A Victory for Guatemalan Democracy
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2024
⏱️ 56 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
On January 15, Bernardo Arévalo took office as the new president of Guatemala. The transfer of power had been far from assured: after Arévalo triumphed in August elections as an anti-corruption reformer, Guatemala’s political elite did their best to throw legal obstacles in his way and prevent him from taking power. His presidency represents a stunning victory for Guatemalan democracy, which has long been under threat. But there are plenty of difficulties still ahead.
To catch up on what’s been happening in Guatemala, Lawfare Senior Editor Quinta Jurecic spoke with Vaclav Masek, a Guatemalan sociologist and columnist. They discussed how Arévalo triumphed, the significance of his victory for Guatemala and the region, and what all this might tell us about the ability of democracies to resist authoritarian backsliding around the world.
If you’re interested in more on Arévalo, you can also listen to Quinta’s conversation from August with Manuel Meléndez-Sánchez about the election and Arévalo’s victory.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The following podcast contains advertising. |
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| 0:08.0 | become a material supporter of Lawfair at Patreon.com slash Lawfair. That's Patreon.com |
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| 0:27.0 | The Ministerial Public, The ministerial public, which is the public prosecutor's office, has been conducting this law fair, |
| 0:41.2 | prosecuting candidates and the extreme judicialization of the elections was the |
| 0:48.0 | culmination of these eight years of democratic backslide. |
| 0:52.5 | So Bernardo RĂ©valho comes as this beacon of hope |
| 0:56.3 | in Guadalans should have turned to him |
| 0:58.8 | in the second round in an overwhelming fashion. |
| 1:01.6 | He wins by over 25 pence difference and over a million votes. |
| 1:08.1 | So it is very clear that this marks a new era for Guatemalan politics. It is a watershed moment. |
| 1:16.3 | I'm Quinta Dresik, a senior editor at Lawfair, and this is the Lawfair podcast, |
| 1:21.7 | February 12, 2024. |
| 1:25.0 | On January 15th, Bernardo Arevalo took office as the new president of Guatemala. |
| 1:31.0 | The transfer of power had been far from assured. |
| 1:34.0 | After Aurevalho triumphed in August elections as an anti-corruption reformer, |
| 1:39.0 | Guatemala's political elite did their best to throw legal obstacles in his way and prevent him from taking power. |
| 1:46.0 | His presidency represents a stunning victory for Guatemalan democracy, which has long been under threat. |
| 1:52.2 | But there are plenty of difficulties still ahead. To catch up on |
| 1:55.8 | what's been happening in Guatemala, I spoke with Vachlav Masak, a Guatemalan sociologist |
| 2:00.4 | and columnist. We discussed how Arevoloilo triumphed the significance of his victory for Guatemala in the region |
... |
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