Guatemala: Infinite Defiance

By Roberto Morejon

The confrontation between the current President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arevalo, and the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, continues, while many in the country urge that attention not be diverted from acute social problems.

The attorney general asked the Constitutional Court for permission to prosecute the president for what she considers political and financial actions against the institution she heads. 

The judge was responding to accusations by the Guatemalan government that the Attorney General's Office had seized the voter registry, which contains sensitive information on 10 million people.

As part of a long-standing tension, Porras accused the head of state of not responding to the needs of Guatemalans, and also pointed out that she had presented to the Constitutional Court the execution of an injunction granted to her last May.

The level of friction did not stop in January, date of the inauguration of Arevalo, who has requested the resignation of the Attorney General for considering that her actions violate democracy.

The governor also filed a bill to obtain the power to remove the justice, but the bill stalled in Congress.

In fact, President Arevalo is not the only critic of Porras, as she has been accused by international organizations and personalities of favoring corruption.

In the opinion of those who say so, the judicial system in Guatemala has been used against human rights defenders and people who have been part of the fight against corruption and impunity.

The President described as an abuse of power the cases opened by the Public Prosecutor's Office against journalist José Zamora, a harsh critic of the former government, imprisoned in the midst of a process described as inconsistent.

It must be remembered that the Public Prosecutor's Office sustains criminal prosecutions against former anti-mafia prosecutors and opponents of the previous government, an ally of Porras. It was also reported that Porras filed appeals to prevent President Arevalo, leader of the Seed Movement, from taking office after his victory in the August elections last year.

She also took action against members of the Seed Movement to have them outlawed.

All this web of rivalries seems to have no end while Guatemala suffers high levels of economic and gender inequality, disappearance of children, poverty and even racism against the majority indigenous population.

Popular sectors are wondering if the conflict is not diverting time and resources that are essential to address serious social problems.