Central America

Elections leave a fragmented Congress in Guatemala

Photo: Palacio Legislativo

June 27 |

With 99 percent of the tables counted, the voting trend in Guatemala last Sunday already marks the names of the deputies that will make up the Tenth Legislature and leave a Congress without clear and sufficient majorities for who will be the next president.

The until now official party, Vamos, will be the main force in Congress after obtaining 39 deputies (out of 160), while the second force will be the National Unity of Hope (UNE) with 28 deputies, followed by the Seed Movement, which will occupy 23 seats.

In addition to the elected deputies, there is a list of candidates who did not achieve victory and among them there are several well-known names such as former president Jimmy Morales, former minister Enrique Degenhart, current deputy Patricia Sandoval and former deputy Fernando Linares Beltranena.

According to local media, the strategy of the still official Vamos party of “taking advantage of public resources to carry out political clientelism, allying itself with the majority of the country’s mayors and strengthening its structure in Congress with deputies from parties such as the Union of National Change (UCN) paid off in these elections”.

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Among the deputies repeating with Vamos is Allan Rodríguez, whose brother, Luis Alberto Rodríguez will also be a deputy. Shirley Rivera, current president of Congress was also reelected.

Meanwhile, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE) notably reduced its number of legislators, going from 52 elected in 2019 to around 27 it will have after these elections.

Bernardo Arévalo, from the Semilla party, will dispute the presidency together with Torres. The political grouping will be the third force in Congress, with around 22 legislators.

In turn, Edmond Mulet’s party will have 18 legislators, while a total of 13 groups will add between one and nine legislators, among which are Valor, of candidate Zury Ríos and Visión Con Valores (Viva), which was supported by former President Alfonso Portillo. His ex-wife Evelyn Morataya will repeat as deputy.

The results of the elections for the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) also show that at least eight parties will be able to place at least one deputy, out of the 20 deputies to be elected for this regional body, headed equally by Vamos.

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Central America

Panama Will Not Be Threatened, President Says Amid Rising Tensions With China

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino warned on Thursday that his country “will not allow itself to be threatened,” while expressing hope that tensions with China will ease following the cancellation of a contract allowing a Hong Kong-based company to operate ports along the Panama Canal.

Earlier this week, China, through its Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said Panama would pay “a high price” for annulling the concession that has allowed a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings to manage two ports on the interoceanic waterway since 1997.

The decision has angered Beijing, which, according to Bloomberg, has urged its state-owned companies to suspend negotiations on new projects with the Central American country.

“Panama is a dignified country and will not allow itself to be threatened by any nation on Earth,” Mulino said during a press conference when asked about China’s warnings.

However, the president added that he hopes the situation will not escalate. “I hope this does not spiral further; there is no reason for it to do so,” he said.

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The ruling by Panama’s Supreme Court came amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal—built by the United States—arguing that it is “under Beijing’s control.”

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian warned on Wednesday that Beijing “will firmly defend the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

Central America

Bukele’s Approval Rating Climbs to 91.9% in El Salvador, Survey Shows

Approval of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele reached 91.9% at the end of 2025, up from 85.2% recorded in midyear, according to a survey conducted by the research unit of La Prensa Gráfica (LPG Datos) and published on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, the high approval rating is “mainly driven by improvements in security.” Of those surveyed, 62.8% said they “strongly approve” of Bukele’s performance, while 29.1% said they “somewhat approve.”

The main reasons cited for approving the president were the perception that security in the country has improved (33%), followed by the belief that the government has delivered changes and overall improvements (14.3%), and the view that Bukele has done a good job in general (11%), the report said.

Meanwhile, 5.9% of respondents said they disapprove of Bukele’s administration. Among them, 25.4% said that improvements have been limited solely to security, 5.6% cited a lack of transparency, and 2.8% pointed to arbitrary detentions.

“The approval of President Nayib Bukele stands at one of the highest levels since the start of his administration,” La Prensa Gráfica noted. According to the survey’s historical data, Bukele’s peak popularity was recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when his annual average approval reached 92.5%, a figure even higher than that seen during the state of emergency.

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Regarding campaign promises, 64.2% of Salvadorans believe that Bukele “is fulfilling the promises he made,” while 22.9% say he has “partially fulfilled” them, and 6.6% say he has “not fulfilled his commitments.”

When asked about the main “failure” of the president’s administration, 37% said there were none, while 10% pointed to the economy.

Central America

Laura Fernández Says She Will ‘Never’ Allow Authoritarianism in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s president-elect, right-wing leader Laura Fernández, said she will “never” allow authoritarianism under her government, in her first speech after winning Sunday’s presidential election.

Fernández, the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, has been accused by her opponents of seeking to steer the country toward authoritarian rule through her hardline proposals against drug trafficking and plans to reform state institutions.

“I, as the new president of the Republic, will never allow authoritarianism or arbitrariness—things that no one wants in Costa Rica,” Fernández said to cheers from her supporters gathered at a hotel in the capital.

The 39-year-old political scientist criticized her rivals for centering their campaign on what she described as a narrative of “authoritarianism and dictatorship.”

“They tried to scare voters, but the electorate did not fall into the trap,” she said.

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Without offering details, Fernández acknowledged that her administration will seek to change the country’s “political rules of the game,” in what she described as a necessary step for Costa Rica, one of Latin America’s most stable democracies.