Bernardo Arévalo requests impeachment against the attorney general and that the protection that protects her be revoked

Disagreements between Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Attorney General Consuelo Porras continue.

The president filed this week a request for impeachment so that the official can answer for the alleged crimes of violation of the Constitution and abuse of authority, after Porras ask the Constitutional Court to prosecute Arévalo for allegedly taking “political and financial measures” against the institution he heads.

“Today we are witnessing an illegal and desperate attack, led by prosecutor Consuelo Porras from the Public Ministry. (…) We will do what is required within the framework of the law so that she effectively leaves office to the extent that she has become an obstacle to justice,” Arévalo said at a press conference on Thursday.

In addition to requesting a preliminary hearing against Porras, the Guatemalan president has asked that the protection that protects her from being removed from office be withdrawn. Since Arévalo assumed the presidency of Guatemala has sought the resignation of Porras, whom he accuses of not investigating the corruption of previous governments.

“We urge the Justice System to stop being a victim of extortion and blackmail by a corrupt minority and to strictly adhere to the law to stop the cycle of darkness and abuse by the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Arévalo added.

Once again, both officials raised the tone of the discussions, which They began when Arévalo was running for president of the Central American country in 2023, where he emerged the winner of the contest.

Since then, Porras’s office has been conducting an open investigation into the results of that election. It recently asked the constitutional court to allow it to investigate the Guatemalan president, who enjoys immunity because of his position.

Another Prejudice

This is not the first time that Arévalo has requested a preliminary hearing against the official. At the end of February, the General Secretariat of the Presidency submitted the first request, after Porras initially refused to attend a meeting with Arévalo.

For Porras, Arévalo issues “irresponsible statements” and uses a “perverse narrative that threatens the country’s democracy and institutions.”

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