Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) recently posted a report by Juan Francisco Sandoval, former head of the Special Office Against Impunity in Guatemala, now in exile.
The report explains the critical moment Guatemala is entering. President Arévalo will receive a shortlist of candidates for the attorney general position by April 17 and will make his selection by May 17. Among the candidates is current Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned for corruption by more than 43 countries.
Guatemala is once again at a decisive moment for its democratic institutions. In recent months, several second-tier election processes have taken place or are currently underway, through which various state institutions appoint officials who will occupy key positions within the justice and electoral systems. Although these elections are not held by popular vote, their effects are profound and far-reaching: they determine the composition of bodies that have the power to interpret the Constitution, guarantee free elections, and oversee criminal prosecutions in the country.
In theory, the constitutional design of these elections sought to create a balance among the different branches of government, preventing any single institution from concentrating too much influence over the appointment of officials. However, the experience of recent decades shows that these processes have also become arenas where political disputes, pressure from various power groups, and even attempts at institutional capture are played out.
Several particularly relevant processes are currently underway or, in many cases, completed: the appointment of the Constitutional Court, the election of new magistrates to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the ongoing process to appoint the next Attorney General, and, in the academic sphere, the election of the Rector of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. Each of these processes has direct implications for the functioning of the rule of law and for public trust in institutions.
You can read the full post, in English and Spanish, and other news on the delegation, here, Guatemala at a New Institutional Crossroads: Local Elections and the Future of the Justice System.
GHRC also put together a webinar in support of their recent visit to the US Congress where you can learn more about the upcoming elections and what’s at stake. You can watch the webinar here.
Categories: Accompaniment, Corruption, Criminalisation, Criminalization, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Justice, Land, Presidential Elections, Report, Resource Extraction, Solidarity in Action, Solidarity in Action/Guatemala, Video
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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