Por Giorgio Trucchi
Jordán Rodas Andrade, lawyer and notary, held the position of Human Rights Ombudsman of Guatemala between 2017 and 2022. Together with Thelma Cabrera, leader Maya Mam, he was a member of the presidential duo of the Movement for the Liberation of the Peoples (MLP) in the elections last June.
Arbitrarily and illegally, the Citizen Registry of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal rejected registration as presidential candidates, and the Constitutional Court of the Supreme Court of Justice declared void all legal actions presented in order to reverse said decision.
The former attorney decided to leave the country and go into self-exile, like many other justice operators and social activists who have been suffering persecution and systematic criminalization by the de facto powers entrenched in the institutions.
Unexpectedly and against all odds, the elections consecrated the victory of the already progressive deputy Bernardo Arévalo (Movimiento Semilla), who had been waving the flag of the fight against public corruption, and the defeat of the ruling party and the most recalcitrant right wing in the country.
Fear of a new blow
A failure for what is known in Guatemala as the “corrupt pact”, the alliance between political networks, national oligarchy, co-opted state powers and criminal networks that coordinate to defend and secure their interests and guarantee impunity.
The attack against the future president and his political movement, which began immediately after reaching the second round and which has deepened after the victory in the second round, has generated fear in the Guatemalan population and the international community of a possible coup.
The indefinite national strike promoted by the authorities of the 48 Cantons of Totonicapán, to which organizations and people from all over the country have joined, demands the immediate resignation of the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, and the anti-corruption prosecutor, Rafael Curruchiche, before the attempt to reverse the electoral result.
Despite the threats issued these days by President Alejandro Giammattei and the Attorney General, Guatemala is experiencing its tenth consecutive day of protests, with almost 140 road blockades nationwide, at least 20 roads closed in the capital and a growing number of people who join mobilizations and sit-ins.
Satiety
International transport companies have suspended their trips and several businesses have closed their doors.
“The corrupt pact/criminal alliance decided to block our participation in the elections, but they made their calculations wrong. The Guatemalan population was very astute and showed with their vote their fatigue with the model of corruption prevailing in the country,” Jordán Rodas told La Rel.
“Bernardo Arévalo has little political experience, but he is honest, committed to the fight against corruption and has the strength of the legacy of his father Juan José Arévalo, who was president of Guatemala.[1] in the 40s,” he added.
For the former human rights attorney, the road to taking office on January 14 is going to be long, difficult and dangerous.
“I hope he manages to emerge successfully from a criminalization process that is imminent and that he is not a victim of the perverse system of Guatemalan criminal justice or, even worse, of an attack on his life,” Rodas warned.
Without mobilization nothing can be done
If he takes office, Arévalo will still have many limitations to implement his government program: a pulverized parliament, co-opted institutions and de facto powers conspiring to prevent him from finishing his term.
The support of a conscious and mobilized people will be essential for Guatemala to begin a true path of transformation.
“Guatemala definitely needs deep and structural changes, however, at this moment it would be important to start with a change of direction”; Rhodes considered.
“In this sense, it should be like a transitional government, with a minimum agenda that proposes the reestablishment of the rule of law and democracy, the end of political persecution and the frontal fight against corruption.”
“It is a great challenge and progressive sectors must be very rational, coherent and objective regarding expectations. But seeing this entire population in the streets, a lot of youth, a lot of creativity and empowerment, gives me hope that progress can be made,” he concluded.
Use:
[1] In Guatemala, the October 1944 revolution inaugurated a ten-year period of democratic social reforms under two presidents: Juan José Arévalo (1945-1950) and Jacobo Árbenz (1950-1954). Juan José Arévalo went into exile in Uruguay, where his son Bernardo was born.
Fuente: Rel FORGET
Fuentes: Rel FORGET
