Alex Papadovassilakis writes in InSight Crime on President Alejandro Giammattei, who is soon to see his term come to an end, if the ramos, the political party or, more correctly, the political bloc, which has effectively wielded power and favour over the last number of years and which may continue to do so.
The political bloc surrounding the administration of President Alejandro Giammattei (2020-present) is now the dominant power structure in Guatemala. In just a few years, it has achieved something almost unprecedented in the country’s post-war era: the consolidation of power across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. This centralization of power is not a reflection of Giammattei’s popularity — in a 2022 poll administered by CID Gallup, the Guatemalan president had a 19% approval rating, the joint lowest in the Americas; and his party, Vamos, has a minor voting bloc in Congress. Rather, it is a sign of the bloc’s ability to leverage executive powers to trade political favors with traditional and emerging elites and, in doing so, position itself as the central node in a horizontal alliance that seeks to perpetuate power across key branches of the state.
The alliance, which took root during the Morales administration when elites shared an interest in ousting the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala – CICIG), has morphed into a systematic campaign to convert the judicial sector into a shield for nefarious actors and a weapon for exacting revenge on those who once fought against impunity. The result has been a period of corruption and graft, gradually spiraling out of control as key branches of the state sink into ungovernability. The question posed by sources who spoke to InSight Crime was not if Vamos has a chance to win the presidency. It was if this loose coalition would remain intact following the elections.
You can read the full piece with links, photos and graphics, here Vamos: The Fight to Stay in the Game.
This article is part of a seven-part series that describes the evolution of organized crime in Guatemalan politics and you can link to those from the article.
Categories: Corruption, Criminalisation, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Presidential Elections, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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