“The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has been co-opted by those imposing their own benefit.” Roman Gressier writes in El Faro English about the upcoming presidential elections in Guatemala. It does look as if the the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has decided… Read More ›
Presidential Elections
Four-Year Sentence of Anti-Corruption Leader Deals a Blow to Guatemalan Democracy
Carolina Jiménez Sandoval and Isabel Carlota Roby write in El Faro English about the detention and conviction of Guatemalan public prosecutor Virginia Laparra after she alleged corruption within the judiciary. They describe the misogynistic treatment they received as female visitors… Read More ›
Exclusion of Presidential Candidates Stains June Guatemalan Elections
Inscription for the June national vote closed this weekend. Electoral authorities, toeing the line of far-right political operatives, have spuriously excluded two presidential duos and are aiming for a third, clearing the way for conservative Zury Rios. Roman Gressier and… Read More ›
June 2023 Election Poses Critical Test for Guatemalan Democracy
Dozens of mostly conservative candidates are expected to compete in the June general election as divided elites seek control of a state emptied of its anti-corruption judges and prosecutors. Election lawfare to block candidacies could tip the scales, as it… Read More ›
Guatemala’s Authoritarian Slide Under Giammattei Is Putting Biden in a Bind
Party volatility remains extremely high. In 35 years of formal democracy, almost 100 political parties have come and gone Dinorah Azpuru writes in World Politics Review about the challenges facing justice and democracy as Guatemala looks forward to elections next… Read More ›
Who Will Inherit Giammattei’s Power in Guatemala?
Nine months before the presidential election, the right wing that rules the country is fracturing into rivaling projects as progressive groups discuss the elusive idea of a united candidacy. Electoral authorities are indulging pre-campaigning by the ruling party and top… Read More ›
“If the elections are clean, a progressive victory is possible in Guatemala”
In an interview with José Luis Sanz, published in El Faro, the former Guatemalan Human Rights Attorney, Jordán Rodas Andrade, believes that the opposition can still win the 2023 elections in Guatemala. He believes that there is enough outrage among… Read More ›
Witness Accuses Guatemalan President of Funding Campaign with Construction Bribes
José Luis Sanz writes in El Faro about the sworn testimonies regarding bribery and campaign contributions relating to the election of President Alejandro Giammattei, and the attempts by the Attorney General’s office to put a brake to the investigations. It… Read More ›
Very High Stakes – Elections to the Constitutional Court
By the 23rd March, the five individuals who will serve the next 5-year term on the Guatemala Constitutional Court must be named in order to be sworn in and to take office on the 14th April. This is the date… Read More ›
Around the change-over of President
In the last couple of weeks, Guatemala has seen the swearing in of its new President, Alejandro Giammattei, and the unedifying site of Jimmy Morales scurrying off to the Central America Parliament (PARLACEN) so as to maintain his impunity from… Read More ›