2023-06-25 05:39:18
He should have been campaigning as the first round of the presidential election is played this Sunday, June 25 in Guatemala. But Jordan Rodas is exiled to Spain, 10,000 km from his running mate, Thelma Cabrera, who remained in the country.
This left-wing tandem, formed by an activist from the Mayan community Mam and the former human rights prosecutor, did not suit the government, so he was automatically disqualified. “We are not surprisedexplains Jordan Rodas, from his Basque exile. They were afraid that a hopeful political project would overshadow them. »
Disappearance of the anti-corruption body
The democratic space has been considerably reduced in this Central American country of 18 million inhabitants, between prohibited candidacies, convictions of former civil servants and closures of media critical of power. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said at the end of March “preoccupied” by the disqualification of these aspirants “for apparently arbitrary reasons”.
The country had however realized “significant progress” to judge the crimes committed during the civil war (1960-1996), estimates Mika Kanervavuori, representative in Guatemala of the HCDC. Just like in the fight against corruption with the establishment of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) responsible for cleaning up a corrupt administration. “The dissolution in 2019 of the Cicig by the regime is the inflection point”points Emilio Gutierrez, former columnist ofThe newspaperexiled in Mexico City.
70% increase in acts of harassment against civil servants
“Part of the economic and political elite has reorganized to hinder democratic progress. They had a lot to lose with this Commission,” says Adeline Neau, researcher at Amnesty International. OHCHR has documented a 70% increase in acts of harassment against public officials, “notably for their work in cases of corruption and serious violation of human rights », says Mika Kanervavuori.
Persecuted for his chronicles, Gutierrez is not the only one to be targeted: José Ruben Zamora, his boss at The newspaperthe leading investigative newspaper, was sentenced on June 14 to six years in prison for “money laundering”. Mika Kanervavuori parle d’une “violation of the law during the trial” and regret a “deterioration of conditions for freedom of expression”. The outlet was forced to shut down on May 15.
Three conservatives in the fight for the presidency
Former state prosecutors are also targeted: Juan Francisco Sandoval is in exile and Virginia Laparra has been in prison since February 2022. Judge Miguel Angel Galvez, who sent ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt and ex-president Otto Pérez Molina in prison, was also forced to flee. According to the democratic index established by The Economist, Guatemala scores 4.68/10. In the region, only Daniel Ortega’s Nicaragua is worse rated, with 2.5.
In this context, the outcome of this biased presidential election should be decided between three conservatives: Sandra Torres, who would have the favors of the outgoing president, in search of protection when he leaves power; Edmond Mulet and Zury Rios. The latter is none other than the daughter of former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt, author of a coup in 1982, and convicted in 2013 of “genocide” and of “crimes against humanity”. This Sunday, the abstention could be massive, around 40%. If none of the candidates obtains a majority, a second round is scheduled for August 20.
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