Guatemala Congress delays president-elect Arevalo’s inauguration

View inside the Guatemalan Congress after the temporary suspension of the inauguration of the new legislature – Copyright AFP Maria Jose Bonilla

The swearing-in ceremony of Guatemala’s president-elect Bernardo Arevalo was delayed Sunday as Congress, controlled by his opponents, was locked in debate over the admission of new lawmakers.

Arevalo’s inauguration ceremony had been due to begin at 3pm local time (2100 GMT), after months of judicial machinations to block him from office after his vow to clamp down on deep-rooted corruption in the Central American nation.

The right-wing dominated Congress has spent hours debating whether lawmakers with Arevalo’s Semilla (Seed) movement should be installed as regular deputies or as independents, due to the temporary suspension of his party.

The new Congress will be charged with swearing in the leftist Arevalo and his new government.

“What they are doing is delaying the installation of Congress, of the tenth legislature, because they do not want to give office to President Arevalo,” said deputy Jose Ines Castillo.

The swearing-in ceremony is being attended by the leaders of Chile and Colombia, while delegations from the United States and European Union have also arrived.

Since his August election victory, Arevalo has faced a constant barrage of attempts to impede him from taking office — at the hands of graft-accused prosecutors closely aligned with the country’s political and economic ruling class.