Protests for democracy in Guatemala immobilises country for second week

There is growing tension in Guatemala because supporters of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo have been protesting for a second week.

The protesters want Attorney-General Consuelo Porras to step down from her position.

They say that Ms Porras planned to stop Mr Arévalo, who promised to fight corruption, from becoming the leader.

On Monday, some of the protests that were calm before became aggressive.

Some people wearing masks threw rocks and broke windows at a protest near the National Palace of Culture in Guatemala City.
Efe news agency reported that around 200 troublemakers joined the peaceful protest and caused problems. These troublemakers threatened the protesters, press members, and got into clashes with the police.

A person in the government, Napoleón Barrientos Girón, later said that the violence was caused by “groups of people who had joined secretly”. “MrBarrientos said that we are running after them and catching them. ”

The fights happened on the eighth day in a row of demonstrations by Mr Arévalo’s followers. He had won the presidential election in August by a big margin.

Just a few hours after he won by a large margin, the political party he leads called Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement), was temporarily stopped by Guatemala’s top election authority, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

Many people believe that his political party suspended him in order to prevent Mr. Arévalo, who is not an experienced politician and has been fighting against corruption, from becoming officially recognized in January as previously planned.
MrArévalo himself called it a coup d’état. His followers are now going out to the streets to ask for the removal of Consuelo Porras, who they believe is trying to stop Mr Arévalo, from her role as attorney-general.

Ms Porras is saying that Mr Arévalo’s party did not follow the proper procedures to become officially registered. However, some people who disagree with her say that she only started looking into this issue after Mr Arévalo did well in the first round of the election and secured a place in the next round.

The protests got worse last week when protesters stopped cars from using important roads all over the country. The blockades have made it difficult for people to get fuel and food in some areas. It has also stopped traffic on important roads.

In a TV speech to the country, the president who is leaving his position, Alejandro Giammattei, asked the protesters to remove the blockades. He said the blockades were against the law, causing a shortage of supplies and endangering the lives of Guatemalan people.

He also requested Mr. Arévalo to meet with mediators from the Organization of American States (OAS) to make sure that the transfer of power on January 14th, when President Giammattei’s term ends, happens peacefully.