De Constructor de Paz a Presidente: los Desafíos que enfrenta Arévalo en Guatemala

De Constructor de Paz a Presidente: los Desafíos que enfrenta Arévalo en Guatemala

Thursday, January 18, 2024

By: Mary Speck, Ph.D.

El nuevo presidente de Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, ha desafiado repetidamente las expectativas: primero, al terminar inesperadamente en segundo lugar en la primera vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales el pasado junio; luego, al ganar la segunda vuelta por un amplio margen en agosto, y finalmente, al sobrevivir a una avalancha de retos legales antes de su toma de posesión el 14 de enero.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

From Peace Builder to President: The Challenges Facing Guatemala’s Arévalo

From Peace Builder to President: The Challenges Facing Guatemala’s Arévalo

Thursday, January 18, 2024

By: Mary Speck, Ph.D.

Guatemala’s new president, Bernardo Arévalo, has repeatedly defied the odds: first by unexpectedly surging to second place in his country’s first-round presidential elections last June; next by winning the final round by a landslide in August, and then by surviving an onslaught of legal challenges in the run-up to his January 14th inauguration.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

Guatemala’s High-Stakes Electoral Contest Grinds On

Guatemala’s High-Stakes Electoral Contest Grinds On

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

By: Ricardo Zúniga

Guatemala’s fragile democracy faces its greatest test since the end of the conflicts in the late 20th century. Ongoing efforts to impede or derail the transfer of power to the newly elected president of Guatemala put at risk the country’s security, social and economic development, and international relationships. This will encourage large numbers of Guatemalans to continue to flee their country.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Guatemala: Líderes Indígenas Encabezan Campaña por la Democracia a Nivel Nacional

Guatemala: Líderes Indígenas Encabezan Campaña por la Democracia a Nivel Nacional

Friday, October 20, 2023

By: Lucila Del Aguila;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

Cuando el candidato anticorrupción Bernardo Arévalo ganó en agosto la presidencia de Guatemala, sus seguidores urbanos salieron a las calles en jubilo. Dos meses después, todavía siguen allí, pero no celebrando, sino protestando en contra de los ataques de la fiscal general guatemalteca hacia la elección de Arévalo. Este mes, las manifestaciones se propagaron a nivel nacional al convocar las autoridades indígenas a una huelga exigiendo la renuncia de la fiscal. El liderazgo de las protestas por parte de los pueblos indígenas marginados de Guatemala conlleva tanto peligro como promesa. La inestabilidad en las regiones rurales empobrecidas podría provocar olas adicionales de migrantes hacia la frontera de Estados Unidos.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

Guatemala: Indigenous Leaders Take Democracy Campaign Nationwide

Guatemala: Indigenous Leaders Take Democracy Campaign Nationwide

Friday, October 20, 2023

By: Lucila Del Aguila;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

When anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo won Guatemala’s presidency in August, his urban supporters took to the streets in celebration. Two months later, they are still there, not in celebration but in protest against challenges to Arévalo’s election led by the country’s attorney general. This month, the protests went national when Indigenous authorities called a strike demanding the attorney general’s resignation. The participation of Guatemala’s marginalized Indigenous peoples in nationwide protests holds both peril and promise. Instability in the impoverished rural hinterland could send additional waves of migrants toward the U.S. border. But the Indigenous population’s defense of elections could also prove a watershed moment for Guatemalan democracy.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

Mary Speck on Guatemala’s Protests

Mary Speck on Guatemala’s Protests

Monday, October 16, 2023

By: Mary Speck, Ph.D.

President-elect Bernardo Arevalo’s electoral victory in August “has not sat well with the political establishment” in Guatemala, says USIP’s Mary Speck, and their attempts to undermine the transition have been met by popular protests led by Indigenous leaders advocating “on behalf of democracy.”

Type: Podcast

Global Policy

La movilización juvenil genera esperanza para el futuro democrático de Guatemala

La movilización juvenil genera esperanza para el futuro democrático de Guatemala

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

By: Miriam Psychas

El 20 de agosto, los guatemaltecos votaron decisivamente a favor de Bernardo Arévalo en la segunda vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales, dando paso al que probablemente será el presidente más progresista del país en décadas. En apenas dos meses, el Partido Movimiento Semilla de Arévalo condujo una campaña de bajo presupuesto impulsada, desde las redes sociales, que llevó a un candidato poco conocido a una victoria aplastante de 20 puntos.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceYouth

Youth Mobilization Sparks Hope for Guatemala’s Democratic Future

Youth Mobilization Sparks Hope for Guatemala’s Democratic Future

Monday, August 28, 2023

By: Miriam Psychas

On August 20, Guatemalans voted decisively in favor of Bernardo Arévalo in their runoff presidential election, ushering in what will likely be the country’s most progressive president in decades. In just two months, Arévalo’s Movimiento Semilla party used its low-budget, social media-fueled campaign to propel him from obscure underdog candidate to a 20-point landslide victory.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceYouth

¿Cómo deberían responder los Estados Unidos a la influencia China en América Latina?

¿Cómo deberían responder los Estados Unidos a la influencia China en América Latina?

Monday, August 28, 2023

By: Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Gen. Alberto Mejia

El 21 de agosto, el Parlamento Centroamericano – organismo regional regional que representa a Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, la República Dominicana y Panamá – votó a favor de expulsar a Taiwán como observador permanente y sustituirlo por la República Popular China (RPC).

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Policy