Guatemala: thousands protested against government and called for president’s resignation after impeachment of anti-corruption prosecutor

Thousands of Guatemalans protested and blocked roads Thursday as part of a nationwide protest against Attorney General Consuelo Porras and President Alejandro Giammattei for the dismissal of a civil servant considered to be key in the fight against corruption.

Juan Francisco Sandoval, head of the Office of the Special Prosecutor against Impunity (FECI), an official recognized for his fight against corruption in the Central American nation and who had been hailed inside and outside the country, he was dismissed from his post a few days ago, Who This drew criticism and the US government suspended cooperation with the prosecution.

At the song of the national anthem, 10,000 people have blocked one of the country’s main roads in Cuatro Caminos since six in the morning, in the west of Guatemala, which connects several departments.

Martín Toc, the head of the 48 cantons, the largest indigenous organization in the country, told members of the organization “What are people asking for? To which the Protestants replied “they resign”. “Hear the voice of the people, for the voice of the people is the voice of God”said Toc.

“They forgot their promises. That is why today, the people of Totonicapán, the people of Guatemala, we have achieved something historic, ”he said of the blockades and demonstrations.

Mario Menchú, president of the 14 communities of San Cristóbal Totonicapán, told the demonstrators: “We want Consuelo Porras to resign from her post. We demand it on behalf of all people”. He also explained that the promises of the Giammattei government, in reference to structural improvements in the country, have not been kept.

The protests spread to almost every 22 departments.

Laura Aguiar placeholder imageThe secretary general of the Association of University Students Oliverio de León, of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, said that only people are showing and denouncing corruption in the country. “We are the change … We demand the resignation of Consuelo Porras and President Giammattei”Said Aguiar.

Chamber of Commerce they rejected the locks and they said they are illegal.

Regarding the protests which were concentrated at the headquarters of the prosecution service, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Communication declared that the body “respects the right to demonstrate and the right to freedom of expression, the fundamental basis of a rule of law and democracy”.

Indigenous, peasant, student, professional, small business, market and other organizations have announced that they were joining a national strike against Porras and Giammattei. Various migrant groups in the United States have also said they will lead demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the Guatemalan diplomacy in support of actions in Guatemala.

In Quiché Indigenous authorities took to the streets on Wednesday to inform banks, markets and transporters that on Thursday they would shut down streets and shops join the national strike.

The United States government announced on Tuesday that it was temporarily suspending cooperation with the Guatemalan prosecution and that it had lost confidence in Porras for withdrawing Sandoval, that earlier this year the US State Department rewarded for its fight against corruption. After the sacking, Porras assigned Carla Valenzuela, a prosecutor he trusted, to head FECI.

Sandoval led a team of prosecutors who for several years succeeded in dismantling more than 60 structures of corruption and organized crime.

FECI worked alongside the International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG) an organization funded by the United Nations to disrupt the structures that co-opt the state, even going so far as to obtain the resignation of the then president Otto Perez Molina, its vice-president Roxana Baldetti, and his cabinet, which They are in prison accused of corruption.

The CICIG ended in 2019, after 12 years in power, after the Guatemalan government I would not like to renew your stay in the country after investigating allegations of corruption by then-president Jimmy Morales, who also had disagreements with the commission chief, Ivan Velasquez.

Sandoval told reporters that when he began to investigate complaints that pointed to President Giammattei of alleged acts of corruptionIn addition to members of his cabinet, Porras’ blockades of investigations have started to escalate. Giammattei has publicly stated that He is a friend of the head of the public prosecution.

Porras denied the facts and initially said he fired Sandoval for humiliation Yes disrespect, without presenting any evidence or what exactly he was talking about. A few days later, he said that Sandoval was carrying out a selective justice e ideologized.

Another of the demands of the population is the lack of vaccination, but especially the trade for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19 Sputnik V by the government, which donated nearly $ 80 million to a Russian fund last April, although just under a million doses arrived. The country has recorded 10,224 deaths from the pandemic.

(With AP information)

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