Guatemala's Congress to Revoke Budget That Sparked Protests

By teleSUR

23 November 20

Congress President Allan Rodriguez along with other 16 lawmakers announced the decision in a message broadcast in the early hours of Monday morning.

uatemala's Congress President Allan Rodriguez Monday announced the reversal of the 2021 state budget, which approval last week gave rise to a massive demonstration and the burning of part of Parliament on Saturday.

Rodriguez and 16 other lawmakers announced the decision in a message broadcast through the Congress' communication channels in the early hours of Monday morning.

"We have agreed to suspend the processing of the income and expenditure budget of the state for 2021," Rodriguez said.

However, the opposition lawmaker Lucrecia Hernandez urged the population not to be fooled by the parliamentary authorities because "the Congress' Board of Directors don't have the power to file a law approved by the plenary."

The approval of the budget last Wednesday, at 5h30, provoked unrest in the population that resulted in the demonstrations on Saturday.

The budget, approved by 115 of 160 legislators under strict security measures with several streets closed, has been described as "opaque" by opposition legislators who assured that they never had access to the document.

Besides, according to experts, the budget presents extensive cuts in health and human rights issues.