Fast Facts about Bernardo Arévalo's Presidential Win in Guatemala

Arévalo in his victory speech on the night of August 20. His party, Semilla, has made transparency one of its core issues. The party was established in 2017 in the wake of an anti-graft movement that culminated in the resignation and arrest of President Otto Pérez Molina (2012–2015) for his ties to a bribery ring.  

Local time on August 20 when current President Alejandro Giammattei shared on social media that he had spoken with Arévalo to congratulate him for his win and invite him to the presidential palace the following day to set the transition plan in motion.  

Meanwhile, Torres’ UNE released a statement saying it would define its position on the electoral results “once the results are clarified with total transparency.”

For its part, two days before the election, the U.S. State Department encouraged a peaceful process, with Western Hemisphere Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols stating: “The real power of democracy comes from respecting the will of the people.” In the weeks leading up to the runoff, the State Department criticized moves to impede Arévalo’s candidacy.

Turnout in this electoral round, which, while low, is higher than the 42 percent registered in the 2019 runoff. Guatemala has 9.4 million registered voters.

The number of times Torres has made it to a presidential runoff. She lost in all three rounds, which took place in 2015, 2019, and 2023. In the last two elections, she was the candidate who earned the largest portion of votes in the first round only to lose in the second one.  

During her presidential bids, polls regularly indicated Torres was among the best-known contenders, but she also tended to come up as the candidate with the higher unfavorable percentage. She was the first lady during the term of moderate leftist Álvaro Colom (2008–2012), whom she divorced in 2011. She was known for her role in building social programs during his presidency, which helped her draw support in rural areas. While she and her party were in the past perceived as leftist, Torres solidified a rightward shift in this election in a bid to win over conservative voters in the face of Semilla’s progressive movement, recruiting an evangelical pastor to be her vice-presidential candidate.

Number of spots Arévalo’s Semilla party will hold in Guatemala’s unicameral congress. That makes Semilla the party holding the third-largest number of seats in the 160-person legislature, and it is likely to have a tough time ushering through its legislative plan. Building coalitions will be difficult as Semilla faces two larger and opposing forces: Giammattei’s conservative Vamos party will have 39 seats, while Torres’ UNE party will hold 28.

Time period since Arévalo’s father won the 1944 election to become Guatemala’s first democratically elected president. Juan José Arévalo (1945–51) was a socially progressive leader whose government implemented reforms that established social security and focused on, among other things, indigenous and worker rights. His presidency initiated a period of democracy cut short by a 1954 coup. 

The countries where Arévalo attained his bachelor’s degree and doctorate, respectively. Arévalo, who was born in Uruguay, has spent much of his life based in other countries, given that his family spent periods of time living in exile. As a former diplomat, he also served as the Guatemalan ambassador to Spain.  

Date of Guatemala’s presidential inauguration, when Arévalo and his Vice President Karin Herrera are slated to be sworn in.