Presidential Designee Claudia Juana Rodríguez and Nayib Bukele have maintained close professional and financial ties for over a decade. She is now a central broker in his administration as he runs for reelection, despite an explicit constitutional prohibition.

Bernardo Arévalo’s long-awaited announcement of cabinet ministers sparked debates on the virtues of racial and gender parity, inclusion of the business sector, and personal trust. Barring last-minute trickery from Congress, he will be sworn-in on Sunday, snuffing out months of sweeping efforts to stop his inauguration.

2023 was the year of the Guatemalan surprise. The upset victory of Bernardo Arévalo in the August 20 presidential election shook up the Central American chess board, creating a narrow democratic opening that last year seemed a far-flung improbability. Nextdoor, Nayib Bukele plowed ahead in his plan to seek unconstitutional reelection, further tilting the electoral rules in his party’s favor, while Daniel Ortega’s machine of repression lacerated all dissident faces and symbols. Honduras, mired in a political crisis, wavered between its democratic pledges and the temptations of single-family rule. El Faro English continued with its mission of explaining the most complex processes in Central America, through a combination of weekly dispatches, in-depth features and interviews, transnational partnerships, and op-eds both from the isthmus and the United States.

Now is the moment for Guatemala to turn away from the legacy of authoritarianism, reject the ongoing coup efforts, and recommit to democracy — before we become an international pariah again.

Despite saying he stepped down, Nayib Bukele is still the president of El Salvador. Presidential Designee Claudia Juana Rodríguez has been his subordinate financial officer in his businesses, municipal administrations, and the current presidency. She has been, and still is, his accomplice.