These actions have generated widespread condemnation both nationally and internationally, since they are considered to threaten the presidential inauguration, and have been described by Arévalo and the Organization of American States as an "attempted coup d'état".

[2] The 2023 general election were a highly controversial electoral process, which was characterized by the exclusion of leading and anti-establishment candidates such as Carlos Pineda (who, according to polls, was poised to win the first round), Thelma Cabrera and Roberto Arzú.

[4] According to InSight Crime, the exclusion of candidates is one of many recent examples of the "presence of political mafias in the current Guatemalan government, which use control of the courts to eliminate their opponents".

[5] After Pineda's exclusion from the race, polls indicated that Edmond Mulet of Cabal was shaping up to go to the runoff with Sandra Torres of the National Unity of Hope.

[16] Protests in favor of Arévalo also intensified following the Supreme Court of Justice upholding the party's suspension, his supporters called for a "national strike" and blocked dozens of roads throughout the country.

[24] However, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal Blanca Alfaro and the substitute magistrates presented a legal appeal before the Constitutional Court to avoid the loss of their immunity.

[30] On 8 December, the Attorney General's Office presented another advance in the case of the Semilla party and once again requested the removal of immunity from Arévalo and member of Congress Samuel Pérez Álvarez.

On 8 December, at the time that the Attorney General's Office requested that the electoral process be "annulled", a bicameral Democratic group made up of Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Laphonza Butler, Peter Welch, Norma Torres and Delia Ramirez was arriving in the country.

[35] Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller announced that they imposed sanctions on more than 300 individuals, including more than 100 members of Congress and businessmen and their families.

Secretary General Luis Almagro made continuous visits to the country to supervise the transition process, he also established a mission made up of the former Minister of Defense of Uruguay Luis Rosadilla, the OAS ambassador in Guatemala Diego Paz, the diplomat Liliana Ayalde and the former Vice President of Panama Isabel Saint Malo.

[37][38] The ambassadors to the OAS, Josué Fiallo and Washington Abdala, from the Dominican Republic and Uruguay respectively, gained national notoriety for their passionate interventions in favor of democracy.

[45] A group of conservative presidents of Ibero-America (including José María Aznar, Vicente Fox and Álvaro Uribe) expressed their concern about the events and described it as a "judicial persecution" against Arévalo.

[46] The leftist Puebla Group (including Ernesto Samper and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero) also made a statement in favor of Arévalo and called the actions in Guatemala an "anti-democratic conspiracy".

[47] A group of Ibero-American writers led by Mario Vargas Llosa, Rubén Blades and Gioconda Belli issued a statement demanding that the electoral result be respected.

[51] The first meeting between the outgoing president Giammattei and the president-elect Arévalo took place on 4 September at the Presidential House; the Secretary General of the OAS Luis Almagro was also present.

This time, Vice President-elect Herrera represented the incoming government, and President Giammattei presented her with the final documents.