Guatemala’s electoral court has barred two of President Alejandro Giammattei’s anti-government voters from voting in next June’s presidential elections. They are indigenous leader Thelma Cabrera and former human rights ombudsman Jordán Rodas, who presented their candidatures for the presidency and vice-presidency of the Movement for the Liberation of Peoples, a left-wing, anti-system political organization campaigning for the recognition of the Indigenous Rights and Renewal of the Guatemalan State. Electoral authorities have claimed that Rodas is subject to investigations by the Comptroller’s Office during his tenure as a lawyer, despite the candidate’s assertions that he is and has complied with all requirements of Guatemala’s electoral law has denounced the possibility of “fraud” in the elections. “The organized mafias want to leave out one of the decent candidates in the elections,” said Rodas. “It is unheard of for the TSE to refuse our registration. Democracy in Guatemala has taken another step backwards, they are afraid of the people and their sovereign decisions,” he said.
The decision has caused a stir in Guatemala, a country that begins the electoral process with the registration of candidatures but has plunged into a deep political crisis: the Central American nation, protagonist of a democratic spring, has seen judges and prosecutors who oppose the Those who have fought corruption go into exile, impunity prevails while President Giammattei launches a hunt for voices critical of the government, as happened with the imprisonment of journalist José Rubén Zamora. The verdict of the electoral tribunal published at the weekend alarmed international human rights organizations. “All candidates must have the opportunity To and take part in the elections under equal conditions. These decisions affect the political rights of voters and candidates, which are protected by international law,” wrote Juan Pappier, deputy Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Restrictions on political rights must respect international standards and be based on objective and reasonable criteria. Merely filing a criminal complaint about facts that have not yet been clarified is not sufficient reason to rule out a candidacy,” warned the activist.
Jordán Rodas during an interview with this newspaper in August 2022. Sandra Sebastián
The Electoral Tribunal, in its ruling against the MPL’s nominations, reiterated that although Rodas produced the Transitory Certificate of Non-existence of Claim for Changes, it is a settlement required by law of all civil servants seeking elected office. Rodas claims to have produced the document, but officials say “objections” or investigations by the Guatemalan Court of Accounts are ongoing during his tenure as a lawyer. The MPL appealed the verdict while urging its bases to mobilize. This Monday there was a demonstration against the decision in front of the seat of the electoral tribunal in the Guatemalan capital. “Thelma and Jordan remain registered,” protesters chanted.
Cabrera and Rodas announced in December their decision to run in the presidential elections. The leader of the indigenous Maya is a prominent human rights defender and was already aiming for the presidency in the last election when she surprisingly finished fourth in the first round with more than 450,000 votes, although it was not enough for the second round. This was disputed by Alejandro Giammattei and Sandra Torres, who lost the election. For his part, Rodas has gained international recognition for his fight against impunity during the administration of former President Jimmy Morales and the current Giammattei administration.
In an interview with EL PAÍS last August, conducted days before he left office in Guatemala City, Rodas slammed the Guatemalan business community, which he accuses of funding the prosecution of anti-corruption judges and prosecutors and impunity in this country. He was also harsh on President Giammattei. “Sometimes I have the impression that we are masochists and that Guatemala is like a parking lot. [estacionamiento] Underground because I honestly thought we had hit rock bottom with Jimmy Morales, but Giammattei is just as corrupt and disrespectful to the most vulnerable sectors as he is to indigenous peoples,” he said on the occasion. Rodas also referred to the Presidential Administration as “very bad”: “So much time to prepare to become president. He didn’t form teams, he didn’t do public policy to favor those most in need. He said a slightly vulgar phrase that he didn’t as a.” Another son of a bitch wants to be remembered, but I think in the long run, that’s what a lot of the population will think.”
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