For eight consecutive weeks, tens of thousands of people have flooded the streets in Guatemala and Honduras to protest government corruption in what Hondurans are calling “marcha de las anatorches,” or March of the Torches. The protests are a positive step for Hondurans and Guatemalans to keep government officials accountable.
Accusations of bribery and tax evasion against Guatemala’s Vice President Roxanna Baldetti resulted in her resignation, and the country’s Supreme Court just approved a congressional inquiry that could result in impeachment proceedings against President Otto Pérez Molina. While President Pérez claims he will finish his term in office and says there is no evidence of wrongdoing by him, the protesters are putting pressure on him after several suspects in the case have been imprisoned and several cabinet officials have resigned. The U.S. Department of State released a statement after Baldetti’s resignation in support of anti-corruption measures that would improve transparency and accountability in Guatemala.
Rodrigo Alvarez, a Guatemalan university student, expressed the frustration people are feeling in the wake of the scandals that led to Vice President Baldetti’s resignation. He told reporters, “Baldetti’s resignation was necessary because we don’t want more corruption. Now the government knows that we are not going to tolerate more abuses against the people.”
In Honduras, recent allegations have surfaced that President Juan Orlando Hernández used public funding from the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS), the national health care agency, for his campaign. Hernández claims he was not involved in the scandal and that he did not know the origin of the funds at the time.
The information about the Hernández campaign’s use of public money came out when it was discovered that Mario Zelaya, director of the IHSS, misspent approximately $120 million (USD) and siphoned off more than $300 million (USD) in public funds during President Lobo’s administration. Honduran protesters want an international commission to investigate the offense—similar to the investigation into corruption in Guatemala by the U.N. International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala.
The U.S. has partnered with the governments in Central America to help these countries overcome the challenges they face. Earlier this year, U.S. President Barack Obama requested $1 billion from Congress in foreign aid for Central America. The primary recipients of U.S. aid in the region are Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The money is intended to improve security and accountability measures and to encourage economic development.
Foreign aid should be spent wisely on programs that demonstrate effectiveness, and its use should be monitored carefully, but it should not be cut off. Much of the funding supports critical security initiatives in the region. U.S. citizens and lawmakers should not turn a blind eye to the risk of corruption, thus the funding is essential to U.S. national interests in Central America.
Lauren Wester is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please click here.
