Headline January 16, 2024
In Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as the country's president on Monday morning after opposition lawmakers delayed the transfer of power for nine hours. This was the latest attempt by the Guatemalan elite to weaken those committed to fighting corruption. Arévalo surprised the Guatemalan elite in August by winning the presidential election. Since then, the country's attorney general, Consuelo Porras, has been waging a campaign to prevent Arévalo from assuming the presidency. Bernardo Arévalo, the son of former President Juan José Arévalo, Guatemala's first democratically elected leader, spoke Monday after he was finally sworn in.
President Bernardo Arevalo: “Guatemala has suffered deep wounds that need to be healed. These scars are reflected not only in the indicators or in technocratic exercises that assess the country's reality. “They are rooted in the daily experiences of our communities.”