Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo yesterday promised to fight corruption and stand firm against global authoritarianism, in his first speech after being sworn in.
“We will not allow our institutions to be bent by corruption and impunity,” he said at the inauguration ceremony — held in Guatemala City more than nine hours late after a last-ditch effort to prevent the anti-corruption crusader from taking office.
The 65-year-old former lawmaker, diplomat and sociologist pulled off a major upset when he swept from obscurity to win elections in August last year, firing up voters weary of graft in one of Latin America’s poorest nations.
Photo: AFP
He took the oath of office after warding off a barrage of attempts to prevent him from taking power — including by prosecutors facing accusations of graft who are closely aligned with the nation’s political and economic ruling class.
The prosecutors had tried to overturn the election results and strip Arevalo — who enjoyed strong support from the international community — of immunity from prosecution. His Semilla (Seed) party had its registration suspended on fraud allegations widely seen as trumped up.
The opposition-dominated Congress on Sunday engaged in hours of tug-of-war over the status of 23 Semilla lawmakers due to the party’s suspension. The lawmakers were finally accepted and the inauguration ceremony got underway at about midnight.
With the presidential sash across his chest, Arevalo warned of “a wave of authoritarianism, the spread of intolerance, the restriction of dissent.”
“During these last months we have faced complex tensions and challenges that led many to believe that we were destined for an authoritarian setback,” he said, adding that Guatemala’s “painful passage of uncertainty” was now giving way to hope.
With Guatemala being one of 12 UN member states that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the inauguration was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Spanish King Felipe VI also attended the ceremony.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric had to leave before the ceremony, due to the lengthy delays.
In a nearby square, thousands of supporters had gathered to await the ceremony, waving flags in a festive atmosphere with music and dancing.
Indigenous Mayans had earlier lit incense and danced along to the rhythm of drums, celebrating the pending change in government.
Additional reporting by staff writer
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
RSS