Popular Outcry Over Corruption and Impunity Brings Down the First Woman Vice President of Guatemala

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Guatemala’s government faced an expanding wave of criticism that left Vice President Roxana Baldetti particularly isolated after revelations of a multimillion dollar corruption scheme.   On April 17 a joint operation of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the national police, and the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office led to the arrest of current and former employees of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT).  The authorities arrested Carlos Muñoz and Omar Franco, former and current heads of the SAT respectively, and claimed that the system of fraud was led by Juan Carlos Monzón, Vice President Baldetti’s private secretary.  After trying to ignore the growing scandal, and to duck hard questions, the vice president resigned on May 9, 2015.  The situation remains tense, with the long-term implications for President Otto Pérez Molina unclear, amid broad calls for change, accountability, and reform.