An emergency rally was held in Tower Grove Park by various local organizations in support of Guatemalan Democracy on Tuesday, Oct. 17. The rally was in support of President-Elect Bernardo Arévalo, an anti-corruption politician, and to call on the international community to support democracy in Guatemala at a precarious time for the country.
Protests have sprung up across the country demanding the incumbent government respect the results and demand a smooth peaceful transition of power. The rally in St. Louis was organized in solidarity with the ongoing protests in the country.
Protests rose after Arévalo won the runoff in Guatemala’s presidential election in a landslide, capturing 60% of the vote in August. Even though his margin of victory was large, he has faced repeated attempts to thwart his assumption of the office by the country’s attorney general Maria Consuelo Porras and other actors opposed to his presidency. The same actors have sought to weaken Arévalo’s political party, Movimiento Semilla.
Multiple groups were in attendance at the rally, including the St. Louis Interfaith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA), Mutual Aid Overland, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the Green Party.
Angel Flores Fontánez, a 34-year-old PhD history student at Saint Louis University is a community organizer with the IFCLA.
When asked why he was attending the rally, he responded that he wanted to “put his actions where his mouth is” and show solidarity with the pro-democracy movement in Guatemala.
Fontánez, who is originally from Puerto Rico, said his deep involvement with local Latin American communities compelled him to take action.
Fontánez said he sees parallels between what is happening in Guatemala to the riots on Jan. 6.
“This is extremely similar to the Jan. 6, [2021], event here, it is extremely [similar]. They are backed by big interests and big money and ultra-right politicians,” Fontánez said.
Fontánez said he wants the international community to respond.
“The U.N. has already condemned the actions of the current government in Guatemala and has asked to respect the will [of the people]. We definitely want to continue to have that international pressure in Guatemala and support the will of the people and support the protestors,” Fontánez said.
Fontánez noted that because of U.S. intervention in Guatemala during the Cold War, they have a duty to support democracy in the present.
“The United States has responsibility on this, not only in the past but in the present to push forward what the people want, which is the Semillas Party to take power,” Fontánez said.
Haley Milner, a 31-year-old local immigration lawyer who was at the rally with the PSL said she attended because she wanted to “stand in solidarity” with her clients and the local Latin American community.
“The UN and the U.S. should stop interfering and let the Guatemalan people speak for themselves and allow this candidate to hold office as the people have voiced their opinion as wanting him to do,” Milner said.
The U.S., for its part, has condemned the actions of the incumbent government and has floated the idea of putting sanctions on Guatemala if the incumbent government does not relent its efforts to block Arévalo from becoming president. Attorney General Porras in 2021 was put on a list of undemocratic and corrupt actors by the State Department.
Milner is skeptical of direct intervention by the U.S. if the incumbent government does not cease its efforts to block Arévalo from seeking office.
“Based on the U.S.’s track record of meddling in Latin American elections to the detriment of the people of Latin America, I would prefer if the U.S. would stay out of it,” Milner said.
