Urgent Action for Guatemalan Democracy

APG members, along with the broader Guatemala solidarity community in Canada have sent the following letter to Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly regarding the need to defend the democratic transition that should take place in Guatemala on January 14. The swearing in of President-Elect Arevalo is still under threat from the Covenant of the Corrupt.

This letter was signed by 157 people, including 54 Canadian civil society organizations and scholars from 12 Canadian universities.

January 11, 2024

Re: Democracy and justice hang by a thread in Guatemala: Canada must do more

Dear Minister,

On behalf of 150 people from 61 Canadian civil society organizations and academic community working with Guatemalan peoples, we are writing to you today to share our deep concern about the coup attempt currently unfolding in Guatemala.

Guatemala stands at the crossroads between the recovery of a faltering democracy or the complete cooptation of the State by political and economic forces linked to organized crime. The international community’s response to this crisis – and that of Canada – could not be more important.

Since the surprise landslide presidential election victory of anti-corruption campaigner Bernardo Arévalo on August 20, the so-called “pact of the corrupt” that controls most of the Guatemalan State has sought to overturn the results. The inauguration of the new  administration and Congress is supposed to occur on January 14 but whether they will be allowed to assume office remains in doubt.

In the months following Arevalo’s victory, different branches of the Guatemalan State, including the executive, much of the legislature, the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, and the Attorney General’s office - all deeply compromised with organized crime - have taken extraordinary measures to prevent the President-elect from taking office, including a suspension order against the party that won at the ballot box, Arévalo’s Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement). Party supporters have been arrested, and magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal also threatened with prosecution. Add to that efforts to remove the legal immunity of both the president-elect and vice president-elect, as well as Semilla congressional representatives in order to prosecute them on trumped up charges, such as expressing support on social media for student pro-democracy protests. Already, other anti-corruption advocates and officials have been charged and imprisoned, or forced into exile, amid a disturbing perversion of justice in Guatemala.

In response, tens of thousands of Guatemalans, guided by Indigenous ancestral authorities, have taken to the streets to defend the democratic process and the rule of law. Huge non-violent demonstrations paralysed transport and commerce for much of October and November. Yet Congress and the Attorney General’s office only deepened their assault, forcing most of the judges of the Electoral Tribunal to leave the country and demanding that the Supreme Court annul the elections. Ancestral authorities have faced reprisals, including assassinations, threats, and criminalization.

Conflicts in the countryside are also increasing as landlords and agro-industry take advantage of the distraction caused by the undermining of the democratic transition and carry out extra-judicial displacement of Indigenous communities. We request that Canada’s diplomatic representation in Guatemala pay close attention to events in rural Guatemala during the tumultuous weeks leading to the January 14 inauguration, as stressed in a letter previously sent on Dec. 12 by Canadian civil society organizations to GAC executive director for Central America, Carolyn Knobel. 

On December 8, the Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretariat condemned what it called “the attempted coup d'état by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Guatemala”, through the cancellation of general elections, which “constitutes the worst form of democratic breakdown and the consolidation of a political fraud against the will of the people”. France has “strongly condemn[ed] attempts to challenge the results of Guatemala’s general elections” calling them “a grave threat to the transition process, the rule of law and democracy in Guatemala” .

Canada has played a positive role to date. On December 10, Canada’s Ambassador to Guatemala, Rajani Alexander, joined the ambassadors of Germany, France, Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland, and the chargé d'affaires of the United States to call publicly for full compliance with the results of the national elections. Canada’s Ambassador at the Organization of American States, Stuart Savage, has supported strong multilateral measures to pressure Guatemalan authorities to respect the election results. These are important steps. Given the high stakes, Canada must do more. 

The days leading up to the January 14 presidential inauguration are crucial for the future of Guatemala. If Arévalo can take office, he will do so with an overwhelming mandate to roll back corruption and recover the democratic institutions that have been so badly eroded during the past five years. But if the slow coup that is currently underway is allowed to succeed and Arévalo is prevented from taking office, it will be the final blow to the democratic reconstruction that has been so painstakingly built by courageous Guatemalans, with international support, following 36 years of armed conflict. 

Canada, and our allies, must make it unambiguously clear that after January 14, they will recognize no other government in Guatemala than that of President Bernardo Arevalo. The consequences that will unfold should democracy be subverted must also be crystal clear: 

  1. suspension of bilateral aid

  2. freezing Guatemalan State assets held abroad

  3. opposing further financial assistance from multilateral lending institutions, such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.  

The uneasy alliance involved in the slow coup is already beginning to fray in the face of massive, ongoing resistance by the Guatemalan people and growing pressure from the international community. If the international consequences of the democratic rupture are spelled out, it may be enough to tip the balance in favour of democracy and hope.

We count on the Government of Canada to make a strong statement supporting Arévalo and denouncing the coup attempt in Guatemala. 

We would be happy to discuss this matter further with you or members of your staff.

Sincerely, 

1

Americas Policy Group / Groupe d’orientation politique pour les Amériques

2

Maricarmen Guevara, Retired, ALBA Social Movements Canada

3

Sergio Pochon, Human Rights officer, Alternativa Latinoamericana CFRU 93.3 FM

4

Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN)

5

Maurice Shapiro, retired woodworker, BC CASA/Cafe Justicia Canada

6

BC CASA/Cafe Justicia Canada

7

Stephanie Smith, President, BC General Employees' Union

8

Kathleen Ruff, Former Director, BC Human Rights Commission

9

Bill Bargeman, Teacher ( retired), BC Teachers' Federation

10

Larry Kuehn, Retired Director of Research, BC Teachers' Federation

11

Stephen Stewart, Coffee Importer, Cafe Justicia

12

Larry Hum, Café Justicia Education in Action

13

Laura Macdonald, Professor, Carleton University

14

Lazar Konforti, Researcher, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, Unidad Regional Sureste (CIESAS-Sureste)

15

Romola V Thumbadoo, Research Associate, Carleton University, Circle of All Nations

16

Change for Children, Edmonton, Alberta

17

Roger Bélisle, Rentier de l'éducation , Citoyen engagé

18

Alexandra Henao, Education Program Director, CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev)

19

Bruna Weber, CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev)

20

Deanna Fasciani, Executive Director, CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev)

21

Rosalinda Hidalgo, Responsable des actions urgentes, Comite pour les droits humains en Amérique Latine

22

Kevin Gould, Professor, Concordia University

23

Filiberto Celada, Decolonized Solidarity Network

24

Patricia Hayward, Retired, Development and Peace

25

Ken Dent, Physician, Doctors of BC

26

Estamos aquí / We are here / Nous sommes ici

27

Marco Fonseca, Instructor, Glendon College, York University

28

Joshua Mann, Policy Analyst, Government of Canada

29

MICHAEL FORTIN, DEVELOPER, GRASSROUTES

30

Paul Weinberg, freelance writer, Independent Jewish Voices

31

Mylène Coderre, PhD, chercheure en immigration, Institut national de santé publique

32

Jen Moore, Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies - Global Economy Program

33

International Solidarity Network with Guatemala

34

Silvia Vasquez-Olguin, Latin America, Gender Justice & Extractivism Coordinator, Kairos Canada

35

Lynda Yanz, Executive Director, Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN)

36

Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

37

Arturo Ezquerro-Cañete, Maritimes Coordinator, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

38

Brian Atkinson, Retired, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

39

Coralie Cameron, Teacher, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

40

Dirk Groenenberg, Farmer, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

41

Lenora Yarkie, Retired, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

42

Yvette Michaud, Retired, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network

43

Martha Justice Ministry, Sisters of St. Martha, Antigonish

44

Cory Greenlees, Mining Justice Action Committee

45

Viviana Herrera, Latin American program coordinator, MiningWatch Canada

46

Emilie Smith, Anglican Priest, Oscar Romero Network (SICSAL)

47

Shin Imai, Professor Emeritus, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

48

Sandra Hernandez, Laboratory Technician, Ottawa-Gatineau Guatemalan Association

49

Matthew Diegel , Pastor , Our Saviour's Lutheran Church

50

People for Peace, London, Ontario

51

Brisna Caxaj Rowe , MED, Plataforma Canadá de Guatemaltecxs exiliadxs por terrorismo de estado

52

Nelly Marcoux, Consultante, Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala / Breaking the Silence Maritimes-Guatemala Network

53

Projet Accompagnement Québec Guatemala - PAQG

54

Chris Aylward, National President, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)

55

Laura Avalos, PSAC Social Justice Fund / Fonds de justice sociale de l'AFPC

56

Maritana Quaresma, Data Analyst, PUC-Rio

57

W. George Lovell, Professor of Geography, Queen's University

58

Gerald E. Rowe, PhD, Red internacional de solidaridad con Guatemala (RISG)

59

Red internacional de solidaridad con Guatemala (RISG)

60

Sabina Harpe, Past Educational Administrator - retired, Richmond School District, British Columbia

61

Grahame Russell, PhD Profesor adjunto Universidad de British Columbia, Rights Action

62

Mary Ellen Davis, Part-time faculty, School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montréal

63

Cory Rushton, Professor, StFX

64

Christie Neufeldt, Global Partnerships Coordinator - Latin America and the Caribbean, The United Church of Canada

65

Vanessa Ong, Employment Counsellor, The Working Centre

66

Tim Louis, Lawyer, Tim Louis & Company

67

Todos por / All for / Tous pour Guatemala

68

Pedro Mintejo, Carpenter, Todos Por Guatemala - Canada

69

Ulises Fuentes, Civil Engineer, Todos Por Guatemala - Canada

70

Tito Medina, Singer Songwriter, Tzijolaj Guatemala-Canada

71

United Steelworkers (USW) / Syndicat des Métallos (Métallos)

72

Karine Vanthuyne, Professeure agrégé, Université d'Ottawa

73

Marie-Dominik Langlois, Doctorante, Université d'Ottawa

74

Stephen Brown, Professeur de science politique, Université d'Ottawa

75

Etienne Roy Grégoire, Professeur régulier, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

76

Marc-André Anzueto, Professeur en développement international, Université du Québec en Outaouais

77

Hepzibah Munoz-Martinez, Professor, University of New Brunswick

78

Robert Whitney, Professor Emeritus, University of New Brunswick - St. John

79

Catherine Nolin, Professor of Geography, University of Northern British Columbia

80

Simon Granovsky-Larsen, Associate Professor, Politics and International Studies, University of Regina

81

Mélisande Séguin, Graduate student, University of Victoria

82

Cory Greenlees, Victoria Central America Support Committee

83

Irwin Oostindie, Director , Voor Urban Labs

84

Liisa North, Professor Emerita, York University

85

Robert Clarke, Government Employee (retired), activist with Central America Support Committee, Victoria

86

Abeni Steegstra, Research Associate

87

Alberto Ramos

88

Allen Specht, Retired

89

Amber Lahmann

90

Ana Calderon, Regional manager

91

Avexnim Ren

92

Barbara Wood

93

Bernard Schulz, Retired

94

Caren Weisbart

95

Carroll  Guen Hart, Retired

96

Claudia B., Community worker

97

Connie Mayor, Retired

98

Cristhian Chávez

99

David Heap, Academic & human rights advocate

100

Dimitri  Rousseau, Program Officer

101

Donald Balanoff, Retired

102

Doug Roberts,

103

Elizabeth Whelan, Teacher (retired)

104

Elizabeth Hill, Retired

105

Frank Lee, Retired

106

George Bartlett, Retired Lawyer

107

Giuliana Fumagalli, Citoyenne engagée

108

Ingrid Gomez, Business Administrator

109

Ingrid Mayrhofer, Retired

110

Jaime Calderon, Technician

111

Janet Teibo, Union representative

112

Janet St Jean, Retired

113

Jim Hodgson, Journalist

114

John Quaggin, Legal Professional

115

John Leitold, Retired teacher

116

Josiane Richer

117

Judith Cantwell, retired Social Worker

118

Katharine Laurie

119

Katheryne Schulz, Retired

120

Kim Levis, Retired

121

Kimia Eslah, Writer

122

Lee Ann Ward, Retired lawyer

123

Liliana  Oliva

124

Louella Vincent, Community Support Worker

125

Lydia Jenkinson, Retired

126

Lynn Hutchinson Lee, artist/writer

127

Marc Xuereb

128

Marcella Braggio,

129

Margaret Enwright, Church Minister

130

Maria Calderon, Engineer

131

Marie Paradis

132

Mary Dohe, Retired

133

Micah Archila, Physiotherapist

134

Olga Gladkikh, Adult educator

135

Peter Harris, Retired, CEO of charity serving  people of Guatemala

136

Steffi Black, Coach, Steffi Black Coaching

137

Carol Kysela, Trainer/mentor, Education For Ministry

138

Gordon Doctorow, Retired adjunct professor

139

Pierre LeBlanc, Retired

140

Pip Strachan, Physiotherapist

141

Rebecca MacDonald, Settlement worker

142

Roséa Lonsdale, Retired Teacher

143

Ruth Leckie, Retired educator

144

Sabrina Jeria, MA student

145

Sandra Langley

146

Sarah Ringdahl, Dr Retired

147

Sharon Ward, Retired

148

Shelley Porteous

149

Sonia Lopez, Technician

150

Steve Lloyd, Retired

151

Trudy Moul, Retired

152

Vilma Caceres, RECE

153

Walter Villeda, Trabajador

154

Wayne Mundle, Retired

155

Wendy Santizo

156

Wendy Watson Smith, Retired

157

Eric Mills, editor

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Democracy and justice hang by a thread in Guatemala