Bernardo Arévalo

Bernardo Arévalo
Official portrait, 2024
52nd President of Guatemala
Assumed office
15 January 2024
Vice PresidentKarin Herrera
Preceded byAlejandro Giammattei
Member of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala
In office
14 January 2020 – 14 January 2024
ConstituencyNational List
Guatemalan Ambassador to Spain
In office
1995–1996
PresidentRamiro de León Carpio
Personal details
Born
César Bernardo Arévalo de León

(1958-10-07) 7 October 1958 (age 66)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Political partyMovimiento Semilla[1]
Spouse(s)Lucrecia Peinado
Children6 (3 stepchildren)
MotherMargarita de León
FatherJuan José Arévalo
Alma materHebrew University of
Jerusalem (BA)
Utrecht University (PhD)[2]
Occupation
  • Politician
  • diplomat
  • sociologist
  • author
WebsiteCampaign website

César Bernardo Arévalo de León (born 7 October 1958)[3] is a Guatemalan politician, sociologist and writer who is the current President of Guatemala since 2024. He was elected in the 2023 election. He has been a deputy in the Congress of Guatemala since 2020. He was the country's Ambassador to Spain from 1995 to 1996. He also was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1995.[2]

Arévalo was seen as a possible presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election but decided against running.[4]

Presidency

Arévalo unexpectedly advanced to the second round in the 2023 presidential election coming in second place, despite performing poorly in the polls.[5]

Several legal challenges were issues against his win. His party was suspended from the election, stopping it from going to the run-off.[6][7] On 13 July 2023, the Constitutional Court, the highest court for constitutional law, reversed Semilla's suspension in the election, allowing the second round of the presidential election to proceed.[8]

On 14 January 2024, his scheduled inauguration was delayed because of a problem caused the event's congressional commission were unable to approve the list of invited guests.[9][10] He would instead be sworn in minutes after midnight on 15 January.[10]

Arévalo is the first son of a former Guatemalan president to be elected president, the second president not to be born in Guatemalan territory, and Guatemala's second most voted-for candidate in the 21st century.[11][12]

Personal life

Arévalo was born on 7 October 1958 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is the son of former president Juan José Arévalo and his second wife, Margarita de León. His birth happened when his father was in a long political exile in South America.[13]

Arévalo has been married three times. In 1983, he married Argentine citizen Teresa Lapín Ganman; they divorced in 1992. The following year, Arévalo married Eva Rivara Figueroa a fellow diplomat, with whom he had two daughters. Since 2011, Arévalo has been married to Lucrecia Peinado.[14] He has three daughters and 3 stepchildren.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Comité Ejecutivo Nacional". Movimiento Semilla. 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bernardo Arevalo de León" (PDF). International Peacebuilding Advisory Team. 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "César Bernardo Arévalo De León". Congress of Guatemala. 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Thelma Aldana: la Corte Constitucional de Guatemala rechaza la candidatura presidencial de la exfiscal". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 16 May 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  5. ↑ País, El (27 June 2023). "Sorpresa en Guatemala". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Juzgado ordena la suspensión de la personalidad jurídica del Movimiento Semilla" (in Spanish). 12 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Inhabilitación de un partido político es una decisión que no corresponde a un juzgado, afirman expertos en derecho" (in Spanish). 13 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Menchu, Sofia (13 July 2023). "Guatemala top court reverses ban on anti-graft presidential candidate". Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Menchu, Sofia (2024-01-14). "Tensions high outside Guatemala Congress as inauguration sessions delayed". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 D., Sonia Pérez (2024-01-14). "Guatemalans angered as president-elect's inauguration delayed by wrangling in Congress". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  11. ↑ "Juan José y Bernardo Arévalo, primeros padre e hijo en ser Presidentes de Guatemala". www.soy502.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Bernardo Arévalo se convierte en el candidato más votado de Guatemala". www.soy502.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Actas del Encuentro: Juan José Arévalo" (PDF). Rafael Landívar University. 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2021.[permanent dead link]
  14. ↑ Garcia, Jovanna (17 August 2023). "Bernardo Arévalo, un hombre de consensos". No-Ficción (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Mejia, Seline (25 June 2023). "El candidato Bernardo Arévalo ya emitió su voto". Soy 502 (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2023.

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