Thousands of Guatemalans marched this Saturday against the attempt of President Jimmy Morales to end an anti-corruption mission of the UN that asked to investigate him on suspicion of illegal finances in his campaign.
“We reject the government of the corrupt” and “We are against impunity” were some of the slogans and banners displayed in the protest against Morales’ plans that have also been questioned by the international community.
Last Monday, Morales notified the UN of the premature closure of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a body that has been operating since 2007 and has helped the prosecutor’s office investigate cases of corruption and organized crime.
Morales accuses the mission of overstepping his functions. However, two days later, the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, stopped the ruling.
Since its creation, the Guatemalan governments have renewed the mandate of the CICIG every two years and the current one expires in September. Although the president had promised to ask for an extension for 2019-2021, last August he retracted and banned the return to the country of the head of the entity, former Colombian judge Iván Velásquez.
Morales was also accused of violating the constitutional order by disobeying several judicial rulings, including one that requires him to allow the entrance of Velásquez.
At the march, slogans were also launched against the big businessmen who took sides in favor of the right-wing government led by a 49-year-old television comedian.
For Monday, new mass protests are expected as Morales delivers his penultimate government report.
The UN mission gained relevance in 2015 by revealing to the prosecution a fraud network in the customs that forced the resignation of President Otto Pérez (2012-2015), designated as ringleader. In 2016, the CICIG involved a son and brother of the current president in the scam in a food contract and a year later it requested Morales to be stripped of his immunity on suspicion of illicit electoral financing.