Local opinion: Recent events bode well for Guatemala, U.S., and Arizona

Guatemala has long been associated with corruption, dictatorship, poverty, and violence. The U.S. has unfortunately been complicit in tolerating and, often, fostering these practices. Fortunately, recent events in Guatemala, and actions by the U.S. government, give us hope for thinking that these practices may finally be changing.

The pivotal year for U.S.-Guatemala relations was 1954. For the first time in its history, Guatemala was on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged democracy with the election of a new president. But because he wanted to nationalize the holdings of an American fruit company, the CIA overthrew the president and installed a client government that was more compliant to U.S. demands and interests.

For more than four decades, the United States backed a string of brutal Guatemalan dictators who squelched democracy and committed terrible human rights abuses. Successive U.S. presidents deemed it in America’s interests to support these corrupt dictators in exchange for American corporations having access to the Guatemalan market, and American companies profited from this cynical bargain. The American support for Guatemalan dictators lasted until 1996, when the country’s long-running civil war finally ended.

American policy displaced and impoverished millions of Guatemalan indigenous people and small farmers. Lacking safety and economic opportunities in their home country, they fled to the U.S., constituting the second-largest undocumented Hispanic immigrant group in 2021.

The good news is that, for the first time in decades, there has been a recent glimmer of hope for Guatemala. In 2023, to the surprise of nearly everyone, Guatemalans elected a reformist candidate, Bernardo Arevalo, for president, who ran on a platform of combating corruption and promoting democracy.

This historic occasion signaled not just a break with Guatemala’s past but also a break in U.S. foreign policy towards that country. Although the U.S. had officially stopped supporting Guatemalan dictators, the notorious corruption in the country had been quietly tolerated as recently as the Trump administration. However, when Arevalo won and corrupt, conservative forces in the country’s elite sought to prevent him from taking power, the U.S., to its credit, worked to make sure democracy had a chance to succeed.

President Biden congratulated Arevalo by name in a statement, which let the Guatemalans know that the U.S. was watching. Treasury officials slapped sanctions on a close friend of the former president for bribery, and the State Department revoked the visas of prominent Guatemalan businesspeople as punishment for their attempt to stymie democracy. Diplomats and military officials also exerted behind the scenes pressure on Guatemalan officials who tried to prevent Arevalo from assuming office. These American efforts successfully bore fruit when Arevalo was sworn in on Jan. 14.

There are two reason Americans — and Arizonans in particular — should applaud the recent efforts to promote democracy in Guatemala. First, as support increases for authoritarian dictators in this country and around the world, the democratic victory in Guatemala is a light during dark times for those of us who believe in democracy. It is also a hopeful change from past U.S. support for authoritarian dictators in Guatemala.

Second, the recent closure of border entry points in Lukeville, Nogales, and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border happened because desperate people will do anything for a chance at a better life. One way to stem the tide of these desperate people is to ensure they have a safe political environment and can flourish economically in their home countries so they will not have to emigrate to the U.S.

The recent win for democracy in Guatemala is a great thing for that nation and for the U.S. It could improve Guatemalans’ lives and stem the tide of migrants. Let us hope that President Biden, and whoever is elected in November, will continue to support democracy in Guatemala, the U.S., and around the world.