Sawt Falasteen - Guatemala's Arevalo warns of 'monumental' task to combat graft

Arevalo, 65, was sworn in shortly after midnight in a ceremony which had been held up for nine hours by bickering in Congress over the status of lawmakers from his suspended political party.

The protracted debates ratcheted up tensions after months of judicial machinations to stop Arevalo from taking office, which he and observers view as a last-ditch attempt for a corrupt elite to cling to power.

"We will not allow our institutions to be bent by corruption and impunity," Arevalo said in his first speech after being sworn in.

On his first day in office, after reviewing the troops, he told the armed forces he was facing "monumental challenges" to eradicate the corruption which had "permeated" the country.

He also hailed the attitude of the armed forces amid the "dark period" leading up to his inauguration.

The former lawmaker, diplomat and sociologist pulled off a major upset when he swept from obscurity to win elections last August, firing up voters weary of graft in one of Latin America's poorest nations.

However, his anti-corruption crusade put him in the crosshairs of prosecutors who have been accused of graft and are closely aligned with the country's entrenched political and economic ruling class.

They tried to overturn the election results and strip Arevalo, who enjoys strong support from the international community, of immunity from prosecution.

His Semilla (Seed) party also had its registration suspended on fraud allegations widely seen as trumped-up.

- 'Monster with a thousand heads' -

Guatemala, routinely ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world, is also one of Latin America's most unequal countries -- a reality that has, along with high rates of violent crime, compelled hundreds of thousands to risk the perilous migrant journey to the United States in hopes of a better life.

Arevalo will have to deliver "quick results in purging the corrupt networks that were created to loot the state," Manfredo Marroquin, co-founder of Accion Ciudadana, a local affiliate of Transparency International, told AFP.

Jordan Rodas, a former human rights attorney exiled in Washington said corrupt officials have infiltrated Congress, the judiciary, the public spending watchdog and attorney general's office.

"It is a monster with a thousand heads," he said.

He added that Arevalo would also have to ensure his own team was not lured into the network of corruption.

Arevalo takes over from Alejandro Giammattei, under whom several prosecutors fighting graft were arrested or forced into exile.

Rights groups accused Giammattei of cracking down on critical journalists.

Arevalo has said one of his first tasks as president would be to ask Attorney General Consuelo Porras to resign.

Porras, along with senior prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche and Judge Fredy Orellana, led the judicial campaign against Arevalo.

All three are listed as corrupt and undemocratic by the US Justice Department.

However, analysts believe it is unlikely that Porras will agree to resign.

Arevalo is also facing an uphill battle in Congress, where he has only 23 lawmakers, with the rest of the 160 seats made up of traditional conservative parties.

- 'Scoundrel governments' -

Congratulations came in from France, as well as US President Joe Biden, who lauded Arevalo's inauguration as "testament to our shared commitment to democracy and the will of the people."

"We applaud the Guatemalan people for advancing the cause of democracy under challenging circumstances," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in another statement.

The inauguration was attended by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and Spanish King Felipe VI.

Chile's President Gabriel Boric had to leave before the ceremony, due to the lengthy delays.

Before the inauguration, Indigenous Mayans lit incense and danced along to the rhythm of drums, celebrating the pending change in government.

"We have had mediocre, corrupt, scoundrel governments that do not have the slightest love for their country, and I hope that this government does not fail the people," said Indigenous leader Alida Vicente, 43.

"There is a lot of enthusiasm. There is a lot of hope from the population."

O.Salim--SF-PST