César Bernardo Arévalo de León ([beɾˈnaɾ.ðo aˈɾe.βa.lo]; born 7 October 1958)[2] is a Guatemalan diplomat, sociologist, writer, and politician who is the 52nd and current president of Guatemala since 2024.

Arévalo's administration has been marked by symbolic measures and moderate legislative successes in agriculture, health, economy, and infrastructure, along with advances in education, labor, international relations, tourism, culture and sport.

At the time of Arévalo's birth, his father was living in political exile in South America following the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état.

[7] In 1988, Arévalo returned to Guatemala, where he was appointed deputy director of strategic studies and planning, again within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[9] In 1995, Foreign Minister Alejandro Maldonado appointed Arévalo as Guatemala's ambassador to Spain; that same year, he presented his credentials to King Juan Carlos I.

[7] After leaving his career as a diplomat, Arévalo served on the Center for Mesoamerican Regional Research (CIRMA) [es] board and acted as its president.

From 1999, Arévalo held various roles at Interpeace, including advising on peacebuilding and conflict resolution in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

These bills dealt with various issues such as cutting off cellular connections to prisons, extending social security benefits to migrants, deputies, and workers in the informal sector, providing stricter penalties for those who abuse animals, and regulating the prices of pharmaceutical products.

[19] In March 2022, Arévalo was the rapporteur for a legislative proposal calling on President Alejandro Giammattei to take action against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

[22] Arévalo's campaigning focused on addressing state corruption and insecurity in Guatemala, as well as generating employment opportunities and promoting climate change policies.

[33] On 12 July 2023, the TSE formalized the election results; at the same time, prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche of the Public Prosecution Service announced, at the request of Judge Fredy Orellana, the suspension of Semilla due to allegations of falsifying signatures to establish the party in 2017.

[37] Nevertheless, demonstrations were organized calling for the resignation of Attorney General María Consuelo Porras, prosecutor Curruchiche, and Judge Orellana.

[38] Arévalo and his vice presidential candidate, Karin Herrera, were present at the demonstration and filed a criminal complaint against Curruchiche and Orellana.

[39] Members of the United States Congress called on Joe Biden to impose sanctions on those responsible for "threatening democracy" in Guatemala and expressed concerns about actions being taken against Arévalo's candidacy.

However, on 10 January, two days after the announcement, Anayté Guardado, Arévalo's candidate for the Ministry of Energy and Mines, declined the nomination due to controversy that arose on X when a 2018 interview of her resurfaced that showed her support for hydroelectric plants—a contributor to deforestation in Guatemala.

[5] In his first days in office, Arévalo reversed a government agreement signed by his predecessor that would have granted security and vehicles to former officials from the Giammattei cabinet for six years.

Then, on 22 February, he arrived in Spain to meet with the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and attend a banquet offered by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

[64] Some analysts have detected "slowness in decision-making" during the first days of Arévalo's presidency, as well as a "lack of strategy" to achieve the departure of Attorney General María Consuelo Porras and maintain a stable legislative alliance (which fragmented at the end of March).

[68] On 23 April, during a public event marking the first 100 days of his government, Arévalo fulfilled one of his campaign promises by reducing the presidential salary by 25%.

[74] On 5 May 2024, Arévalo delivered a nationally televised speech in which he called for the removal of Consuelo Porras from her position as Attorney General.

In his speech, he reported his intentions to reform the organic law through Congress, so that the "Public Prosecutor's Office does not again be used as a political weapon by any government.

"[75][76] On 6 May, Arévalo alongside members of his cabinet walked from the National Palace to Congress to deliver the bill that allowed for the dismissal of Porras.

[77] However, Congress failed to hold a plenary session for the bill, and negotiations for it stalled until August 1, when legislators would return from recess.

[81] In November 2024, the governments of Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic opposed the nomination of former Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada as the new secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA).

[85] Early in his administration, Arévalo was congratulated by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators (included Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin) for maintaining his pro-Taiwan stance.

In September 2024, he maintained telephone contact with María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, where he expressed the support of the Guatemalan government.

He subsequently contacted his counterparts Santiago Peña of Paraguay and Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay to monitor the situation.

On 20 July, in an interview with República, he reassured his interest in building a relationship with China based on "developing and expanding" economic relations.

"[90] In March 2022, Arévalo was the rapporteur of a legislative proposal that sought to urge President Alejandro Giammattei to take action against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

[95] Arévalo has ruled out the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion (which is only permitted in Guatemala if the mother's life is in danger), but he has also stated that he will not tolerate discrimination due to religion and sexual orientation.