The Government of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, wants to meet with the two candidates for the Presidency in Guatemala, the former first lady Sandra Torres and Bernardo Arévalo de León, a source familiar with the plans of the US Executive told EFE.
According to that source, there is no specific date for the meeting, although the goal is for it to take place in the coming weeks.
The two candidates for the Presidency in Guatemala and US Administration officials would attend the meeting, said that source, who refused to specify exactly which members of the Biden Executive plan to participate.
When there have been elections in Latin America, the Biden government routinely tries to establish contact with the candidates to lead the country due to their importance for the future of bilateral relations.
Therefore, this meeting with the candidates for the Presidency in Guatemala is part of this type of routine contact, although it will acquire greater importance due to the crisis that the country is experiencing.
FIRST ELECTION ROUND
The first round of the Guatemalan general elections, held on June 25, 2023, gave Torres and Arévalo de León the winners.
Both must run in the second round on August 20 to replace the outgoing president, Alejandro Giammattei, but the Prosecutor’s Office has been trying to disqualify the Arévalo de León party, the Seed Movement, for an alleged case of corruption described as being staged by broad sectors.
The Organization of American States (OAS) has condemned the “political persecution” against Semilla, while the United States has progressively raised its tone about what is happening in Guatemala.
This same Monday, in a press conference, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that “the world is watching” what is happening in Guatemala and assured that the US is “deeply concerned” about the efforts to “interfere” in the electoral process.
“Guatemalan authorities could show leadership by ending this assault on the democratic liberties of the Guatemalan people,” the White House spokeswoman said.
In addition, this same Monday, the person in charge of Latin America at the State Department, Brian Nichols, revealed on Twitter that he had spoken with the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Mario Búcaro, and that he had conveyed to him the “vital importance” that the second round take place “without interference or harassment of candidates and political parties.”
Last week the United States Government already considered that what is happening in Guatemala is typical of “dictatorships.”