OAS describes the raid in Guatemala at the headquarters of the Seed Movement as “political persecution”

First modification: 07/23/2023 – 00:47

2 min

The Organization of American States (OAS) was not left behind after the criticism made by the United States and the European Union about what it described as “political persecution” against the Seed Movement, one of the parties that will contest the Guatemalan presidential house in the second round of elections that will take place on August 20.

The criticisms were outlined to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary of the Central American country by the electoral mission of the regional entity. The same one that participated in the first round of voting on June 25.

In a statement they “energetic” rejected the search of the respective headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and Semilla, the awning of Bernardo Arévalo, candidate for the Presidency in the second round. The OAS described the events as “political persecution”, which means, according to the Organization, a violation of the “minimum guarantees of citizens” such as due process and the presumption of innocence.

According to the OAS, this could be labeled as “serious violations of the fundamental rights enshrined in national legislation, the Constitution of the Republic and international instruments”. He also expressed his concern that Arévalo be removed from the August elections.

In a statement they “energetic” rejected the search of the respective headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and Semilla, the awning of Bernardo Arévalo, candidate for the presidency in the runoff. The OAS described the events as “political persecution”, which means, according to the Organization, a violation of the “minimum guarantees of citizens” such as due process and the presumption of innocence.

At another time, he made it clear that the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office is “obstructing the natural course of the electoral process to the detriment of an entire nation that wants to express itself freely at the polls.””. In this sense, the Constitutional Court recently expressed itself regarding the date of the second round. The high court ruled that the date for the election is maintained, as well as the two candidates who reached the second electoral instance.

Criticism from the United States and the European Union

The day before, a senior US government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, compared the situation in Guatemala with the actions of the “dictatorships” in the region, referring to Nicaragua and Cuba. “Using judicial institutions in an arbitrary and political way are actions used by authoritarian governments, not only in Latin America but in other parts of the world. We see it in Cuba and Nicaragua. It is part of the manual of dictatorships”, he expressed.

The source also let it be known that Washington is ready to “defend” the Guatemalans with the necessary tools. An example of this is the inclusion in the engel list of acts of corruption, of a judge and a prosecutor involved in the process against Semilla.

For its part, the European Union through a spokesperson of the bloc’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, highlighted that “the EU remains deeply concerned by persistent attempts to undermine the integrity of the official results of the 25 June elections”.

“Attempts to annul the election results certified by the country’s highest electoral authorities or undermine a democratic election would inevitably have an impact on Guatemala’s international relations.”, concluded the spokesman.

with EFE