MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2020) The violent protests in Guatemala are a real institutional threat that needs to be addressed with the help of regional organizations and the international community, the Guatemalan government said in a statement.
"Acts of systemic violence against national institutions that all Guatemalans have witnessed in the past days, are not legitimate forms of exercising freedom of expression. On the contrary, such acts are only a means that minority groups use to try to stage a real coup d'etat," the Sunday government statement, released on Twitter, says.
According to the release, the undemocratic nature of the protests is a serious institutional threat that leaves Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei no other option than to turn to the international community so that appropriate regional mechanisms are used in order to preserve democracy in Guatemala.
"This is why the President today asked Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) to enforce the Inter-American Democratic Charter," the Guatemalan government said on Sunday.
On Saturday, protesters in Guatemala City broke into the Congress building, setting it on fire, amid public discontent over the new budget, which stipulates cuts to education and healthcare spending. Giammattei warned on Saturday that demonstrators engaging in acts of vandalism would be held accountable.
