Can we turn the tide?, "Anti Corruption Fighter" Arevalo Elected as Guatemala's Presidential Candidate | President | Guatemala
On the evening of August 20th local time, Bernardo Arevalo, the presidential candidate of the "Seed Movement" party, known as the "anti-corruption fighter" in Guatemala, announced his victory in the country's presidential election, which was an unexpected result for many people. His anti-corruption stance earned him a lot of support in two rounds of voting.
Arevalo, currently 64 years old, is the son of Juan Jose Arevalo, the first democratically elected president of Guatemala, and has served as the ambassador to Spain. According to Reuters on August 20th, out of the 99% of the votes counted, Arevallo leads former First Lady Sandra Torres by 58% to 37%. Previously, many experts were not optimistic about Arevalo. However, in the first round of elections in June, he defied the poll results and unexpectedly won the second highest vote, singing all the way to win the final election.
Arevallo will officially take office on January 14, 2024. In an interview with Guatemalan Radio in June, he said that Guatemala needs to work hard to expand its trade relations with China, and its foreign policy must be based on its own interests and become the master of its foreign policy. Guatemalan political scholars analyze that Arevalo may recognize the One China principle after his election.
Tiger father has no dog son
Arevalo was born into a political family, and his father Juan Jose Arevalo was Guatemala's first democratically elected president. During his tenure, the lives of Guatemalans and Guatemalan society underwent significant changes.
Father Arevalo claims to be a "spiritual socialist". At the beginning of taking office, Old Arevalo demonstrated a completely different concept from the authoritarian government before Guatemala. He established the Ministry of Labor and drafted a new constitution. On May 13, 1947, the old Arevalo government promulgated the Guatemala Freedom of Thought Act, which abolished all intellectual censorship. Not long after, the Labor Law was promulgated, and the Guatemalan Institute for Social Security was established. In the constitution, social security was elevated to the rights of citizens. In terms of education, Old Arevalo has built the National Library.
In 1954, a coup occurred in Guatemala, and my father went into exile in South America. Bernardo Arevalo was born on October 7, 1958 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and has since traveled with his family to Venezuela, Mexico, and Chile. At the age of 15, he returned to Guatemala for the first time and studied at a private Catholic school in Guatemala City. Afterwards, Arevalo graduated from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and a PhD in Philosophy and Social Anthropology from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
According to CNN, in 2015, Arevalo, who had served in think tanks and research centers for many years, participated in a protest in Guatemala and demanded the resignation of then President Otto Perez Molina. Shortly after the protest, Arevalo and a group of intellectuals established a think tank. In 2017, the think tank was formed as the Semira Movement Party and gained support through the widespread dissatisfaction with the current political class.
In 2019, the Semira Movement Party announced Arevalo as the party's first presidential candidate for Guatemala, but he ultimately refused to run. Instead, he was elected as a non partisan member of the party and was inaugurated on January 14, 2020. As a member of parliament, Arevalo has served on multiple committees, including the Foreign Affairs Committee, Governance, Human Rights, National Security, and Defense.
Anti corruption fighter
Bernardo Arevalo did not stand out in pre election polls, and his victory as president this time is attributed to his anti-corruption stance.
The presidential election in Guatemala coincides with severe violence and food security issues in the country, triggering a new wave of immigration. According to World Bank data, Guatemala is one of the countries in Latin America with the highest levels of poverty, malnutrition, and child mortality. Guatemala is also one of the countries with the highest murder rates in the world, and many murders are caused by gang violence related to drug trafficking. Guatemalans are now the most populous country in Central America seeking entry into the United States.
Human rights organizations have stated that after the dissolution of the United Nations supported anti-corruption commission in 2019, corruption in Guatemala has worsened, with prosecutors and judges associated with the commission either being arrested and investigated or forced into exile. During this year's election cycle, anti-corruption candidates were banned from running, sparking widespread criticism in the Western world.
After many other opposition party candidates were banned from running, Arevalo unexpectedly stood out in politics and launched a massive anti-corruption campaign with his Semira party. Arevalo vowed to "eliminate institutions incorporated by corrupt elements" and bring back those dedicated to the fight for justice in Guatemala.
Reuters reported that Arevalo was at risk of being disqualified from running. A Guatemalan court has demanded that the Semira party, where Arevalo is affiliated, cease all election activities and accuse him of misconduct. Amidst opposition from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, the Supreme Court of Guatemala subsequently lifted the ban. Arevalo was ultimately allowed to participate in the first round of the election and won second place in the first round of voting in June this year. After experiencing low voter turnout and invalid votes in the first round of voting, the Election Commission reported on Sunday that the voter turnout had reached a historic high and stated that no "major events" had occurred on that day.
CNN mentioned in the report that the public is eager for this anti-corruption fighter to bring about some changes, hoping that he will end years of government rule plagued by accusations of corruption and dictatorship.
Unlike his father, Bernardo Arevalo referred to himself as a "Social Democratic Party member" who supported republican democracy. He believes that the country can guarantee social justice and private property, and expresses interest in establishing a new fiscal system and strengthening social security.
According to his 100 day plan after being elected to power, addressing corruption issues is his top priority. Arevalo seems to have little interest in prosecuting corrupt elements and is more focused on canceling political funding expenditures, preventing non competitive awarding of public contracts, and thus addressing corruption issues at the source. He promised to welcome journalists, judges, and prosecutors who were in exile.
Regarding his foreign policy after taking office, Arevalo supports improving trade relations with China. On July 20, 2023, he reiterated his interest in deepening relations with China in an interview with the Republican Daily, emphasizing the "development and expansion" of economic relations between the two countries.
The new president will be officially inaugurated on January 14, 2024. Whether Guatemala's predicament can be resolved and whether Arevallo's promise can be fulfilled still requires time to prove.
