Caribbean & Central America - May 2012 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Balance sheet: Among the economic achievements highlighted in the three-month evaluation of his government, Pérez Molina pointed to austerity measures, which signify a saving of Q$600m (US$78m) for the State. He also singled out: the fact that more than 400,000 doses of vaccines had been given to children with chronic illnesses; the distribution of 2.9m books to 17,000 public schools and 1.9m sacks of fertilizers to boost harvests in rural areas; and noted that construction work had begun on more than 300 tranches of highway, as part of efforts to overhaul more 13,000km of road infrastructure.

Finance minister stalemate: While Pérez Molina also cited as a major achievement the fiscal reform [RC-12-03], this has since been overshadowed by current wrangling between the legislative and executive branches, caused by efforts by the main opposition Libertad Democrática Renovada (Líder) to summon Finance Minister Pavel Centeno for questioning, which began on 16 February. Arguing that the summons was politically motivated and little more than an attempt to stall the legislative agenda, Centeno, a technocrat who had proved pivotal in the approval of the tax reform, resigned in protest on 20 March. His decision was met with disappointment by the country’s influential private sector lobby, Cacif, as well as civil society groups. However, Pérez Molina has refused to accept Centeno’s resignation and congressional activity has ground to a halt as the dispute drags on.