Eduardo González
EU Member States unanimously rejected yesterday in Brussels, at the request of Spain, the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala against the country’s elected president, Bernardo Arévalo, and showed their support for the winner in the last presidential elections.
“At the request of Spain, we have addressed the situation in Guatemala and unanimously rejected the latest actions of part of the Guatemalan Public Ministry to try to disregard what has been a democratic, free result, clearly expressed by Guatemalans at the polls,” said Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares at the press conference following the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC).
“Therefore, we have given our support to the president-elect and what we wish is that the transition between the outgoing president and the president-elect is done with the planned timetable and, of course, with the support of the EU to that transparent, clear, democratic process in which the Guatemalans have already spoken,” he continued.
“What Spain has been saying throughout this weekend bilaterally, today has materialized and has been welcomed by the EU 27,” he concluded. Last Friday, the Government of Spain rejected “categorically” the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala against Arevalo, which “undermine democracy” and represent “a serious violation of the will of the Guatemalan people freely expressed at the polls.” The Foreign Ministry communiqué also proclaimed the Spanish Government’s support for Bernardo Arévalo and demanded that “all Guatemalan institutions respect the results of the ballot boxes and guarantee the peaceful transfer of power”.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala presented that same day the results of its investigation against the Movimiento Semilla party for an alleged crime of money laundering and insisted on the withdrawal of immunity of Bernardo Arévalo, who leads that party. The head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), Rafael Curruchiche, detailed that the investigation has determined seven findings, fundamentally with respect to the detailed reports of income and expenses of the Movimiento Semilla, as well as receipts that remained unidentified. “Seven findings of violation to the electoral regulations were confirmed”, he explained in a press conference, in which he also assured that there are missing documents to be paid, such as interest-free loans, signed by the general secretary of the party, Andres Perez Alvarez.
