The new President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, took his oath of office in the early hours of this Monday before the President of the Congress of the Republic, Samuel Pérez, in a ceremony that took place more than ten hours late due to the delay in routine procedures
Guatemala's new President Bernardo Arévalo and new Vice President Karin Herrera greet their supporters from the balcony of the National Palace of Culture in Guatemala City after their inauguration ceremony. (Photo: Internet).
The new President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, took his oath of office in the early hours of this Monday before the President of the Congress of the Republic, Samuel Pérez, in a ceremony that took place more than ten hours late due to the routine procedures of the outgoing Congress on sabotage the investiture.
It was the umpteenth attempt by the now official party to destroy Arévalo's rise to power, after months of legal prosecution led by the State Ministry that had led to condemnation from the international community.
The inauguration of Arévalo, a symbol of the fight against corruption, and his vice president Karin Herrera took place at the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center in the Guatemalan capital.
The academic won the 2023 presidential election with the progressive Movimiento Semilla party, which emerged from anti-corruption demonstrations in Guatemala in 2015, and succeeds Alejandro Giammattei in power.
Arévalo won Guatemala's presidential election in August by a wide margin and faced a barrage of legal attacks from prosecutors, judges and political leaders aimed at stopping him from taking office and which drew widespread opposition from the international community.
After his inauguration, Arévalo gave his first speech as president, in which he highlighted the strength of Guatemala's democracy, which “through unity and trust” resisted attempts by various political sectors in the country to prevent him from taking office.
“Never again authoritarianism, never again violence or arbitrariness to achieve certain goals. “Never again will institutions bow to corruption and impunity,” noted Arévalo, referring to his main government promises in a country with deep corruption problems that have left even his possessions in uncertainty for months as the United Nations and other international organizations have emphasized.
The President expressed his gratitude to citizens in general and especially to the indigenous peoples who had once again come out in his favor amid the difficulties of completing his investiture.
“My personal thanks, our thanks as a nation, go to the ancestral indigenous leaders for their courageous fight for democracy and for their outstanding role in mobilizing the four peoples in its defense,” he said.
“On this momentous day, we move forward on the path that many of us have labored for and mark a significant milestone thanks to the exercise of democracy. It gives me great honor to take on this great responsibility and to show that our democracy has the necessary resilience and that through unity and trust we can change the political landscape in Guatemala.
“This moment represents not only a personal achievement, but also a crucial step towards a future where civic participation and positive change prevail,” he added.
The new Guatemalan head of state reiterated his government's flagship projects. Among other things, he referred to human rights, migrants and climate change.
The leader of the Semilla movement promised to work to improve the quality of life of the Central American country's citizens. “The state will assume its historic role in promoting development in essential aspects such as electricity, environmental sanitation and education and the creation of these aspects will create thousands of new jobs across the national territory,” he said.
In this sense, he promised to take measures to promote local and foreign investments to expand the country's productive structure.
“Our government proposal in a simple formula: Without social justice there can be no democracy and without democracy it cannot prevail. “Despite its simplicity, this formula has been conspicuously absent in government administration for much of our history,” he said.
