A series of maneuvers apparently aimed at disqualifying him and his party, Semilla, culminated with Congress stalling Sunday on choosing new leadership — normally a prerequisite for the inauguration.
That left Spain’s King Felipe VI, the presidents of Chile, Colombia and other Latin American countries, as well as the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, cooling their heels. The swearing-in was originally scheduled for 3 p.m.; Arévalo finally took the oath shortly after midnight.
“We’re going to rule with the will of all the Guatemalans, who are tired of corruption,” he said shortly before taking office.
Guatemalans danced in the streets, set off fireworks and waved blue-and-white national flags as they realized that Arévalo would finally be sworn in. Power, head of the U.S. delegation, tweeted that when word of the impending inauguration reached the National Theater, the site of the ceremony, attendees broke into chants of “Yes we did it!”
The day’s political chaos offered a sign of the obstacles Arévalo may face once he takes office. Guatemala has been ruled by what analysts dub the “Pact of the Corrupt” — an alliance of politicians, narcotraffickers, ex-military officers and unethical businesspeople. The country’s poverty, violence and poor governance have driven millions of Guatemalans to migrate to the United States.
Arévalo is the son of Guatemala’s first democratically elected president, Juan José Arévalo, a center-leftist who led the country from 1945-51. He survived 25 coup attempts.
After his surprise victory last summer, the younger Arévalo won crucial support from the country’s long-marginalized Indigenous population. Indigenous groups declared a national strike in October to protest the actions seeking to invalidate his election.
The international community also pushed to avert what many feared would amount to a “judicial coup.” Last month, the U.S. government slapped damaging Magnitsky sanctions on Miguel “Miguelito” Martínez, a close companion of outgoing president Alejandro Giammattei, on allegations of corruption. That was perceived as a clear sign of U.S. anger at authorities’ efforts to derail Arévalo’s inauguration. (Martínez called the charges “spurious.”)
Then, when Congress appeared to be jockeying to replace members of the top electoral court and install magistrates opposed to Arévalo’s victory, the U.S. government canceled the visas of two-thirds of Guatemalan legislators.
In December, the country’s Constitutional Court ordered Congress to “guarantee” the inauguration of Arévalo on Jan. 14, as well as the other election winners.
But on Sunday, shouting matches broke out in Congress as lawmakers were unable to reach agreement on their new leader. Some lawmakers also claimed there were irregularities in the paperwork of incoming members of Congress.
Meanwhile, in a last-minute decision on Sunday morning, the Constitutional Court upheld a temporary suspension of Semilla’s legal status, meaning its members could only enter Congress as independents. That would remove the party’s ability to hold top positions in Congress or be part of the agenda-setting leadership.
“They don’t want Bernardo to take the presidency with the executive power, the presidency [of Congress], popular support in Guatemala and international support,” said Daniel Haering, a political analyst.
Yet in the end, after hours of judicial and congressional deliberations, Semilla prevailed. The head of its legislative delegation, Samuel Pérez, won the presidency of the new Congress after reaching agreement with several other parties. (Semilla has only 23 of the 160 seats in Congress.)
Pérez is symbolic of the youth movement that lifted Arévalo to the presidency; the congressman is just 31, lives with his mom, and often totes around a copy of Barack Obama’s presidential memoirs.
Guatemalans had been so hopeful about Arévalo’s inauguration that hundreds slept in the streets of the capital on Saturday night, to be present for his swearing-in. On Sunday, protesters shouting “Get out, coup-plotters!” threatened to storm Congress after the inauguration was delayed.
The European Union, the Organization of American States and numerous dignitaries stressed their support for Arévalo as the dispute went on Sunday.
“There is no question that Bernardo Arévalo is the President of Guatemala,” Power tweeted on Sunday afternoon. “We call on all sides to remain calm — and for the Guatemalan Congress to uphold the will of the people. The world is watching.”
Sheridan reported from Mexico City.
