CORRUPTION scandals are two-a-penny in Latin America. But few have inflicted as much damage on an incumbent government as in Guatemala. In May the vice-president quit, the heads of the central bank and social-security institute were arrested and three ministers were sacked. Pressure is mounting on the president, Otto Pérez Molina, to resign even though he has not been accused of anything. He insists he will stay until his term ends in January. “We don’t really know what to do or what’s coming next,” says Eduardo Stein, who was vice-president from 2004 to 2008.
There were three catalysts for the crisis, which could yet extend to Congress and the judicial system. The first is a history of corruption, which has already reached the highest levels of government. Alfonso Portillo, a former president, was jailed in the United States for bribery and money laundering. Second, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a United Nations-backed institution, is investigating crimes in conjunction with a tough federal prosecutor’s office. It is not afraid to go after big fish. Third...
from The Economist: The Americas http://ift.tt/1J8Xpe6
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