and the European Union described attempts to criminalize political dissent as an “authoritarian” act and typical of a “dictatorship.”
Washington announced on Monday the revocation of 300 visas for Guatemalan citizens, including those of 100 deputies and businessmen related to the current Government, accused of “undermining democracy and the rule of law.” He also condemned the “undemocratic actions of the Public Ministry.” Giammattei published a message on social networks in which he rejected the “intimidating actions” from abroad and said he was the target of a “political and media manipulation” campaign. The president pointed out that the sanctions “attack national sovereignty, a fundamental element that prohibits interference in the internal affairs of a State.” And he added that he has the “firm will” to achieve a peaceful alternation in power: “In Guatemala there is no action that can prevent the elected authorities from taking office.”
The Guatemalan Government and its diplomatic representation in Mexico have not yet responded to López Obrador's statements. Citizens are in suspense due to the uncertainty about the democratic future of the country and the Government that the new president will receive, in the midst of a transition that has become long, complicated and has worried the international community.
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