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Security & Strategic Review - September 2017 (ISSN 1741-4202)

Guatemala: Transparency efforts under fire as Morales seeks removal of Cicig chief

Guatemala’s institutions have faced the biggest test since President Jimmy Morales and his Frente de Convergencia Nacional (FCN-Nación) government took office in January 2016. Last month the United Nations (UN)-backed anti-impunity commission in Guatemala (Cicig) and attorney general’s office (AG) called for President Morales to be stripped of his immunity from prosecution and investigated for illegal electoral financing involving the FCN-Nación. This initially cast uncertainty over the future of President Morales (whose predecessor Otto Pérez Molina [Partido Patriota, 2012-2015] himself was forced to quit over corruption in 2015) and the ensuing political crisis soon intensified after he unsuccessfully attempted to eject Cicig’s director, Iván Velásquez. With other political parties also facing similar investigations, the 158-member unicameral legislature then further stoked public anger by firstly rejecting Cicig’s request and then approving further reforms which weaken anti-corruption legislation. While these have since been repealed in the wake of public anger, the credibility of the executive and legislature remain at an all-time low.

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