How hard is it to root out corruption? Ask Guatemala's new president.

[Judi Lynn]

By Jody García Contributor
June 12, 2024
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GUATEMALA CITY
By most counts, it’s a miracle that Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo has been in office for nearly six months. The anti-corruption politician faced unprecedented legal challenges to his campaign last summer, a powerful attorney general tried to reverse his election victory, and three months of public demonstrations swamped the capital in efforts to ensure his inauguration.

But the heavy lift it took to get him into office, where he has promised to weed out corruption and strengthen his small Central American nation’s democracy, hasn’t eased. Citizens who spent months on the streets are starting to wonder when Mr. Arévalo will deliver on promised change. Complicating the situation, the attorney general, María Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by 42 foreign countries including the U.S., is blocking his efforts at every turn.

“This is not a marathon,” Mr. Arévalo said at an event on April 4, acknowledging the population’s frustration with slow progress on passing anti-corruption legislation. “It is a game of chess,” he said, referring to the fine-tuned strategy needed to confront the fact that his party has just 14% of the seats in Congress, and his agenda angers Guatemala’s historically powerful political and economic elite.

Mr. Arévalo’s struggles underscore how challenging it can be to fight corruption, despite widespread public support.



Santiago Billy/AP
Indigenous people from western highland communities participate in a months-long protest in Guatemala City Oct. 10, 2023, to support President-elect Bernardo Arévalo after Guatemala's highest court upheld a move by prosecutors to suspend his political party over alleged voter registration fraud – threatening his ability to take office.

. . .

The central threat to his government and its anti-corruption promises is Ms. Porras. Last August, she tried to annul Mr. Arévalo’s votes following his electoral victory. Citizen pressure from the streets, the organization of Indigenous and rural communities, and an international community that closed ranks, together defended the country’s democracy.

More:
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2024/0612/corruption-in-guatemala-hard-to-curb




Attorney General María Consuelo Porras









(Hoping to see an execution?)