Yesterday, anti-riot agents from the National Police of Guatemala fired tear gas at protesters in a village of Chimaltenango, about 50 kilometers from this capital, and here they tried to disperse indigenous people and peasants who have been mobilizing for more than a week in defense of democracy. , but before the police operation more people arrived to reinforce the protest.
The protesters demand the resignation of the attorney general, Consuelo Porras; the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity, Rafael Curruchiche, and the seventh criminal judge, Fredy Orellana, who are accused of trying to prevent the elected president, Bernardo Arévalo, from assuming power on January 14.
No arrests or injuries were reported in Chimaltenango, where a dam whose facilities were intended to be located to take the protesters, who clarified that it was not their intention to interrupt the supply of the liquid.
The repression followed the order of the government of the outgoing president, Alejandro Giammattei, to mobilize anti-riot police to try to contain the thousands of protesters, mostly indigenous and peasants, while the Organization of American States (OAS) met in rejection of the actions of the prosecutor’s office against the electoral process.
Dozens of police attacked protesters after noon in an urban sector of Guatemala City, but in the face of the police confrontation, more citizens appeared and prevented the eviction.
The leaders of the indigenous and social organizations that have been holding a national civic strike for 10 days in defense of democracy warned that the protests will continue and held the government responsible for the consequences of the order to repress.
We are not a small group, we are the people and we are demanding respect because we are tired of so many injustices. We will resist in this fight until we reach the objective
said Edgar Tuy, an official from the indigenous mayor’s office of Sololá, a department in the southwestern region of the country.
Meanwhile, the OAS was in session to monitor the situation. There, Arévalo called on the hemispheric mechanism to urge the government to end the harassment
of the prosecution, because, he explained, sometimes coups d’état do not happen with bayonets
sino from the courts
.
What we are experiencing in our country is political persecution through judicial actions without real basis
Arévalo insisted.
The secretary general of the organization, Luis Almagro, described biased and irrational
the actions of the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office against the electoral process that gave victory to Arévalo.
In contrast, the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Mario Búcaro, referred in his speech to the fact that there had been episodes of vandalism and assured that this affects millions of people.
The Mexican airline Volaris suspended flights to and from Guatemala due to road blockages that, it said, impede fuel supply.
Civil Aeronautics confirmed Volaris’ decision, but assured in a video message that outgoing and incoming flights of other airlines are proceeding normally, and confirmed that there is fuel to refuel them at La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City.
The prosecutor’s office is carrying out legal actions against Arévalo, the Semilla Movement – the party that led him to win the presidency –, which it is investigating for alleged false signatures for its registration, as well as the judges of the Supreme Electoral Court and more than 100 thousand citizens who participated in the reception, counting, safeguarding and digitization of votes and minutes that certified the victory.
On Monday night, unidentified individuals infiltrated the protests and caused destruction in the capital. The mobilizations have been peaceful in the departments, but in the capital violent actions began after prosecutor Porras announced in a recorded video that there was looting, something that had not yet been reported.
For his part, Giammattei warned that acts outside the law will not be tolerated
and advocated find ways of dialogue
; Later, the Constitutional Court granted provisional protection that guarantees the free exercise of the rights of peaceful assembly and demonstration, as well as freedom of thought
and reiterated their commitment to continue preserving order
.
At the same time, he asked to coordinate actions that guarantee that Guatemalans carry out their daily activities. without being affected by the exercise of the right to demonstrate
protecting the right to life, health, security and peace.
The Conference
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