Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo’s supporters came out in force outside Congress on Jan. 14. But they weren’t there to witness his inauguration – they were there to make sure it even happened at all. As commentators noted, after much struggle, these voters refused to let the...
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Anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arévalo became Guatemala’s president early Monday after an inauguration that was delayed due to efforts in Congress to stall his swearing-in, Reuters reported. As the inauguration began, Guatemalans danced in the streets, set off fireworks and waved blue and white national flags as...
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Guatemala’s electoral court confirmed this week that President-elect Bernardo Arévalo was the winner of the country’s elections in August, a ruling that comes amid ongoing efforts by authorities to prevent the anti-corruption candidate from taking office, Agence France-Presse reported. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) said the...
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Guatemalan prosecutors moved to strip President-elect Bernardo Arévalo of immunity from prosecution, a move that many critics and diplomats described as the latest by the government to keep the anti-graft politician from taking office in January, NPR reported. Prosecutors asked the country’s supreme court to strip...
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The electoral body responsible for regulating political groups in Guatemala suspended the Seed Movement Party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, adding another challenge for the anti-corruption politician as he prepares to take office early next year, the Associated Press reported. The move came months after a court...
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A Guatemalan cabinet minister abruptly resigned this week, signaling a growing split within the government over how to deal with pro-democracy protests that have stretched into their third week, Reuters reported. Interior Minister David Napoleón Barrientos, a retired brigadier-general, resigned Monday following a shooting death near...
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The Guatemalan government resumed its presidential transition with representatives of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo this week, a move that comes after weeks of disputes and controversy following Arévalo’s landslide victory in an August run-off, Reuters reported. Arévalo won Guatemala’s presidential elections on promises to root out corruption...
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Thousands of Indigenous Guatemalans protested in the country’s capital this week in support of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, as prosecutors attempt to ban his Seed Movement party, the Associated Press reported. The protesters demanded the resignation of government officials involved in prosecuting Arévalo and banning his party,...
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Guatemala’s Congress refused to recognize seven lawmakers from the Seed Movement party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, a move that risks deepening the political crisis in the Central American nation following a tumultuous presidential election, the Associated Press reported. On Wednesday, the legislative body declared the Seed...
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Anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arévalo won Guatemala’s presidential election on Aug. 20, garnering a clear mandate with nearly 60 percent of the vote. He defeated Sandra Torres, a former first lady, who was a leader in the Central American country’s conservative elite. It was a political earthquake,...
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Anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo won Guatemala’s presidential election Sunday, a landslide victory following a race that was marred with allegations of fraud and government interference, NPR reported Monday. Election officials said the center-left politician won slightly more than 59 percent of the vote, while his opponent,...
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Hundreds of Guatemalans took to the streets of the capital this week to protest against the government’s alleged interference in next month’s presidential runoff, another development tarnishing the country’s electoral process, the Associated Press reported. The demonstrations in Guatemala City come amid a weeks-long political crisis...
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Guatemala’s presidential elections were thrown into turmoil this week, even after the country’s electoral court confirmed Wednesday the results of last month’s highly-contested first round of voting, the Wall Street Journal reported. The elections took an unexpected turn last week after the Constitutional Court suspended the...
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Guatemala’s presidential election took an unexpected turn this week when the Constitutional Court suspended the certification of the results, a move that raised concerns about the stability of the Central American country’s fragile democracy, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday. Results of Saturday’s elections showed that the progressive...
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Clashes broke out in parts of Guatemala as the country held general elections, a high-stakes vote that comes amid years of corruption, poverty and violence, Euronews reported Monday. Locals stopped election authorities from opening polling stations in San Jose del Golfo, in central Guatemala. They complained...
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A Guatemalan court recently convicted newspaper publisher José Rubén Zamora of money laundering and sentenced him to six years in prison. His newspaper, El Periódico, regularly investigated Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General María Consuelo Porras, the New York Times reported, adding that human...
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A Guatemalan court this week sentenced a prominent journalist to six years in prison on money laundering charges, a trial that prompted criticism from press and human rights groups, NPR reported. Judges found José Rubén Zamora, founder of Guatemala's El Periódico newspaper, guilty of money laundering...
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Guatemala’s Constitutional Court ruled Friday to end the election campaign of top presidential contender Carlos Pineda, a verdict that came just a month before voting begins, Al Jazeera reported. The top court upheld a ruling from a lower court that found Pineda failed to gather signatures...
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Belize and Guatemala reaffirmed diplomatic ties with Taiwan this week following a visit by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen who has been traveling across Central America in an effort to shore up a dwindling number of allies, the Associated Press reported. The Central American nations are two...
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Thousands of Guatemalans blocked over a dozen national highways this week to protest a court’s decision to ban an Indigenous candidate from registering for the country’s elections on June 25, the Associated Press reported. Protesters took to the streets demanding that leftist candidate Thelma Cabrera of...
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