The Foreign Ministry says it respects the outcome of the recent presidential election in Guatemala, and has no comment on the suspended transition of power.
Following Legislator Bernardo Arévalo’s election win in June, Guatemala’s Attorney General officials have raided the office of Arévalo’s party, The Seed Movement. Last week, the officers also raided the electoral facilities, including the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal, an independent constitutional body that certified Arévalo as the winner of the presidential election.
In response, Arévalo has withdrawn from the transition process, and his supporters have taken to the streets to protest the raids.
U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States said in a statement on Monday that the actions of the country’s Public Ministry were “anti-democratic”. President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned about the risk of a coup d’etat in Guatemala aimed at preventing the duly elected candidate from taking office during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday.
Taiwan Latin America office deputy director Chang Tzu-hsin (張自信) addressed the issue on Thursday. Chang says Taiwan respects the outcome of the election and will continue to monitor the situation closely. Chang adds that the post-election procedures are still ongoing and that there is no special situation or insurrection at the moment. Chang says Taiwan will continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the new government based on the traditional friendship between the two countries.
Guatemala is one of Taiwan’s 13 remaining official diplomatic allies. Outgoing Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei also gave a speech at the UNGA on Tuesday. In it, he expressed support for Taiwan, asking how the U.N. could exclude Taiwan given its significant contributions to science, technology, and medicine. He also pushed back against Brazilian President Lula’s criticisms, saying he would hand over the presidency to the winner of the election and condemned what he called “unnecessary international involvement.”
