The head of Latin America at the US State Department, Brian Nicholsasked the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Mario Búcaro, on Monday for his government not to interfere in the second round of elections on August 20 in the face of attempts to disable the Seed Movement.
“I spoke with Mario Búcaro about the great importance of allowing the second round of the Guatemalan elections to take place without interference or harassment against candidates or parties”Nichols explained on social media.
Read also: Biden’s government seeks to meet with presidential candidates in Guatemala in the face of an electoral crisis
I talked with him #MinBucaro @MinexGT on the vital importance of allowing the second round of the elections to take place without interference or harassment of candidates and political parties. Guatemalans have the right to choose their rulers. -BAN
— Brian A. Nichols (@WHAAsstSecty) July 24, 2023
The deputy assistant secretary of the Department of State remarked in the same message that “The Guatemalan people have the right to elect their own leaders.”
The first round of the Guatemalan general elections gave former first lady Sandra Torres and the social democratic candidate Bernardo Arévalo de León as winners.
Both must attend the second round on August 20 to replace the outgoing president, Alejandro Giammattei. The Prosecutor’s Office has been trying to disable Arévalo de León’s party, the Movimiento Semilla. This is due to an alleged case of corruption qualified as an assembly by large sectors.
The Organization of American States (OAS) has condemned the “political persecution” against Semilla. While the US government warned last week that what is happening in Guatemala is typical of “dictatorships.”
