President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro (left), and the president-elect of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo (right). Photo: HispantTV.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro has strongly condemned the coup attempt in Guatemala that has been denounced by president elect of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo.
“Coup and crime threaten our democracies, which can only be defended by the legitimacy of the sovereignty of the people in the streets and at the ballot box,” the Honduran president wrote on Sunday, September 3, on her social media, expressing her support for Arévalo.
Condeno enérgicamente el intento de Golpe en Guatemala denunciado por el presidente electo @BArevalodeLeon. El golpismo y el crimen amenazan nuestras democracias, solo defendida por la legitimidad de la soberanía del pueblo en las calles y en las urnas.
— Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (@XiomaraCastroZ) September 3, 2023
Arévalo, who was elected president of Guatemala in the second round of the presidential elections held on August 20, denounced a coup plot to prevent him from taking office, despite having won the votes of millions of Guatemalans.
“There is a group of corrupt politicians and officials who refuse to accept this result and have set in motion a plan to break the constitutional order and violate democracy,” said Arévalo on Friday, September 1, after the political status of his party, Semilla Movement, was suspended by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
Thereafter, the Guatemalan parliament refused to recognize the party and declared its five legislators as “independent” members.
President-elect Arévalo denounced this move as “spurious, illegitimate, and illegal,” and pointed out that there are still four months before the inauguration, during which “the political mafias would try to consummate a coup d’état.”
He called on the Guatemalan society to “join forces in defense of democracy and total respect for the will of the people.”
Thousands of Guatemalans, shouting slogans such as “my vote should be respected” and “down with coup plotters,” took to the streets on Saturday, September 2, to demand respect for their vote.
(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
