Despite widespread attempts to manipulate the electoral system in favour of candidates alligned to agents of corruption (Los Corruptos), the Guatemala Presidential election threw up a major surprise.
The two frontrunners turned out to be Sandra Torres, a former First-Lady who previously has been implicated in campaign funding corruption, and Bernardo Arévalo, a Congressman from the Semilla Party, seen as left of centre. The latter is the son of former President, Juan José Arévalo Bermejo, the democratically elected president (1945-1951), the beginnings of what was termed The Guatemala Spring. His second place showing shocked the political scene in Guatemala.
Bernardo Arévalo is a social democrat and is a founder of the Semilla, which was founded in the spirit of the 2015 mass anti-corruption protests and since its inception has invoked the democratic tradition of the Guatemalan Revolution (1944-1954).
What this result meant was that the big players in political corruption in Guatemala would be denied the Presidency. These players, however, are firmly entrenched in the Guatemala Congress and Judiciary.
True to form, Los Corruptos have mobilised to attack the results of the election, and their supporters in the Courts have answered the call.
A series of article in El Faro English are very helpful in gaining an understanding of the various machinations, both pre- and post-election, being carried out by those who seek to maintain their hold on power.
José Luis Sanz and Roman Gressier write about alleged bribery of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) carried out on behalf of the President Alejandro Giammattei.
It was Giammattei’s closest operator who broke the news.
On Wednesday Miguel Martínez spoke to journalists about an explosive New York Times report: that Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) magistrate Blanca Alfaro went to the U.S. Embassy last year and presented “a cash package” —50,000 quetzales; about $6,000 USD— that he allegedly gave her and other magistrates on behalf of President Alejandro Giammattei.
In a Samuel Alito-style move, Martínez tried to head off the article, published Thursday night: “When the investigation comes out, don’t be surprised,” he said. The article cited a U.S. official and a source present in the meeting, both anonymous. “This is something malicious that they’re doing in order to destabilize the elections,” said Martínez.
El Faro English has received separate confirmation by three sources that the Embassy meeting happened. One of them, present at the meeting, sets the date as March 22, 2022. Another asserts that Alfaro intended for the embassy to keep the money as supposed proof of the bribe, but that the U.S. officials refused.
You can read the full piece, with links, and listen to the audio, here, Allegations of Electoral Court Bribery Fuel Doubts about Legitimacy of Guatemalan Election.
Roman Gressier writes about the results and the surprising showing of Bernardo Arévalo, his background and that of Semilla, and what this might mean for the run-off in August against Sandra Torres.
With 98 percent of ballots counted at 9 ET on Monday, social-democrat Congressman Bernardo Arévalo of the Semilla (“Seed”) party shocked Guatemala’s political scene by grabbing second place in the presidential election (11.9 percent of the vote) alongside running mate Karin Herrera, a biology professor from the country’s public university.
In an August 20 runoff, he will face former first lady and legislative power broker Sandra Torres, of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party (15.6 percent), who has studiously avoided criticizing the dismantling of democratic institutions in the country.
“We can now say that it’s a definitive trend,” Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) Magistrate Gabriel Aguilera announced at 3:20 a.m. “It would be most responsible to make the announcement tomorrow [Monday], but the two who are leading are UNE and Semilla.”
You can read the full piece, with links, and listen to the audio, here, Arévalo Breaks into Presidential Runoff for Center-Left Surprise in Guatemala.
True to form, Los Corruptos went on the attack against the results leading to the Constitutional Court suspending the official results and ordering a review of the vote count reports.
Roman Gressier outlines the background to this action and what it might mean for the democratic process in Guatemala.
The June 25 elections saw the improbable outcome of social-democrat academic Bernardo Arévalo advancing to the presidential run-off on stark promises to halt the country’s authoritarian slide and to facilitate the return of dozens of exilees.
But less than a week later, amid an intense smear campaign depicting Arévalo as an anti-family “communist”, the Constitutional Court (CC) and Supreme Electoral Tribunal intervened in favor of a slate of establishment parties looking to delay the results on accusations of “fraud”.
On Saturday night, the CC suspended the official results and ordered a review of the vote count reports, or actas, from polling centers around the country. The TSE reacted the next afternoon, complying with the order.
Despite the high court’s assertion that the revision should not alter the August 20 date of the presidential run-off nor interfere with the alternation of power in January, and the TSE’s setting of a reasonable deadline of five days for the review, there is a broad well-founded fear that these are steps to avert a presidency that could challenge governing elites.
You can read the full piece, with links, and listen to the audio, here, Suspension of Guatemala Voting Results Stokes Fears of Electoral Coup.
When you think you can’t make this up, Guatemala continues to surprise.
Categories: Audio, Corruption, Criminalisation, Guatemala, Impunity, Justice, Legal, Lobbying, Presidential Elections, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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