Guatemala City/Prensa Latina
The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, today detailed progress from the first days of his administration, such as 34 complaints of corruption cases presented to justice.
On a central avenue in the capital, in the same place where more than a year ago, as the standard bearer of the Semilla Movement, he announced his plan, the president expressed that they came to office knowing that the challenges were many.
Among them, he described the fight against corruption as most important, and maintained that public funds in the past fed rotten political structures.
He said he was certain that these, “that perverse minority, fattened their pockets and tried to perpetuate a system that rewarded their immorality at the expense of the health, education and development of the people of Guatemala.”
In front of the Ministry of the Interior, accompanied by a good part of his team, he stated that they will not be able to do it anymore, although he acknowledged that cleaning each drawer has not been easy.
“Order and cleanliness are not achieved overnight and we are walking between traps and precipices,” emphasized the 65-year-old politician, a sociologist by profession.
But, we are sailing with the necessary caution and with the certainty that we are heading towards dry land, away from the swamp of corruption, where they had kept us mired, he stated.
The head of state pointed out that public issues that were previously hidden under the carpet, such as the election of departmental governors, put them on the table, gave them visibility and opened a more participatory process.
He considered that it has not been easy, however – he added – doing the same thing as before would have led us to fall into that vicious circle of opacity that corrupts power and society as a whole.
He referred to the denunciation of major cases of corruption, such as the contract for the Sputnik vaccines against Covid-19, the La Aurora international airport or the Bicentenario schools.
He announced that many more will follow, while he proposed the elimination of more than 1,300 positions that had no reason to exist, ghosts that functioned as exchange vouchers for the purchase of political will.
Breaking this corrupt exchange mechanism requires will and poise on the part of those of us who make decisions with the trust of the people of Guatemala, but also a justice system that is independent, Arévalo said.
He demanded authorities not remain silent or feign blindness in a cynical and complicit manner in the face of obvious acts of corruption and openly mentioned actors, such as the Public Ministry of Consuelo Porras.
“We will not rest until we achieve, through legal means, the removal of this threat to democracy,” emphasized the President of Guatemala, who took office on January 14 until 2028.
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