Statement for the Congressional Record
in Support of Guatemala’s Democracy
Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
September 25, 2024

Madam President, last December I joined Senators Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, and Laphonza Butler, and Representatives Norma J. Torres and Delia C. Ramirez, on a trip to Guatemala. We arrived just weeks before the scheduled inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo, who had been elected by an overwhelming majority. The Guatemalan people had voted decisively to reject the corruption, impunity, and malfeasance that had been the hallmark of successive governments in that country.

We went to Guatemala to speak directly to Mr. Arévalo’s supporters, as well as to the powerful forces in Guatemala, including the Attorney General, opposition members of Congress, magistrates, and those who were corruptly conspiring to prevent President Arévalo from taking office. Our purpose was to make clear that if their efforts to subvert the will of the people succeeded, it would have profoundly negative long-term consequences for U.S. relations— both economic and security—for whoever illegally seized power. It would propel the country down a path of authoritarianism and economic decline much like Nicaragua, leading to further social division, political instability, and isolation

Their efforts to overturn the election and undermine the people were flagrant; the Attorney General went so far as to attempt to nullify the fair election of then President-elect Arévalo shortly after we met with officials of the outgoing administration to urge a peaceful transfer of power.

Ultimately, the efforts to prevent President Arévalo from taking office failed. But his detractors were far from defeated. They immediately set their sights on preventing President Arévalo from carrying out his anti-corruption agenda and forcing him from office. Those efforts continue today.

I mention this because I recently met with a delegation of Guatemalan Indigenous women, led by Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchú.  Although their numbers are woefully under-represented in the three branches of government, I have never met more determined and courageous women.  Women who have experienced extreme poverty, violence, and loss, yet who have become leaders in their communities and fiercely dedicated to preserving their Indigenous identity, improving the lives of their families, and defending Guatemala’s fragile democracy. 

The United States strongly supports President Arévalo, who offers the best chance Guatemala has had in decades to chart a new path for his country—a path grounded in the rule of law, in the institutions of democracy, in transparency, in accountability. And despite the efforts of the corrupt networks whose only interest is in using the institutions of power and privilege to enrich themselves, I am hopeful because President Arévalo has the support of Guatemala’s Indigenous population, exemplified by the fearless women I met this week.

They are not going to let what they won freely and fairly at the ballot box be stolen from them.  They are not going to allow a minority of crooked elites deny them and their children the chance for a better life. They have an ambitious social, economic, and political reform agenda. They are committed to working to strengthen education, economic opportunity, equality, democracy, and justice. It is in the interest of the Arévalo Administration, and the United States, to help them achieve these goals for the benefit of all Guatemalans.

View and the download the statement here.