LatinNews Daily - 28 November 2024

*Guatemala’s 160-member unicameral congress has approved the government’s 2025 budget proposal for a total of Q148.53bn (US$19.25bn). This is up from the Q124.88bn approved in November 2023 for the 2024 budget, although this was struck down by the top court, leaving the budget for 2023 of Q118.17bn in place. In a social media post, Guatemala’s congress stated that the budget “guarantees the allocation of resources for education, health, security, infrastructure, economy, environment, among other things, which will positively impact the lives of Guatemalans”. President Bernardo Arévalo celebrated the approval of the budget, which he said was a “big step”, adding that it was “a solid, responsible budget with a clear focus on moving Guatemala forward in important areas such as education, health, social development, infrastructure, and many others”. The budget’s approval was not certain given that the legislature is largely aligned with the ‘pacto de corruptos’ network of institutional corruption that opposes Arévalo, an anti-corruption reformist. This is the second legislative boost for Arévalo in the space of two days, after congress approved a legal amendment allowing Movimiento Semilla, the political grouping loyal to him, to recover its legal status as a political party.