Guatemala’s political future is uncertain since the elections in August, when opposition candidate Bernardo Arévalo won in a surprising landslide. Tensions are rising as 14 January, the date that Arévalo is meant to take office, is fast approaching.
Corrupt political elites are trying hard to prevent his presidency. Yet there has also been unprecedented support for Arévalo from the international community, Guatemala’s economic elite and the majority of the Guatemalan people.
Backlashes to surprising opposition win
Few people had expected Bernardo Arévalo, the son of Guatemala’s first democratically elected president Juan José Arévalo, to win the 2023 elections. The victory of Arévalo, an anti-corruption leader, is telling of the public frustration with the systematic corruption that has characterised Guatemala over the last years.
