Guatemalans block highways and demand resignation of president and attorney general

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Thousands of Guatemalans have blocked several highways this Thursday (29) to demand the resignations of the country’s president and attorney general, Alejandro Giammattei, and Consuelo Porras, respectively, whom they accuse of corruption.

The blockades are part of a national strike called by several social sectors, as part of protests against the removal on July 23 of the anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval, dismissed by Porras.

Since the early hours of Thursday, the demonstrators have stopped traffic in the access to Guatemala City from both the north and west, specifically blocking Calle Martí and El Periférico, where thousands of vehicles circulate daily.

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Among them, several indigenous and peasant organizations, 48 Cantones de Totonicapán, and the Xinca Parliament have also fulfilled their promises to block highways in 20 of the 22 departments (provinces) that make up Guatemala, thus giving life to the national strike.

The main demand of Guatemalans is the resignation of President Giammattei, to whom they attribute the inability of his government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and alleged acts of corruption disclosed by Sandoval.

They are also demanding the removal of Porras from office for the dismissal of Sandoval, who left for exile a day later and whose departure has caused the United States to suspend its relationship with the entity under Porras’ command.

Sandoval, who has received the backing of several sectors, including the US State Department, was in charge of high-impact cases and, as he revealed, had three ongoing investigations into corruption cases allegedly involving the president.

During the last six years, the prosecutor led the anti-corruption fight in Guatemala and, together with the extinct International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), sent to prison more than 200 people, including former presidents, high officials, elite people in business, and congress members for corruption.

The protests have the endorsement and legal permission of the Constitutional Court (CC), the highest legal instance in Guatemala. Still, the entity asked the inhabitants to guarantee freedom of movement, commerce, work, health, and security.