Back

Caribbean & Central America - February 2016 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Guatemala: Morales takes up the reins of power

Jimmy Morales and his small conservative Frente de Convergencia Nacional (FCN-Nación) assumed office last month for a four-year term. Elected on an anti-corruption pledge, with his victory stemming in large part from his perceived distance from a badly discredited political establishment, Morales promised to prioritise efforts to crack down on corruption and impunity. This pledge has already been tested over one of his choices of minister who was forced to step down after just 11 days in the post over alleged corruption. Meanwhile Morales’ shake-up of the military top brass – and in particular his removal of Alfredo Sosa Díaz, the head of the joint chiefs of staff - has been taken as a positive sign, given Sosa’s efforts to secure amnesty for ex-military officials accused of human rights violations committed during the 1960-1996 civil war.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 1130 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

Back

Articles in this issue