Protests continue in Guatemala against President and Attorney General | Due to the mismanagement of the pandemic

Guatemala’s roads continue to be blocked for the second day in a row to demand the resignation of President Alejandro Giammattei, allegedly involved in corruption cases, and the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, whose decision to impeach the head of the special prosecutor Against Impunity (FECI), Juan Francisco Sandoval, has been widely rejected by Guatemalan society.

“This government is full of incompetent, thieves, corrupt, murderers. Quit now,” said one of the citizens who participated in the blockade of a main road in the municipality of Chisec, in the northern department. of Alta Verapaz, quoted by the newspaper. Free press. This Friday demonstrations were recorded in the departments of Retalhuleu and Suchitepéquez (south), Quiché (north-west) and Alta Verapaz (north), reported the General Directorate of Road Safety and Protection.

According to the morning Free press, the inhabitants of 20 communities gathered on the Carlos Castillo Armas Bridge, at kilometer 178.5, Santa Cruz Muluá. “We are continuing our fight, we are aware that we are touching part of the population, but we must stop being silent and be heard,” said one of the community leaders in the Guatemalan morning. “This year’s harvest was bad, we lost most of our crops and we continue to wait for the subsidy offered by the government, we got into debt, we pay our taxes, our communities have been forgotten”, a- he added.

The villagers then cleared the bridge and mobilized in a massive march. “The people are in the streets to demand the resignation of the President of the Republic and Attorney General Consuelo Porras, we demand that the millions they have stolen be returned, we are fed up with so much corruption”, they declared from the Community Council. Leaders.

In the demonstrations They demand Giammattei’s resignation for his alleged involvement in corruption cases and mismanagement in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic in Guatemala. In Central America, it is the country that records the highest number of deaths from the coronavirus with more than 10,000 deaths. So far, the country has only received 550,000 doses of the vaccine.

While the decision of prosecutor Porras to dismiss Sandoval was also rejected by the Guatemalan population. The former FECI prosecutor had played an important role through his work with the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) which led to the dismantling of over 60 corrupt state structures between 2014 and 2018, including the capture of former President Otto Pérez Molina in 2015. During his tenure as head of FECI, he indicted more than 200 people including MPs, ministers, civil servants, members of the business elite and presidents and former presidents.

Sandoval, who left the country after his dismissal out of fear for his physical integrity, assured at a press conference before leaving the country that the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, had arrested and delayed investigations into corruption cases involving Giammattei and his government.

This Friday, the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Guatemala admitted having dealt with an amparo filed by deputies from several benches after Porras’ decision to dismiss Sandoval. MEPs reported that The CSJ gave the Porras public prosecutor’s office 48 hours to report on Sandoval’s dismissal.

As the international impact of Sandoval’s sacking adds voices. In a joint statement, the embassies of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland accredited to Guatemala, and members of the G13 donor group, demanded that the government resumes the fight against corruption and impunity. . . . “We regret the actions of the Attorney General in the recent dismissal of the special prosecutor against impunity. This fact is seen as part of a pattern of instability and institutional weakening that affects the rule of law in Guatemala. “They indicated it in the text.

“Those who fight against impunity and corruption, such as the human rights ombudsperson, prosecutors and independent judges, must be given the strongest support and all possible guarantees and protections in order to carry out their work independently and efficiently, ”they added.

Sandoval traveled to Washington after his expulsion and exile from Guatemala. On Friday, the lawyer met with the State Department’s Under Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Julie Chung, who stressed the importance of strengthening institutions and fighting corruption.

This Thursday, the head of the prosecution, Consuelo Porras, sent a letter to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in which she justified the dismissal of the head of the special prosecution against impunity. According to Porras, the decision to remove Sandoval from his post was due to his repeated disregard for the orders given to him. The State Department had criticized the attorney general’s decision, saying Sandoval was recognized as a champion in the fight against corruption.