José Enrique Arrioja writes in Americas Quarterly about the continuing challenges facing President Arévalo in the face of gang violence, institutional corruption and high disapproval rates.
From the moment he took office, President Bernardo Arévalo raised expectations with his talk of a “democratic spring”—bringing not just prosperity, but a sense of institutional calm to Guatemala.
In some respects, the most progressive leader in the country’s recent history has delivered. Arévalo has focused on improving the nation’s education and health care systems, while leading a crackdown on organized crime and building a constructive relationship with the Trump administration. In February, the government ended a one-month state of emergency implemented after gangs killed 11 police officers, a period that saw 83 gang members arrested and a slight decline in extortion.
The economy has also put some wind at Arévalo’s back as Guatemala’s GDP grew 4.1% last year, the highest level since 2022, and well above the 2.3% CEPAL is projecting for Latin America and the Caribbean.
[…]
Arévalo’s mere survival as president has been an achievement of its own, after some elements of Guatemala’s establishment pulled out all the stops, including trying to dissolve his political party, to try to stop him from taking office in 2024. Since then, as Arévalo put it in an interview for a special report by AQ last year, the president has worked to “tangibly rescue (Guatemala’s) institutions from the corrupt actions of the state and put them to work for what they were created for.”
Yet for most Guatemalans, it hasn’t been nearly enough.
You can read the full article, including links, here, In Arévalo’s Guatemala, It’s Not “Spring” Quite Yet.
Categories: Corruption, Criminalisation, Criminalization, Guatemala, Impunity, Indigenous peoples, Justice, Poverty, Presidential Elections, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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