Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as president of Guatemala Monday after conservative leaders attempted for months to disqualify Arévalo’s landslide victory in August’s runoff presidential election by claiming election fraud and persecuting his progressive Semilla party up until the final hours before his inauguration. Arévalo is the son of the country’s first democratically elected president, who implemented a series of revolutionary reforms from 1945 to 1951 before a CIA-backed coup ousted his successor and ushered in decades of authoritarian rule. Many supporters see Arévalo’s presidency as a new spring for Guatemala. We discuss the battle to defend his election, the pro-democracy protests in the country and what Guatemala can expect from his leadership with three guests: Andrea Villagrán, Guatemalan congressmember with Movimiento Semilla; Lucía Ixchíu, exiled K’iche Indigenous leader; and Frank La Rue, Guatemalan human rights activist, lawyer and a member of the election observation team.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2024-01-16T13:11:16+00:00) “The People Won”: Guatemala Inaugurates Anti-Corruption President Bernardo Arévalo Despite Sabotage. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/01/16/the-people-won-guatemala-inaugurates-anti-corruption-president-bernardo-arevalo-despite-sabotage-2/
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