Gautemala Protests Against The Congress

 

The residents of Guatemala, a country in Central America, came out on the road in protest against the budget that cut the spending on health and education on November 21, 2020. 

 

Protestors said that the budget was passed by legislatures of Guatemala in secret while Central American countries were trying to recover from back-to-back hurricanes like Eta, Iota and COVID-19 pandemic.

 

People in anger protested against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature. Immediate outrage set off in Protestors and led to demonstrations across the country. 

 

Approximately ten thousand people protested against this corruption in front of the National Palace in Guatemala City. 

According to Guatemalans, it was a deceitful act by the government as they were stuck between natural disasters. 

The government silently passed this budget which overlooked people's basic needs in the middle of these natural disasters. 

The video of protest is going viral on social media showing large flames shooting out of a window of the legislative building in Guatemala City.

 

Reason Behind Protest

 

Protestors complain of legislature cutting funding of corona patients and human rights agencies but favoured almost £50,000 to pay for meals for themselves. 

Protestors were very upset by the supreme court and the attorney general actions as they are trying to weaken the fight against corruption by the Government. 

They demanded the resignation of the president, vice president and legislatures. People gathered in protest in Guatemala City which is the capital of Guatemala. 

Many protestors had also gathered in other parts of the country to protest against this 2021 budget and demanded a veto of the budget. 

 

Public broke the window of the National Congress building and set the building on fire. Protesters also set fire to some bus stations. The security and police forces fired tear gas and nightsticks on the public in order to push them back. 

 

Firefighters arrived to control the situation. Thousands of people were injured and affected by the smoke. Many people involved in damaging property were arrested but were later released. 

 

The amount of damage to the building is unspecified, but the flames seemed to have initially affected the legislative offices rather than the main hall of the congress.

 

Budget Shortcomings

 

Analysts have additionally cautioned that 33% of the spending will need to be financed by debt. The budget seems to favour the corrupted ministers. 

 

The new budget is favouring infrastructure tied to big business, ignoring poverty that is widespread in the country. 

 

Half of the children of Guatemala who are malnourished are under five years of age. This new budget also neglects the effect of hurricanes on people's livelihood.

 

Public's Views

 

Protesters think that they have endured a lot over the past few months by pandemic and hurricanes and even after which their health and education are not prioritized.

 

The general public is outraged over the poverty, injustice and way the government has stolen the public’s money. 

 

The corruption of the different governments that came into power in Guatemala over the years can be seen in the country and generations of citizens being in a state of perpetual debt. 

 

From the lack of resources to fight against the coronavirus till the new budget there is discontent against Giammattei's administration.

 

 

President Reaction

 

President Giammattei, who just came to control in January, has not reacted openly to the proposal. But after this incident, considering the public's reaction, president Alejandro Giammattei said that soon they will be holding meetings to make necessary changes in the present budget. 

 

He also said that it's people's right to protest but damage to public and private property will not be tolerated. People responsible in the act of causing fire, if found, will be punished according to law.

 

Vice President Guillermo Castillo reacted to this incident and opposed the budget. He further added that he and President Alejandro Giammattei should resign for the good of the public.

 

Castillo also mentioned regarding the firing of the government officials, vetoing the approved budget. Castillo said that he would not resign unless the president did so.

 

Result of Protest

 

The outcome of protest and violent attacks on the legislature is that the president of the Congress of Guatemala has suspended the 2021 budget approval. 

 

Leaders of congress met to discuss the budget and came at this conclusion that to maintain peace in the country they agreed to suspend this budget. 

 

Now, the budget for next year will be the same as the 2020 financial plan and will be focusing on adding spending in order to tackle COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In 2015 Guatemalan society came on the streets peacefully in rejection of allegations of corruption in the government of General Otto Pérez Molina which later led to his resignation. 

This was also followed by the resignations of his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, and his cabinet members. 

 

Now both the ex-president and Baldetti are in prison for various corruption cases. The real cause of this is that Guatemala is full of corrupt leaders. Corruption is cancer to the country's progress. 

 

Taking huge loans from the bank in order to increase the salary of Congress and cutting services to people is the best evidence of corruption prevailing in the country. 

However, if this were to continue, then today's then Guatemala will soon be another Venezuela.

 

Edited By - Christeena George 

 

Written By - Supriya Singh