Guatemala's Congress to decide whether Pérez Molina should face trial (August 31, 2015)

Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina steadfastly refuses to resign, no matter how many thousands of Guatemalan's crowd the plazas demanding his ouster and despite the ever mounting pile of evidence linking him to outrageous corruption scandals.

A Guatemalan congressional committee on Saturday recommended that President Otto Perez be stripped of immunity from prosecution over his suspected involvement in a customs racket, paving the way for a full vote in Congress, reports Reuters. If Congress votes to lift his immunity, the Supreme Court then turns the matter to prosecutors, who would then able to bring charges against him in court.

The next 48 hours will be critical for Guatemalan history. Between today and tomorrow Congress will vote on the immunity issue. 

Congress's president Luis Rabbe told the Associated Press yesterday that party leaders would meet on Monday to set the legislature's agenda. By law, 24 hours must pass between then and the session, so lawmakers should vote on the issue on Tuesday, he said.

But Pérez Molina is cornered and everything indicates that he's losing the support of his last remaining political allies, Líder and the PP, reports Nómada.  

To strip Pérez Molina of immunity will require two thirds of Congress's 158 votes. How Líder -- the party of Manuel Baldizón, the front-runner for next week's presidential elections -- votes is critical. Baldizón has not publicly supported stripping Pérez Molina's immunity because he's scared that if Pérez Molina is sent to pre-trial detention on Wednesday, the Sept 6 elections could be jeopardized, according to the Nómada piece. But he is wavering and Pérez Molina is losing congressional support.

El Periodico has a piece on Pérez Molina's busy attempts to drum up support.

As Pérez Molina has had to replace a significant portion of his cabinet, the telecommunications sector -- specifically magnate Mario López, Central America's richest man -- has been benefitted, reports Plaza Pública. The spots occupied by the new minister of economy and a presidential commissioner for competitiveness were previously occupied by the business association CACIF, which earlier this month called for Pérez Molina to resign. (See last Monday's post.) The support for Mario López, who acts independently of the leading business association, is evidence of a deal that might even include the lucrative 4G monopoly reports Nómada

News Briefs
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