The investiture of the new president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de Leónbegan this Sunday night almost 10 hours late, so that the ruler can take office for four years despite various attempts today and in recent months by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor's Office) to prevent his coming to power.
Arévalo, a 65-year-old academic who symbolizes the fight against corruption, was inaugurated as head of state at the end of a day in which the transfer of power from the outgoing president, Alejandro Giammatei, to the elected president was at risk.
Giammattei himself did not appear personally at the National theater for the transfer ceremony and he did so through his secretary, arguing that he had to hand over his position before 00:00 on Monday, January 15 (06:00 GMT).
“Given the risk of arriving at midnight without starting the formal acts, at this moment I handed over the symbols of the Presidency of the Congress of Guatemala”, the outgoing president detailed in his official communication channels.
The investiture session began at the stroke of midnight on Sunday due to the obstacles that the parliamentarians of the outgoing Legislature posed for it to take place, although finally the new Congress was constituted, which unblocked the inauguration.
However, the postponement of the event caused numerous special guests who had come to the Guatemalan capital to attend the ceremony to be forced to leave before it began, including the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric; Paraguay, Santiago Peña, and Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, as well as the king of Spain, Felipe VI.
EFE
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