Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The United States announced on Monday, December 4, that it is encouraging the Organization of American States (OAS) to toughen its response against the “attacks” on democracy in Guatemala, about the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) against President-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León.
The U.S. ambassador to that body, Francisco Mora, said that his country is in conversation with other members of the organization with a view to the elaboration of a “more serious draft resolution given the growing attack on democracy there.”
“If this body fails to stand up and raise its voice for democracy in Guatemala now, the impact will go beyond Guatemala,” he said at a special session held at OAS headquarters in Washington.
The meeting of the Permanent Council was requested by the representatives of Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Uruguay.
In their request for Monday’s meeting, they recalled that on November 30, the Guatemalan Congress voted in favor of withdrawing the immunity of four officials of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) “after months of anti-democratic and corrupt actions aimed at undermining the will of the Guatemalan people and annulling the results of the 2023 presidential elections.”
Apparently, according to these five countries, “these acts are contrary to the Inter-American Democratic Charter and constitute a continuation of the actions of corrupt actors aimed at undermining the peaceful and democratic transfer of power to President-elect Arévalo and Vice President (Karin) Herrera, and attacking those who seek to defend democracy.”
In a video message released during the session, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Mario Búcaro expressed his incredulity at the legitimacy of the reasons for convening this meeting.
“Guatemala does not agree,” said the foreign minister, who stressed the need to maintain “respectful treatment” among the nations that make up the OAS and to respect the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs.
The transition process from Alejandro Giammattei to Bernardo Arévalo de León, according to Búcaro, “continues to develop peacefully, contrary to what the speakers said” on Monday.
The transition process from Alejandro Giammattei to Bernardo Arévalo de León, according to Búcaro, “continues to develop peacefully, contrary to what the speakers said” on Monday.
The removal of the immunity of four Supreme Electoral Supreme Court magistrates occurred for the alleged illegal purchase of unofficial data computing equipment, used in the elections held this year.
Source: Prensa Libre.
