The Year Arevalo Returned to Guatemalan History Books

Carlos Barrera
Sunday, October 22, 2023

Sunday, October 22, 2023
Carlos Barrera
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Months ago, Bernardo Arévalo was the discreet leader of a small party’s caucus of seven congressional representatives, practically unknown outside Guatemala's capital. On August 20, when he notched a 21-point victory in the presidential race, he appeared before thousands of supporters who flocked to the streets to celebrate what appeared to be a loop in history. The last and only Arévalo to don the presidential sash was his father, Juan José Arévalo Bermejo, in March 1945, on the heels of a coup and subsequent free election that marked the definitive end of the military dictatorship of Jorge Ubico (1931-1944).

These are days when state-sponsored election lawfare again threatens to derail the democratic electoral process. In July and August, leaders of Arévalo’s party, Semilla, formed two teams: one legal and the other political. The latter worked to win the presidential run-off against veteran politician Sandra Torres, while the former fended off the Guatemalan Attorney General's efforts to suspend the party following Arévalo’s shocking June 25 primary victory.

El Faro accompanied Arévalo in the final days before August 20 as he toured western Guatemala, where Torres’ UNE party has historically dominated. He visited Santa Cruz del Quiché, Huehuetenango, and towns as remote as Tejutla, almost 300 kilometers northwest of the capital, in the border department of San Marcos.

Arévalo has tried to both tap into and downplay the legacy of his father, fondly remembered by many elderly Guatemalans and their parents, whether urbanite or campesino. “I am not my father,” he has insisted since June 25, but the historical meaning of the president-elect’s promises to usher in a “new democratic springtime” is lost on no-one.

More:
https://elfaro.net/en/202310/ef_photo/27122/the-year-arevalo-returned-to-guatemalan-history-books