“Freedom of the press is part of our society”

Mario Búcaro, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, met briefly with France 24 en Español in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the host country of the 2023 Ibero-American Summit, which brings together delegations from 22 Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America and in Europe. Under the motto “Together under a fair and sustainable Ibero-America”, the summit seeks to find common lines and actions in the fight against climate change, against food insecurity and in favor of closing the digital gaps in the region.

Búcaro is the highest representative of the Guatemalan delegation, in the absence of the president, Alejandro Giammattei.

What does Guatemala extract from the Ibero-American Summit?

The Ibero-American forum is a space for political dialogue but also for reaching agreement on the cooperation projects that we have throughout Ibero-America and Latin America. Without a doubt, what we extract from this great conference is, first, the business forum where more than a thousand businessmen were able to be part of the process, providing opportunities. It is transcendental that we begin to see that cooperation must include this work component of the private sector, civil society and the Government, all working on the challenges of a world that is now undergoing a restructuring process, of course affected by all common problems. such as climate change or armed conflicts.

He met bilaterally with the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares. What opportunities do you see in the relationship between Guatemala and the European Union?

We were recently in Madrid, Guatemala was one of the host countries of the Fitur (the International Tourism Fair of Spain) and we had the opportunity to talk with the King and with President Sánchez. We were drawing up an important agenda to be able to promote that link that we need in view of the presidency of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and the presidency that Spain will hold [del Consejo de la UE] in the second half of 2022, a presidency that will be a great opportunity to strengthen ties and start working on the association treaty and the commercial pillar of our countries so that together we can create those opportunities.

Do you think that the war in Ukraine has made Europe look more towards Latin America?

Without a doubt, Guatemala raises its voice for Ukraine, we believe that this unjustified war that the Russian Federation has promoted also deserves that we begin to work together with Europe on issues such as the promotion of peace, justice, human rights that the Ukrainian people also deserve to have after this terrible conflict. (…) There are many internally displaced people in the world, Guatemala has also received Ukrainian refugees and we believe that it is important that we can provide all the elements that make an effective bridge so that we can grow together and get ahead of this conflict.

Migration has been one of the axes of the Summit. What is Guatemala doing to guarantee the human rights of migrants passing through your country?

Guatemala’s immigration policy is a very clear policy, we believe in orderly, safe and regular migration. We have added the “optional” component, and I mention the word optional because we have mobility programs to the United States, Mexico and Canada that allow workers to go temporarily through the processes that are done with the Governments. But we also have to understand that climate change has worsened this migration and Guatemala has been a transit country. We are working with the White House on these elements, because we are part of the return and reintegration group. Our migration policy is extremely clear, we do not tolerate human trafficking for any reason (…) We have sentences ranging from 30 to 50 years, we cannot allow our children and families to be used as merchandise and that is why Our policy is very clear: zero tolerance for human trafficking and inter-institutional work for the principles of shared responsibility.

Another axis of the summit is the protection of the environment. However, Guatemala is one of the countries with the most murders of environmental defenders in the world. How can this paradox be explained?

When you evaluate the advances that Guatemala has made in terms of human rights, the elements that we have to work with today, we have to assess two issues: the first, the principle of in dubie pro reo [en caso de duda, se favorece al acusado, es decir, se mantiene la presunción de inocencia] (…) Justice for those who deserve today this issue of clarifying any fact is universal for all Guatemalans and, of course, we will continue to fight this problem (…) This is a scourge that affects all countries, but Guatemala will not allow impunity and we will continue working to find out the truth for those defenders who have fought for just causes.

Corruption is an endemic problem in Guatemala. How is the country fighting this issue?

The White House and other organizations, especially the EU, have recognized the work of the Presidential Commission in the fight against corruption. We have transparency portals that are visible to all the people, for us the fight against corruption is fundamental and of course President Alejandro Giammattei has qualified it that way.

Why did Giammattei not attend the Summit?

We have a very intense agenda, the president is concluding a very important departmental tour, because this weekend the registration process for the census is ending, which gives free passage to start the electoral campaign in Guatemala in the first round [que tendrá lugar el 23 de junio de este año]. We hope that, without a doubt, our friends will join us to follow up on this party.

What expectations do you have for the first round of the elections?

An important electoral holiday, Guatemala has a strong, vibrant democracy, every four years we have the opportunity to elect our leaders, we have elections for mayors, parliamentarians for the Central American Parliament and parliamentarians for our Congress in a single day, so we are happy about that .

We know that you defend the separation of powers in Guatemala, but we wanted to ask you about the case of journalist José Rubén Zamora, in pretrial detention. How do you rate that case?

We are very respectful of the judiciary, but we respect the coverage that you are giving [al caso], since it shows that freedom of the press is part of our society. Of course, it has been a public trial that also has the characteristic of in dubio pro reo, no one can be sentenced unless summoned and defeated in court. He is having the opportunity to defend himself in the different forums that we have, we have a system that has made great progress in the accusatory system and, thanks to the coverage that the media have given him, today we can see how the system works.