Bernado Arévalo’s surprise victory comes at time of growing concern for state of democracy in Central America

Central America’s democratic downswing has received a powerful correction after the centrist anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arévalo was elected president of Guatemala – a result almost inconceivable just a few weeks ago.

Alongside El Salvador and Nicaragua, Guatemala was one of several Central American countries to have suffered a troubling authoritarian slide in recent years with judges and prosecutors forced into exile and a leading journalist thrown in jail.

Polls show centre-left anti-corruption candidate has the lead as Sunday’s vote takes place against backdrop of smear campaigns

Guatemala is bracing for elections this weekend seen as a key test for the rule of law, amid growing concerns over the state of democracy in Central America. Sunday’s vote takes place against a backdrop of smear campaigns, legal manoeuvring and an apparent effort to force the leading candidate out of the race.

Opinion polls show the centre-left anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo with a double-digit lead over his opponent, Sandra Torres, a former first lady who in 2011 divorced her husband in a failed attempt to dodge a constitutional ban on close relatives of the incumbent running for the office.

Prosecutor suspends Movimiento Semilla after Bernardo Arévalo unexpectedly reached second round

Guatemala’s presidential election has been thrown into confusion after the country’s top prosecutor moved to suspend the party of a centre-left anti-corruption candidate who unexpectedly made it to the second round and officials from the attorney general’s office raided the headquarters of the electoral authority.

Observers had voiced fears that the Central American country’s political establishment might try to force Bernardo Arévalo from August’s runoff after he unexpectedly came second in last month’s vote.

Bernardo Arévalo will face off for presidency against Sandra Torres, a veteran politician who has faced corruption accusations

Guatemala’s presidential election has thrown up a major surprise with the centrist Bernardo Arévalo claiming a spot in the second round amid growing anger over political corruption and the erosion of democracy in Central America’s most populous nation.

Alongside El Salvador and Nicaragua, Guatemala is one of several Central American countries which has taken an alarming authoritarian turn in recent years, with activists denouncing growing attacks on the media and more than two dozen judges and prosecutors forced into exile.

Otto Pérez Molina and his vice-president found guilty seven years after they were forced from office but culture of impunity persists

A Guatemalan court has found a former president and his vice-president guilty on two charges of corruption, in one of the most high-profile corruption cases in the Central American country.

The ruling against former president Otto Pérez Molina and his vice-president, Roxana Baldetti, on charges of illicit association and customs fraud come as a relief amid what is seen as the rollback of anti-corruption efforts. But the two were absolved of charges of illicit enrichment, due to lack of evidence.

Virginia Laparra detained in conditions ‘bordering on torture’, which critics say is retaliation for her efforts to fight corruption

A Guatemalan anti-corruption prosecutor has been locked up for six months in conditions “bordering on torture”, as the country’s ruling elite pursues a strategy to purge the justice system and derail corruption investigations against their allies.

Virginia Laparra, 42, a senior anti-corruption prosecutor, was accused of abuse of authority in apparent retaliation for reporting her suspicion that a judge had leaked sensitive details from a sealed corruption case to a colleague in 2017.