America’s Second Chance in Guatemala
HAVERFORD, Pa. — Guatemala is in political turmoil. In April a United Nations commission exposed a multimillion-dollar network of customs fraud, operating within the country’s tax authority and involving a web of customs agents and high-ranking government officials, including the vice president’s personal secretary.
Days later, the commission released wiretapped conversations of defense lawyers bribing a judge to release individuals detained in connection with the customs fraud.
Finally, last month the commission exposed another corruption ring, this time involving a scheme by the president’s former personal secretary and 16 other officials to siphon off funds from the country’s health care system.
The public response has been deafening: Hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans have taken to social media and the streets. What began as a largely middle-class and urban protest has evolved to include peasants and indigenous Guatemalans, the first time the country has united to demand democratic reform. Peaceful weekly demonstrations have called for the resignations of the president, vice president and cabinet, as well as an investigation into their role in these criminal networks.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/opinion/americas-second-chance-in-guatemala.html?_r=0
