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Weekly Report - 19 January 2012 (WR-12-03)

GUATEMALA: Pérez Molina’s initial moves

The promise of additional aid for the armed forces and a call for military collaboration in anti-crime efforts were among the predictable initial gestures made by Guatemala’s new President, former general, Otto Pérez Molina, who took office on 14 January, becoming the first former military man to lead the country since the end of the 1960-1996 civil war. The moves are in line with the ‘mano dura’ platform which clinched his victory in November and are likely to revive civil society fears regarding an enhanced role for the military (held responsible for 93% of human rights violations which took place during the civil war) under his new government. Having taken pains to address these concerns in the build-up to his inauguration, Pérez Molina has since provided new reassurances regarding his commitment to human rights while giving other signs that he may pursue a more nuanced approach to tackling security than initially assumed.

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