CITY OF GUATEMALA.- The Corte de Constitucionalidad de Guatemala has just submitted a request from the Minister General of Finance, Consuelo Porras, to withdraw the inmunidad President of the Republic of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, in order to initiate proceedings, and this, given moderate political tensions in the country.
When the court once judged Porras’ request, he argued that Arévalo and some of his officials had a judicial decision prohibiting him from taking action against the tax office and his team. This dispute exacerbates the confrontation between the actors since Arévalo assumed the presidency at the end of 2024.
Porras, who was blessed for alleged acts of corruption, has been met with outrage from critics such as those from Guatemala. The United States and the European Union have complained of “corruption” and suspected their intentions to protect the Arévalo government, especially because of the persecution by the Semilla party, which was legally suspended.
The president Arévalo is one of the critics of most of Porras’ directors, considering him an “advocacy” for democracy in Guatemala. Since he was unable to achieve his objectives, the mandate requested his resignation on several occasions, leaving the province with the previous government and handing him the paper while the erosion of the state in the country decreased. In response to Porras’ intentions, Arévalo filed a request with the Supreme Court to withdraw the immunity for tax reasons, but this request was also reclaimed.
The conflict between Arévalo and Porras sparked a deep conflict in Guatemala’s judicial system, which has been the subject of controversy in recent years, promoting investigations against journalists, judges and activists investigating corruption cases during the mandate of President Alejandro Giammattei and, in general, dealing with the independence of the judiciary and the use of weapons as a political army.
During the blockade of the Constitutional Court following Porras’ intentions, President Arévalo continued to demand reform impulses. In May I presented a project in which I had decreed the power to abolish the General Tax Office by the Plenipotentiary General, although the initiative was not passed in Congress and Porras was sent under his burden until the final mandate in 2026.
When this happened, Guatemala’s political landscape was shaken by uncertainty, while institutions fell into a climate of deconfiscation and polarization.
Source: With information from AFP
