In a Latin America as changing as the current one, the result of any call to the polls counts, no matter how small the country may be. This is the case of Guatemala, which will hold presidential elections next year and whose candidates are already beginning to forge the path to lead a nation located in a strategic geographic point with respect to the United States. The politician and businessman Roberto Arzú (Guatemala City, 1970), son of former president Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen, intends to take his "Make Guate Grande" further if the Cabal party confirms his candidacy next November. It would be his third attempt to become president, after the calls of 2019 and 2023. Precisely, in the latter, the Supreme Electoral Court withdrew him from the race due to accusations of early campaigning. It is not pigeonholed into any specific ideology, but it uses a language that has had a strong impact in the region for some time.
"In 2023, this corrupt system that had co-opted the institutions did not let us participate and obviously looked at our participation with fear, given that our fight has been against them. Now, we already have the resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, where the State of Guatemala had to apologize for having left me out and depriving me of my political and civil rights, to be able to participate and the people to be able to choose freely," Arzú defends himself.
Is your candidacy directed against the political system?
Not only the political system, but also in some way an elite business group that wants to continue maintaining its status quo. We know that this system is made up of them and organized crime. So, breaking the system means facing those three evils in Guatemala and we have been doing so for six years.
This time he does not appear because of the Podemos formation. He will do it with Cabal. Because?
It is a new party, its first election was last. Today it is the one with the largest bench in Congress, the largest number of mayors and, obviously, it is a strong party. That's why we decided to participate there.
He has assured on several occasions that there was a plot to prevent him from appearing. Does it still exist?
Clear. This system today has no chance of winning free and transparent elections.
There are investigations and you can read in the media that you have participated in an alleged murder attempt, which has links to drug trafficking...
This group, enemies of Guatemala more than mine, in their desperation, have come out with black, bestial, brutal, totally false campaigns, without any type of foundation, support, or evidence. We have undertaken legal issues in the US and in Guatemala against them, with proof of everything they have lied to. I think it is part of the consequences of wanting to break the system. I was persecuted, they wanted to put me in prison with the former attorney general, who was from that corrupt system. People don't believe them anymore.
With all this in mind, do you think you have a chance of winning the next elections?
We are in first place in all measurements. What this proves is that the black campaigns against us no longer resonate with the electorate. We have not moved a single millimeter in six years from our radical position against the system.
How would you define your ideology?
The truth is that it is very difficult for me to say that, because I do not believe so much in the ideological issue. If you ask me, I believe in themes that are liberal, that are conservative, that are socially very open, also very strong. The issue in Guatemala is that we must restore peace and security, give economic stability to the Guatemalan family. So, my fight is not ideological, it is what the population lives for every day.
Do you have any reference right now in Latin America?
The important thing is to copy the things that have worked in different countries, that different leaders have implemented. For example, the security issue in El Salvador is something that we will replicate, even stronger. The social programs in Mexico have worked, they have lifted so many people out of extreme poverty in an incredible way. Or the economic miracle of Singapore. Guatemala has all the qualities to be the Singapore of Latin America.
From what you mention, would you apply the Bukele model?
Without a doubt, even stronger. One in five Guatemalans has been assaulted or has been or is being extorted, which is terrible. The anxiety and anxiety that the Guatemalan family is experiencing is tremendous, so peace and security are not negotiable with me. We are going to retake the territory and the prisons.
When he says louder... On some occasion he has said that he is in favor of applying the death penalty.
In Guatemala there is the death penalty in our Constitution. So, we are not going to stop applying it if necessary in a crime that is extremely serious. But we believe in having prisons that are extremely strict, that really take away that privilege from prisoners of being able to continue committing crimes from the inside and that the penalties are very strong. We are going to be able to restore that peace and security, even with the army in the street.
What would be your pillars to tackle this problem of violence and return security to the country?
Combined forces between the army and the police to go and retake the territory. There will be no free food in prisons. Our Constitution also says that the prisoner must work for his food. We will release 30,000 prisoners to work with the army. And also many things that will dignify the security forces and that will give peace of mind to the population. From salaries to benefits they have such as housing, university scholarships for their children, but at the same time also imposing extremely drastic penalties on the security forces if they dedicate themselves to continuing crimes, because those circles also exist.
Are you going to use that 2019 motto of "Make Great Guate"?
When the topic of "Make Guatemala Great" came up, they told me "that's Trump." When I saw Trump's first election, I saw how that slogan awakened the patriotic feeling of the United States. For me, saying "Let's Make Great Guate" is not a slogan, it is a very deep feeling of responsibility. It's awakening that enthusiasm.
Don't you think that Bernardo Arévalo has brought some stability?
Bernardo Arévalo is a good man, which in itself makes a dramatic difference to what we had before. He is certainly not part of that system. He lacked character, he was afraid to exercise power. Guatemala is no longer there for consensus, dialogue tables, 50-year plans. No, all that is already written and defined. He has specialized in not making decisions and that has made him somewhat unpopular.
It must be very difficult to come and change everything...
It's difficult, but it is possible.
If you became president, what relationship would you maintain with the rest of the region?
Guatemala is in a spectacular geographical position. It's ready to explode. What relations with Latin America mean is with the entire world. Guatemala has to open itself to the world, to everyone.
And with the United States?
The United States is a natural, obligatory ally, both they for us and we for them. Taking care of its border with Mexico for the United States is 10 times more expensive than taking care of Guatemala's border with Mexico, because it is much smaller. So Guatemala is important for illegal migration, the issue of drug trafficking and terrorism.
Would you be willing to cooperate with Washington to stop the violence in your country?
Drug use is a problem in American society. They have to understand that fighting in Guatemala is also their thing. There has to be coordination.
