Confusion mounts as inauguration of Guatemala's Arevalo delayed

The events leading up to Arevalo's inauguration underscore Guatemala's fragile rule of law, with the country pushed to the brink of a governance crisis that could limit his ability to rule and keep campaign pledges to root out bad political actors, fight organized crime and create new jobs. Despite its overwhelming victory in the presidential elections, Semilla - a social democratic, environmentalist and progressive party - barely achieved 23 of the 160 seats in the legislature.

Tensions were rising on Sunday as confused supporters of Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arevalo waited outside Congress while his inauguration was delayed without explanation and a swearing-in of new Congress members scheduled earlier still had not happened.

Demonstrators pushed through barricades and were threatening to storm Guatemala's Congress after the unexplained delay to induct Congressional lawmakers Sunday morning. By the time Arevalo's planned inauguration was due to begin at 3 p.m. local time, the first session still had not started. Arevalo's Semilla party sent a message on social media platform X at 4 p.m. saying Arevalo was officially the president of Guatemala, though the message appeared to be deleted several minutes later.

A spokesperson for Semilla told Reuters that Arevalo was currently at a hotel in Guatemala City. Guatemala's top court earlier on Sunday decided that lawmakers from Semilla party will not take office affiliated with their party but as independents, a move that blocks them from joining Congress' board of directors and weakens the new president's ability to wield power.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro called for Guatemala's legislative assembly to fulfill the "constitutional mandate" of Arevalo's inauguration in a message shared on X. "The people and the powers of the state of Guatemala must support the President (Arevalo)," Castro said.

Vowing to restore democracy and banish deep-rooted corruption in Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America with 17.1 million people, Arevalo, 65, won the August presidential run-off in a sweeping victory. In the months after, Guatamala's attorney general - seen as an ally of outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei - has intensified attempts to discredit Arevalo's victory and hinder his transition.

The attorney general has tried to strip Arevalo and his Vice President-elect Karin Herrera of legal immunity, suspend his Semilla party and annul the election. The "coup" attempt, as Arevalo terms it, has drawn tens of thousands of Guatemalans to the streets and the international community, including the United States, has piled vast pressure on Giammattei's administration to proceed with the transition of power. The events leading up to Arevalo's inauguration underscore Guatemala's fragile rule of law, with the country pushed to the brink of a governance crisis that could limit his ability to rule and keep campaign pledges to root out bad political actors, fight organized crime and create new jobs.

Despite its overwhelming victory in the presidential elections, Semilla - a social democratic, environmentalist and progressive party - barely achieved 23 of the 160 seats in the legislature. That makes Arevalo more vulnerable to ongoing political attacks, experts said.

"Actions to criminalize Arevalo and other members of the party could continue," said Ana Maria Mendez, Central America director of the Washington Office on Latin American Affairs (WOLA), a rights group. The attorney general's office has denied that it is attempting a coup and defended its actions as within the framework of Guatemala's laws.