Chapter 6 Conclusion
6.2 Policy Implications
and the control over the magistrate cases.
How did the citizens respond to the CICIG’s efforts? My qualitative analysis suggests that the CICIG had served as an essential source of information that, combined with new communication channels such as social media, digital live streams, etc., helped citizens understand how criminal organizations control public institutions. Still, anti-corruption agencies are subject to intense criticism as ineffective mechanisms that do not reduce corruption (Gonzales 2019). CICIG was no exception. Most of the opposition, including some establishment sectors, undermined the investigations by addressing the institution as inefficient, unnecessary, or even illegitimate.
6.2 Policy Implications
In Guatemalan history, the judicial reform that aim at strengthening the judicial institutions have never achieved through law makers in the Congress. One important reason is that corrupt politicians in this country are able to adapt to different economic and political environments for pursuing their interests through corruption and impunity. As this study has shown, the progress that the CICIG had been made facilitates the development of good investigatory faculties for criminal organization prosecutors. Therefore, one important implication of this study suggests that it is necessary to continue the judicial reforms relying on external force such as the United Nations. As a priority, three pending reforms are needed urgently for the creation of a better system that prevents future impunity and corruption.
These reforms include 1) Laws against corruption issues that are related to the judges, prosecutors, police, forensic system, and penitentiary system; 2) removing obstacles to research, the figure of amparo, and the prejudice; and 3) criminal prosecution, the code of criminal procedure, and the preventive prison.
Justice in Guatemala seems to have an absence of independence. Instead, it serves as a platform for individuals with influence to achieve complete impunity. Therefore, my study suggests that it is necessary to implement reforms that focus on strengthening career
‧
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
and promote transparent process in the magistrates’ elections. Last, because Guatemala is a diverse country with different ethnicities and languages, increasing the coverage of professional judges nation-wide can serve as an efficient starting point to fight against impunity and corruption in Guatemala.
‧
國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
‧
Appendix Timeline of Development and Cases of Investigations of the CICIG
Time Description
2008 Creation of CICIG: In the first report, the
International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) describes the commission as an independent organ from the organization’s political and financial aspects. The constitution of this commission is one of its kind by 2008, nor the United Nations or any other international organization had registered any similar document designated for the promotion of law enforcement .
March 2008 Agreement between Secretary of Social
Works of the President’s Wife, Ombudsman for Indigenous Women, Woman Presidential Secretary
(SOSEP-DEMI-SEPREM-CICIG)
March 2008 Agreement between Ministry of the Interior
(MINGOB-CICIG)
July 2008 Agreement between Superintendency of Tax
Administration (SAT-CICIG)
August 2008 Agreement between Bank Superintendency
and CICIG (SIB-CICIG)
January 2009 Agreement between United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM-CICIG)
January 2009 Agreement between United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF-CICIG)
January 2009 Decree 17-2009 and 23-2009. Law of
Strengthening of Criminal Persecution Reforms to the Law against Organized Crime
March 2009 CICIG’s First propagation:
The extension was confirmed on April 15, 2009.
January 2010 Alfonso Portillo was extradited to the
‧
‧
January 2010 Decree 52-2010 and 55-2010, Law that regulates private security services Law of Extinction of Domain
January 2010 CICIG under Rodrigo Rosenberg, found that he planned his own death.
April 2010 Agreement between United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC - CICIG)
August 2010 Extrajudicial Killing of 2004-200. CICIG and Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted a
reciprocity agreements between Guatemala and European countries.
September 2011 Agreement between National Accounts
Comptroller (CGC-CICIG)
September 2011 Second propagation: an agreement for the extension of the mandate for an additional period of two years, counting as of
September 04, 2011
January 2012 Decree 31-2012, Law against Corruption
August 2013 Agreement between General Attorney and
General Register of Property (MP, RGP, CICIG)
September 2013 Third propagation: an agreement for the extension of the mandate for an additional period of two years, counting as of two years, September 03, 2015.
January 2015 Decree 10-2015, Reforms to the Migration Law.
June 2015 CICIG identifies that in 2011, at least Q300
million not reported to the TSE as part of political parties and political campaigns. La Línea corruption scandal.
September 2015 Fourth propagation: an agreement for the extension of the mandate for an additional period of two years, counting as of two years, September 03, 2017.
December 2015 CICIG successfully established
investigations and sufficient evidence to
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
employees of the judicial system, including a magistrate.
January 2016 Decrets 18-2016 and 32-2016, Organic Law of the Public Ministry, Law of the Judicial Career.
September 2017 Fifth propagation: Requested by President Jimmy Morales (last propagation)
January 2018 CICIG and MP the way parallel commissions
operated inside the elections of magistrates.
August 2018 Agreement between Supreme Electoral
Court and CICIG
January 2019 Under investigations president Jimmy
Morales terminated CICIG agreement.
‧
國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
‧
Aceña, Maria del Carmen. 2016. “Ilusión de Primavera”. In Cifras y Voces: Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa, 53-58.
Althoff, Andrea. 2019.” Right-Wing Populism and Evangelicalism in Guatemala: The Presidency of Jimmy Morales”. International Journal of Latin American Religions 3 (2):
294-324.
Badillo, Margarita. 2015. “Legislative Turncoat Process” Anuario CIEP 6: 9-34.
Balsells, Alejandro y Miriam Gramajo.2008. “Análisis del Régimen de Financiamiento de Los Partidos y Las Campañas Electorales”. In Siete Claves para El Cambio: Análisis Técnico, Político y Normativo del Proceso Electoral Guatemala 2007. Guatemala:
Fundación Soros; National Democratic Institute; Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy; ASIES; DOSES; FLACSO, 80-92.
Bearse, Peter, Gerhard Glomm, and Eckhard Janeba. 2000. “Why Poor Countries Rely Mostly on Redistribution In-Kind.” Journal of Public Economics 75(3): 463–481.
Birdsall, Nancy, Charles Kenny, and Anna Diofasi. 2018. “What Drives Citizen Perceptions of Government Corruption? National Income, Petty Bribe Payments and the Unknown.” In Institutions, Governance and the Control of Corruption , eds. Kaushik Basu and Tito Cordella. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 285–334.
Brannum, Kate. 2019. “Guatemala 2018: Facing A Constitutional Crossroad”. Revista de Ciencia Política, 39(2): 265-284.
Briscoe, Ivan, and Martín Rodríguez Pellecer. 2010. “The local level of Governance: Alta Verapaz”. In A state under siege: elites, criminal networks and institutional reform in Guatemala, eds. Nicole den Heijer. The Hague: Clingendael, 37-44.
Call, Charles. 2019. “International Anti-impunity Missions in Guatemala and Honduras:
What Lessons for El Salvador?”. CLALS Working Paper Series 21: 1-24.
‧
‧
Latin American Democracies.” Latin American Politics and Society 47(3): 91–111.Chang, Marielos. 2016.”¿Qué Cambió Después de la Crisis Política del 2015”. In Cifras y Voces: Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa, 73-76.
Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH). 1999, “Guatemala Memory of Silence. Tzínil Na’Ta’BaL. Conclusions and Recommendations”. (July, 2020)
https://hrdag.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/CEHreport-english.pdf
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2019. “El Papel de la CICIG en la Promoción de Reformas Jurídicas Contra la Impunidad.” (January, 2020) https://www.cicig.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Informe_ReformasLegales.pdf
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala,2019.”Informe de Cierre: El Legado de Justicia en Guatemala”. Guatemala.
https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informes_cicig/informe-de-labores/informe-final-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala, 2019 “Informe Temático:
Guatemala: Un Estado Capturado”. Guatemala.
https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informes_cicig/informe-de-labores/informe-final-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2006. “Acuerdo entre la Organización de Naciones Unidas y el Gobierno de Guatemala relativo al Establecimiento de una Comisión Internacional Contra La Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG)”. (January, 2020 )https://www.cicig.org/uploads/documents/mandato/cicig_acuerdo.pdf
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala. 2015. Sistema de la mediación
de la impunidad en Guatemala. (April, 2020)
https://cicig.org/uploads/documents/2015/Docto_SisMedImp_20160414.pdf
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2019. “Informe XII año de Labor”.Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
‧
‧
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2018. “Informe XI año de Labor”. Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2017. “Informe X año de Labor”.Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2016. “Informe IX año de Labor”.Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2015. “Informe VIII de Labor”.
Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2014. “Informe VII año de Labor”. Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2013. “Informe VI año de Labor”. Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2012. “Informe V año de Labor”.Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2011. “Informe IV año de Labor”. Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2010. “Informe III año de Labor”. Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2009. “Informe II año de Labor”.
Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala.2008. “Informe I año de Labor”.
Guatemala. https://www.cicig.org/cicig/informe-de-labores/
Contreras, Gabriela. 2015. “Encuesta Libre coincide con TSE”. Prensa Libre Prodatos.
(March 2020)
‧
Cuffe, Sandra. 2019. “Guatemala Elects Right-Wing President amid Dismal Turnout.”
Washington Post. (May 2020)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/guatemala-awaits-presidential-election-results/20 19/08/11/f8d70034-bc3a-11e9-a8b0-7ed8a0d5dc5d_story.html.
Donis, Julio. 2016.”Perfil Técnico de la Encuesta y Sinopsis General de Los Hallazgos”. In Cifras y Voces: Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa, 13-30.
Ehrlich, Isaac, and Francis T. Lui. 1999. “Bureaucratic Corruption and Endogenous Economic Growth.” Journal of Political Economy 107(S6): S270–93.
Garay, Luis Jorge, and Eduardo Salcedo-Albarán. 2012. “De la Corrupción y la Captura del Estado a la Reconfiguración Cooptada de los Estados.” In Narcotráfico, corrupción y Estados. Cómo las redes ilícitas han reconfigurado las instituciones en Colombia, Guatemala y México. Colombia: Debate.
Gómez-Vilchis, Ricardo R. 2012. “Changes in Perceptions of Corruption and Presidential Approval in Mexico.” Public Integrity 14(4): 341–60.
Gutierrez, Edgar. 2016. “Guatemala Elites and Organized Crime”. Insight Crime, 3-18.
Gupta, Sanjeev, Hamid Davoodi, and Rosa Alonso-Terme. 2002. “Does Corruption Affect Income Inequality and Poverty?” Economics of Governance 3(1): 23–45.
Gupta, Sanjeev, Hamid Davoodi, and Erwin Tiongson. 2001.” Corruption and the Provision of Health Care and Education Services.” In The Political Economy Of Corruption, ed.
Arvind K. Jain. London: Routledge, 111-141.
Gupta, Sanjeev, Luiz de Mello, and Raju Sharan. 2001. “Corruption and Military Spending.”
European Journal of Political Economy 17(4): 749–77.
Hampson, Francoise. 1995. “Impunity and Accountability.” In Impunity in Latin America. ed.
Rachel Sieder London: Journal of Latin American Studies, 7-12.
‧
‧
Hudson, Andrew, and Alexandra W. Taylor. 2010. “The International Commission against impunity in Guatemala: A New Model for International Criminal Justice Mechanisms.”
Journal of International Criminal Justice 8(1): 53-74.
Julnes, Patria de Lancer, and Manuel Villoria.2014.”Understanding and addressing citizens’
perceptions of corruption: the case of Spain”. International Review of Public Administration 19(3): 23-43.
King, Gary, Michael Tomz, and Jason Wittenberg.2000 “Making the Most of Statistical Analyses: Improving Interpretation and Presentation.” American Journal of Political Science 44(2): 347–61.
Kurt, Helmut. 2007. “Las Elecciones de 2007 en Guatemala : El Socialdemócrata Colom es El Triunfador: Enfrenta Los Grupos Informales de Poder?”. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung 1-4.
The Americas Barometer. Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP).
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/raw-data.php (January 10, 2020).
Lemus, Jonatán. 2019. “El Camino al Autoritarismo Competitivo en Guatemala: Un Análisis de los Resultados de La Primera Vuelta de las Elecciones 2019” Centro para el Análisis de las Decisiones Públicas (1); 1-9.
López, Julie.2010. “Guatemala’s Crossroads: Democratization of Violence and Second Chances”. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Latin American Program.
Luiña, Eduardo, Luis Wittig, María Gaitán, Juan Sánchez, and Juan Saravia. 2011. “La Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) y su impacto en Guatemala ¿Es la CICIG un organismo comprometido con la libertad de prensa?”
Proyecto Impunidad. Available at: http://impunidad.com/ Accessed March 17 2020.
Maihold, Günther. 2016 “Intervention by Invitation? Shared Sovereignty in the Fight against impunity in Guatemala”. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe 101: 5-31.
Mauro, Paolo. 1998. “Corruption and the Composition of Government Expenditure.” Journal of Public Economics 69(2): 263–79.
‧
‧
Mejía-García, Nuria.2016.”Las Denuncias y Capturas por los Casos de Corrupción, No Evidencian Cambios en la Estructura Política y Económica del País”. In Cifras y Voces:
Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa,87-96.
Melgar, Natalia, Máximo Rossi, and Tom W. Smith. 2010. “The Perception of Corruption.”
International Journal of Public Opinion Research 22(1): 120–31.
Navia, Patricio, Lucas Perelló, and Vaclav Masek. 2019. “The Determinants of Perception of Corruption in Guatemala, 2006–2016.” Public Integrity.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10999922.2019.1600964 (May 2020) Novales, Hugo. 2016.”El Financiamiento de Partidos y Campañas en Guatemala: Un Sistema
en Transición”. In Cifras y Voces: Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa,185-216.
Nyberg, Tove. 2015. International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala:
Non-Traditional Transitional Justice Effort. Revue Quebecoise de Droit International, 28(1), 157-184.
O’Boyle, Brendan. 2019. “The Rise and Fall of CICIG: LatAm’s Biggest Stories of
the2010s.” Americas Quarterly.
https://www.americasquarterly.org/content/rise-and-fall-latams-biggest-stories-2010s (January 10, 2020).
Open Society Justice Initiative OSJI. 2016. Against the Odds: CICIG in Guatemala.
https://www.justiceinitiative.org/publications/against-odds-cicig-guatemala
Ortiz, Carmen. 2016.”Las Dimensiones del Cambio”. In Cifras y Voces: Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa, 39-42.
Ortiz, Edgar. 2016.”Algunas Observaciones del Movimiento Cívico del 2015 en Guatemala”.
In Cifras y Voces: Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto
‧
‧
Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa, 59-62.
Park, Hoon. 2003. “Determinants of Corruption: A Cross -National Analysis.” Multinational Business Review 11(2): 29–48.
Postema, Mirte. 2016. “Why Reforms Alone are Insufficient to Strengthen the Judiciary:
Case Study of Guatemala´s Judicial Selection Processes”. Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, 39(1), 237-266.
Renteria, Nelson. 2019. “El Salvador Launches Anti-Corruption Commission, Inspired by
Guatemala.” Reuters. September 07.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-corruption-idUSKCN1VR2QP (January 10, 2020)
Sabino, Carlos. 2007. “Elecciones Presidenciales en Guatemala” Real Instituto Elcano 119:
1-5.
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2006. “The Measurement and Impact of Corruption Victimization:
Survey Evidence from Latin America.” World Development 34(2): 381–404.
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2002. “The Impact of Corruption on Regime Legitimacy: A Comparative Study of Four Latin American Countries.” The Journal of Politics 64(2):
408–33.
Solé-Ollé, Albert, and Pilar Sorribas-Navarro. 2018. “Trust No More? On the Lasting Effects of Corruption Scandals.” European Journal of Political Economy 55: 185–203.
Schwartz, Rachel A. 2019. “Guatemala’s Anti-Corruption Struggle Teeters On the Edge What’s Behind Guatemalan Constitutional Crisis and The Battle Over The International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG)?” NACLA Report on the Americas 51(2):
200-205.
Tanzi, Vito, and Hamid Davoodi. 1998. “Corruption, Public Investment, and Growth.” In The Welfare State, Public Investment, and Growth. Tokyo: Springer Japan, 41–60.
‧
‧
Trejo, Guillermo, and Camilo Nieto Matiz. 2019. “Containing Large-Scale Criminal Violence through Internationalized Prosecution : How the CICIG Contributed to the Reduction of Guatemala’s Murder Rate.” Paper preparedat the Kroc-Kellogg Peace, Conflict, Crime and Violence Workshop and at the Latin American Politics Workshop, University of Notre Dame. (May 2020)
https://preprints.apsanet.org/engage/apsa/article-details/5d75773ce3ac4400123825ee Valladares, Danilo. 2010. Regional Commission against impunity in Central America. Inter
Press Service. (March, 2020)
http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/05/regional-commission-against-impunity-in-central-americ a/
Vasquez, Oscar. 2012. ¿Cuánto Costó La Campaña Electoral? Análisis Del Gasto Y La Rendición De Cuentas De Los Partidos Políticos En El Proceso Electoral Guatemala, 2011. Guatemala: Magna Terra editores, 84-88. Available at:
https://www.plazapublica.com.gt/sites/default/files/cuanto_costo_la_campana_electoral_a ccion_ciudadana.pdf Accessed March 17 2020.
USAID.2018. “Guatemala: Food Assistance Fact Sheet” (May 2020)
https://reliefweb.int/report/guatemala/guatemala-food-assistance-fact-sheet-updated-septe mber-30-2018.
WOLA. 2015. The CICIG: An Innovative Instrument for Fighting Criminal Organization and Strengthening the Rule of Law. The Washington Office On Latin America.
Waxenecker, Harald, Rootman Pérez, and Andy Javalois.2019 “Impunidad y Redes Ilícitas:
Un Análisis de su Evolución en Guatemala”. Comisión Internacional contra La Impunidad en Guatemala. Guatemala.
Weyland, Kurt Gerhard. 1998. “The Politics of Corruption in Latin America.” Journal of Democracy 9(2): 108–21.
Williams, Robert. 1999. “New Concepts for Old?” Third World Quarterly 20(3): 503–13.
‧
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Zapata, Juan Carlos. 2016.”El Punto de Inflexión de una Nación”. In Cifras y Voces:
Perspectivas de Cambio en La Sociedad Guatemalteca, ed. Instituto Nacional Demócrata para Asuntos Internacionales. Guatemala: Editorial Serviprensa, 63-66.
‧
國
立 政 治 大 學