The figure of Walter Mazariegos as rector of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (Usac), has overshadowed the image of the only public university in the country, according to groups of students, teachers and graduates who fear that the current rector will cling to the position.
Mazariegos arrived at the rectory in 2022, under accusations of a first fraud, which, despite judicial resolutions in his favor, did not convince a group of Sancarlistas.
Now, Mazariegos and the majority of the Higher University Council (CSU), who are related to him, validated elections in which only electoral bodies that supported him participated. According to different analysts consulted, the way in which the election was carried out does not legally support the results and, therefore, his inauguration on July 1 is illegal.
The group Usac, Dignidad y Resistencia (Usac-DIRE), is leading a legal battle with dozens of appeals, which although some have already been suspended and rejected by the Constitutional Court (CC) itself, there are still others unresolved. The leaders of this movement still hope that within a week they will be resolved in their favor and stop the takeover.
Until yesterday there were 17 criminal complaints against the current rector of the USAC, and the progress of these investigations falls on the new administration of the Public Ministry (MP), which has Gabriel García Luna as attorney general.
Among these complaints are some presented by the Comptroller General of Accounts (CGC), which maintain it without having the Temporary Certificate of Non-existence of Claim for Charges, known as settlement.
Without that document, Mazariegos should not have participated in the April elections, when he was re-elected, according to the criteria of the Comptroller’s Office; and the lack of this settlement also prevents him from taking possession for a new period.
A week before the inauguration, several analysts agree that uncertainty governs the leadership of the USAC; However, they identify three scenarios that could happen and, any of them, will define the future of the house of higher education.
Does not take possession
For Aníbal García, one of the lawyers and leaders of Usac-DIRE, the controversy should be understood as something simple: “According to my knowledge and the circumstances, I would say that at this moment Mazariegos cannot take possession,” says García.
For the lawyer, it is clear that Mazariegos cannot take office because he does not even have a discharge certificate, an essential document for a citizen to occupy a position of such magnitude.
“If the minimum of legality is complied with and with the minimum of the rules established by the university regulations, the Probity Law and the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, he cannot take possession,” he insisted.
This scenario is also shared by Pablo Solórzano, representative of the civil organization Alianza por las Reformas, who considers that Mazariegos does not have the legal support to assume a new term at the head of the USAC, because he does not have the probity guaranteed by the settlement issued by the Comptroller’s Office, “which is an essential requirement to be and assume the position,” the analyst points out.
Another actor who agrees with this reading is the deputy José Chic, from the Will Opportunity and Solidarity (VOS) bloc, who sees no way, at least legally, for Mazariegos to take office on July 1.
“He cannot assume because he does not have a settlement, it would be a flagrant crime for the CSU to want to give him possession; it would be a serious violation of rights and legality, for which other complaints must surely be filed with the MP,” he assured.
Holds on to office
Another probable scenario, according to the sources consulted, is that the CSU supports Walter Mazariegos so that he continues as rector, despite not having a termination date, and the legal actions that question the university election and his consequent re-election.
To support the re-election, Chic explained, the CSU can hide behind a reform that was made to the USAC regulations in 2025, which prohibits the rector from handing over the position when a replacement has not yet been chosen. In this probable scenario, the lack of resolutions and the legal impossibility of assuming a new term would force Mazariegos to remain in office until the actions are resolved.
For this scenario to materialize, the support of the CSU is enough, and according to Solórzano, it is quite likely that, once again, they will decide to join the rector, since they have done so in the past.
“We have seen how completely illegal decisions have been made by him as rector, and also by the CSU; the only thing this shows us is that, precisely, there is no certainty or rule of law,” added the Alliance for Reforms analyst.
García considers that by retaining the rectorship, Mazariegos would be violating the laws with which the CGC operates and the Constitution itself.
“They can never contradict what Article 16 of the Probity Law says; they can never contradict, what is worse, Constitutional Article 113 in that to hold a position the requirements of suitability, honesty and capacity must be observed,” García warned, although he does not rule out that this scenario could happen, it would open a larger legal hole.
New elections
A third path, the most distant, is drawn by Congressman Chic. Their analysis depends on the fact that the USAC authorities decide to clean up their image, respect democracy and the laws and call for a new electoral process, ignoring the one from last April.
Chic reinforces his opinion with the resolutions that two courts had already issued, in which the re-election of Mazariegos was suspended, rulings that were later reversed by the Constitutional Court. One of them, that of the Eleventh Court, which this Tuesday, June 23, confirmed that the protection that was stopping Mazariegos’ re-election was suspended.
Eleventh Court complies with the order of the @CC_Guatemala and notifies that it is suspending the amparo process that had stopped the re-election of Walter Mazariegos as rector of the USAC. pic.twitter.com/gMaAGLjnZm
—Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_pl) June 23, 2026
These three scenarios are formed a week after Walter Mazariegos takes possession of the rectory, and in the midst of protests by citizens who oppose his continuity.
Although an opinion was sought from Rector Mazariegos or a representative before the CSU, it was not possible to establish communication. The USAC also does not have an official communication team to be able to send you queries.