Guatemala is expectant as the new president is set to take office after months of legal battles

Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo is scheduled to be sworn into office Sunday afternoon

GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo is scheduled to be sworn into office Sunday afternoon. But just like almost every day since his resounding Aug. 20 election victory, the inauguration will be tinged with doubts and tensions.

The still-serving Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, has tried every legal trick in the book to put him on trial or in jail before he takes office. And Arévalo’s Seed Movement party will not have a majority in Congress, and may not even have formal recognition there.

And it’s not even clear if the leaders of Congress — who oppose Arévalo — will turn up for the inauguration, which could introduce legal doubts because they are supposed to attend.

Arévalo is an academic, diplomat and the son of a progressive president from the middle of the 20th century, and his election marked a political awakening in a population weary of corruption and impunity.

But as much as Arévalo wants to change things, he may face enormous obstacles. His anti-corruption stance and outsider status are threats to deep-rooted interests in the Central American country, observers say.