Guatemalans Clash as Congress Delays President-Elect’s Inauguration

Tensions flared and chaotic protests erupted outside a session of Guatemala’s Congress on Sunday as conservative lawmakers inside dragged their feet on swearing in Bernardo Arévalo, the incoming president.

The hourslong delay ended with the session’s resumption around 6 p.m. local time, but it remained unclear whether Arévalo’s inauguration would go ahead at all, Reuters reported. It had originally been scheduled for 3 p.m. Arévalo insisted on social media that he would be able to take office despite what he called an attempt “to violate democracy with illegal actions, trifles and abuses of power.”

The special session had earlier devolved into a screaming match as leaders bickered over who to send to the inauguration as part of a congressional delegation, according to the Associated Press. The leadership was “packed” with old-guard members of Congress, the wire reported, and the shouting was seen as a deliberate delay tactic.

Read more at The Daily Beast.