Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Email
Guatemala’s constitutional court ordered a recount of 122,000 ballots. Photo: Community Press
(Berlin, July 6, 2023, taz).- It was a result that hardly anyone in Guatemala had expected: Bernardo Arévalo from the Movimiento Semilla (literally: seed movement) emerged from the recent presidential elections as the second strongest candidate. The left-wing politician thus qualified for the run-off elections and has a chance of holding the highest state office in the future.
But the right-wing opponents of Arévalos do not want to accept that. Nine parties demanded that the outcome of the June 25 election be reviewed for inconsistencies. Despite fierce objections, the Constitutional Court then ordered a recount of 122,000 ballot papers. So far, however, this has not produced the result desired by the plaintiffs. The differences from the original count are minimal, said the spokesman for the supreme electoral authority, Luis Gerardo Ramírez, on July 5 after counting more than half of the slips of paper.
Political maneuver suspected
Critics of the government of conservative President Alejandro Giammattei suspect the lawsuit to be a political maneuver to prevent the Movimiento Semilla from winning the elections. “This corrupt political class is confronted,” says Arévalo himself, “that they could lose control of the system.”
The Movimiento Semilla emerged from a movement that opposed the “Als "pact of corrupt" is an alliance of people who organize the plundering of natural resources and state finances in Guatemala. These include politicians, civil servants, ex-military personnel, criminals, business people from the predominantly white elite organized in the reactionary business association CACIF, and transnational companies operating in the country. In addition, they are said to have created a system of impunity in which Congress passed laws on corruption, appointed judges and prosecutors or bought their decisions, etc. Journalists and judicial staff who research and investigate corruption cases are being used intimidated, threatened or fired. The pact is said to have been founded in 2006, when, with the support of the UN, an international commission against impunity in Guatemala began work and subsequently brought many corruption cases to court. In 2019, probably at the instigation of this pact, the mandate of the CICIG was not extended by then President Jimmy Morales.
” href=” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute=””>PactoftheCorrupt”iethecriminalmachinationsofpoliticiansthemilitaryentrepreneursandorganizedcrimeAtthattimetheUNCommissionagainstSeriousCrimeshadnotbeenlegallyclarifiedorpunishedsothisisreferredtoasimpunityThishasalastingeffectontheindividualsenseofrecognitionofthevictimstheoverallsocietalsenseofjusticeandprotectionagainstrepetition[{“attribute=””>PaktderKorrupten“stelltealsodiekriminellenMachenschaftenvonPolitiker*innenMilitärsUnternehmernundderorganisiertenKriminalitätDamalshattedieUN-KommissiongegenWerdenschwereStraftatenjuristischnichtaufgeklärtoderbestraftsowirddasalsStraflosigkeitbezeichnetDiesewirktsichnachhaltigausaufdasindividuelleEmpfindenderAnerkennungderOpferdasgesamtgesellschaftlicheGerechtigkeitsempfindenunddenSchutzvorWiederholung
” href=” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute=””>ImpunityinGuatemala(CICIG)numerouscasesofcorruptionTherearecasesofcorruptioninallLatinAmericancountriesThereareminoreverydaycasesofcorruptionsuchaspolicechecksButimportantpoliticianspublicprosecutorsandjudgesarealsorepeatedlyinvolvedincrimessuchasdrugtraffickingTheunpunishedcorruptionofpeopleinpositionsofpowerisparticularlyproblematicasitkeepsthepopulationdisenchantedwithpolitics[{“attribute=””>StraflosigkeitinGuatemala(CICIG)zahlreicheFällevonInallenLändernLateinamerikassindFällevonKorruptionzuverzeichnenEskommtzukleinerenalltäglichenFällenvonKorruptionwiezBbeiPolizeikontrollenAberauchaufSeitenwichtigerPolitiker*innenStaatsanwält*innenundRichter*innengibtesimmerwiederVerstrickungeninVerbrechenwiezBdemDrogenhandelDieungestrafteKorruptionvonPersoneninMachtpositionenistbesondersproblematischdasoderPolitikverdrussderBevölkerunganhält
” href=” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute=””>CorruptionrevealeduptothehighestofficesofstateIn2019theCICIGwasexpelledfromthecountry[{“attribute=””>KorruptionbisinhöchsteStaatsämteraufgedecktImJahr2019wurdedieCICIGdesLandesverwiesen
The Right Influence on Courts and Institutions
In the current elections, Arévalo won around twelve percent of the votes, while his competitor Sandra Torres from the centrist party UNE was able to unite the most voters with around 15 percent. Right-wing candidates were significantly lower than expected. For example, Zury Ríos, the daughter of the late dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, who was accused of genocide and (Spanish crimen de lesa humanida, crimen contra la humanidad) a criminal offense under international criminal law, which denotes a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population. First laid down in an international treaty in 1945 in the London Statute for the Nuremberg Trials. In the German translation we follow Hannah Arendt, who is the frequently used designation "Crimes against humanity" if "understatement of the century" criticized. The offense of the crimen de lesa humanidad appears in the context of the processing of crimes during the Latin American dictatorships, but crimes of our time such as the disappearance of people are also defined as crimes against humanity in international law.
” href=” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute=””>crimesagainsthumanityThecontenderfromGiammattei’sVamospartyManuelCondecameinthird[{“attribute=””>VerbrechengegendieMenschlichkeitverurteiltwordenwarDerAnwärtervonGiammatteisParteiVamosManuelCondekamaufPlatzdrei
After the ballot, all candidates initially recognized the result. Even Zury Ríos wished the winners “good luck” on Twitter in the runoff election, which is scheduled to take place on August 20th. Election observers spoke of few incidents.
But a few days later, nine parties released a statement complaining about “inconsistencies, changes and other discrepancies” and calling for the recount. Among the signatories was Río’s Valor and Giammattei’s Vamos party, as well as the election winner UNE.
Runoff election on August 20th
The fact that the constitutional judges granted the demand confirms for many critics how strong the influence of Giammattei and other conservative forces is on courts and institutions. “This decision has been agreed with the government,” criticizes former anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval. It is an attempt to delegitimize the electoral process. The EU election observation group calls on the authorities to “respect the clear will of the citizens”.
Manipulations had already taken place in the run-up to the election. Courts had banned four opposition candidates from running on flimsy grounds. In addition, Giammattei is taking increasingly harsh action against his critics. Numerous lawyers and journalists have gone into exile.
For Daniel Haering from the “Dialogos” think tank, it is hardly surprising that the “Pact of the Corrupt” is doing a lot to ensure that conditions remain as they are: “There is great fear that the era of 2015 and the CICIG will be revived if Semilla comes to the government.”