The Colombian President, Gustavo Petromet this Sunday in Ciudad de Guatemala with the elected president of this country, Bernardo Arevalobefore the investiture ceremony, which is delayed because the outgoing representatives of Congress have not yet sworn in those elected and this is a necessary condition for the transfer of command to take place.
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“Here in Guatemala, The Congress of the Republic still does not approve the election of its executive board This is the one who must take over from President Bernardo Arévalo,” Petro explained on his X account (formerly Twitter).
During the meeting, Petro and Arévalo spoke about the situation in Congress that is delaying ownershipbut also other issues that are part of the bilateral agenda that Colombia and Guatemala want to build.
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Both leaders spoke about the new realities in America, citing mafia and political corruption According to information from the Colombian presidency, they proposed a regional security dialogue.
Unsafe situation
The situation in parliament is characterized by uncertaintywhile hundreds of Arévalo supporters have gathered around Congress to protest against these delays.
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Arguments, insults, deputies locked in locked rooms and general chaos describe what is happening in the Guatemalan Congress, as EFE has been able to verify.
Lawmakers in the new legislature planned to elect the new president of Congress at 12:00 GMT.but as of 3:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT), the outgoing Congress had not even confirmed the 160 new members of Parliament, meaning the presidential inauguration is still in limbo.
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The swearing-in of the new Guatemalan Congress for the period 2024-2028 must take place as a prerequisite for the inauguration of the elected President Bernardo Arévalo de Leóna ceremony scheduled to take place at the National Theater in front of a dozen heads of state in the Guatemalan capital.
This circumstance raised fears of a possible “coup d’etat”.as the President-elect himself denounced, accusing the head of the Public Ministry, Consuelo Porras, and “other corrupt actors” of obstructing and preventing his inauguration.
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On Saturday, Petro called on all presidents to attend the Arévalo de León ceremony to support him in the face of attempts by prosecutors and others to prevent him from being sworn in as the new president after he won the majority in the last elections.
Colombia's support
“The public prosecutor's office, as in Peru and Colombia, has taken a negative attitude towards the presidency and he even tried to imprison the popularly elected vice president,” Petro said.
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Aside from that, The Colombian president also denounced that the Guatemalan authorities had not yet allowed his Defense Minister Iván Velásquez to enter the country.who served as head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) on behalf of the United Nations.
The tension of that day was the general tone of an electoral and transition process that, since last July, has been marked by attempts by the Public Ministry (Prosecution Service) to ban the Semilla Movement party, the mainstay of the elected president prevent Arévalo de León from taking possession this January 14th.