海角大神

Tens of thousands of Guatemalans marched in heavy rain over the weekend calling for the resignation of President Otto P茅rez Molina and speaking out against corruption. They聽blew whistles and banged pots and pans, and later released blue and white balloons 鈥� the colors of the Guatemalan flag.

The peaceful demonstrations highlight growing public anger over multiple corruption scandals uncovered by a UN-backed crime-investigations unit, including a customs fraud network聽known as 鈥淟a Linea鈥� (The Line). The investigation has led to some 29 high-profile arrests and forced the resignation of Vice President Roxana Baldetti whose private secretary was implicated. On Wednesday, the central bank governor was arrested in connection to a separate case involving social security fraud.聽

The corruption scandals and resulting outrage聽come at a pivotal moment for聽President P茅rez Molina and the聽International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Its mandate was set to expire in September and聽P茅rez Molina had said he wouldn鈥檛 invite the commission to stay, despite international pressure. Since 2007, the CICIG has investigated several high-profile cases and acted as a check on rampant corruption and impunity for public officials. Many members of聽Guatemala鈥檚 business and political elite resent its work and fear its reach.聽

But the collective outrage that broke out after La Linea was exposed last month has united disparate voices against the president and for a renewed mandate for the CICIG. Backed into a corner,聽P茅rez Molina agreed to a two-year extension. Analysts say this could be an important step towards greater public engagement with the fight against corruption and abuses of power.聽

鈥淭he citizenry has woken up,鈥� says sociologist 脕lvaro Vel谩squez. 鈥淕uatemalan society is in a state of effervescence and is ready for change. What we need to do now is find ways of channeling that.鈥�

鈥淣ot renewing CICIG鈥檚 mandate would have been good news for criminal organizations,鈥� says political analyst Renzo Rosal. 鈥淭hey are afraid of CICIG because it鈥檚 like an incandescent light shining on them.鈥�

New approach to tackling organized crime

In 2007, the UN ventured into unchartered territory here. It accepted the government鈥檚 request to create a multilateral body that would investigate organized crime and train local prosecutors.

Working side-by-side with Guatemalan institutions, CICG has scored important victories. In 2010, it solved the murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg, a lawyer who engineered his own assassination in order to destabilize the administration of the previous president. Two years later, it arrested former police chief Marlene Blanco Lapola, accused of running a death squad.

Although these results won widespread support from civil society, P茅rez Molina opposed CICIG鈥檚 presence. His tense relationship dates back to the trial of former dictator Efra铆n R铆os Montt in 2013, which revealed uncomfortable information about the president's own military past.

After Gen. R铆os Montt鈥檚 genocide conviction was overturned due to a legal technicality, CICIG spoke out, saying Guatemala needed to move forward with the trial in order to guarantee judicial independence. The move vexed the current administration and business elite.

鈥淢any [business leaders] didn鈥檛 want to see military officers go to prison,鈥� says Roberto Casta帽eda, a former president of an influential private sector lobby known as CACIF. 鈥淭hey were afraid the names of landowners who had defended their land during the war would come out,鈥� Mr. Casta帽eda says, referring to the role of large landowners during the civil war that ended in 1996.

But then came La Linea, and everything changed.

A turning point

Investigators used over 60,000 wiretaps to show that in exchange for bribes, senior customs officials set up a parallel payment schedule for customs duties, benefitting a number of businesses here. References made聽on tape to 鈥淟a Dos鈥� (The number two) and 鈥渢he president" suggested that the network went all the way up to the head of state.聽

CICIG鈥檚 investigation put the business community 鈥� which had been seen as aligned with the political elite 鈥� in an awkward position.

鈥淐ACIF [the private sector lobby] had no choice but to support CICIG because the private sector [was] greasing the palms of the organized crime structures within the customs bureaus,鈥� says Mr. Rosal, the political analyst. 鈥淭he private sector has been inevitably tainted by [the scandal].鈥�

Trying to distance itself from the P茅rez Molina administration, the CACIF made an unexpected u-turn. It swung behind CICIG, calling for a 鈥渘ational crusade against corruption.鈥�

Ms. Baldetti resigned as vice president on May 8, but that hasn鈥檛 placated demonstrators. A new citizen movement, largely organized via social media, has emerged calling for the resignation of P茅rez Molina as well. The next demonstration is scheduled for May 30.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to continue taking part in the demonstrations,鈥� says Lenin Rodriguez, a young IT engineer at Saturday鈥檚 demonstration. 鈥淭he challenge will be turning this into a long-lasting movement.鈥�