On International Anti-Corruption Day, it is important to remember and reaffirm the civic role we play in mitigating this evil that hinders Guatemala's development. Historically, corruption has been a major obstacle to overcome worldwide and especially in the Latin American region. Institutional weakness contributes to permissive scenarios for acts of corruption, as well as the continuation of practices and incentives that often hinder the ability to detect and punish it.
Addressing the problem of corruption is a matter that concerns all citizens. To achieve this, it is necessary to start by exercising our civic duty. This means fulfilling our citizen duties, complying with the law, being responsible with our obligations, and being clear that the proper functioning of our society benefits everyone.
How does Guatemala rank in the Capacity to Combat Corruption Index?
The Capacity to Combat Corruption Index by AS/COA and Control Risks focuses on the capacity to “discover, punish, and deter corruption”. This index does not evaluate the perception of corruption or measure its economic impact. Instead, it measures how effective countries are in their anti-corruption efforts.
Guatemala ranks 13th out of 15 Latin American countries. It fell from 11th to 13th place in the Index, ranking only above Bolivia and Venezuela.
| Guatemala's Score | |
| 2020 | 2021 |
| 4.04 out of 10 | 3.84 out of 10 |
The CCC Index has three subcategories. From these, 14 other variables emerge that provide an overview of the anti-corruption efforts in each country.
1. Legal Capacity
In the subcategory of legal capacity, Guatemala scored 3.75 points. This means that the country is weak in aspects related to the Rule of Law: judicial independence and independence of anti-corruption agencies, government transparency, and resources for the attorney general's office and investigators.
Judicial independence has been repeatedly highlighted as a pillar of a democratic republic. During the court elections in 2019 and 2020, a call was made to evaluate magistrate candidates to ensure they were and appeared to be independent. Unfortunately, two years have passed and the election of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals remains inconclusive.
On the other hand, although the Constitutional Court is not part of the judicial branch, its independence and efficiency impact the country's legal capacity. The new magistracy must demonstrate impartial and objective actions, without arbitrarily favoring or harming those who appear before the court.
Likewise, judicial inefficiency cannot be overlooked, as it has serious access problems for citizens, considering the country's judicial backlog. For example, a criminal process can take 817 days in Guatemala.
Regarding anti-corruption agencies in the country, there is still doubt about how independent and effective the presidential commission against corruption is if it is part of the Executive Branch itself. International support for the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity was also seen, which makes it important for the long term to strengthen the institution of the Public Ministry and other prosecutor's offices.
Finally, government transparency has been a citizen demand for a long time. In this regard, Guatemala ranks 11th out of 15 countries evaluated. The perception of transparency has worsened with the COVID-19 health management. However, there have been proposals to improve the situation, for example with public spending.
2. Democracy and Political Institutions.
In this subcategory, Guatemala's score is 3.12. This is the lowest subcategory for the country. We are below the regional average in areas such as the quality and enforcement of campaign finance legislation, the legislative and governmental process, as well as the overall quality of democracy.
Meanwhile, legislative processes are slow. On several occasions, there has been little willingness on the part of deputies to advance the legislative agenda. For example, postponing the election of Supreme Court of Justice and Court of Appeals magistrates, approving budgets with broad citizen rejection, or recently disregarding the citizen call to reform the Electoral and Political Parties Law.
3. Civil Society, Media and Private Sector
For the subcategory of civil society, media, and private sector, Guatemala scored 5.43 points. This is the highest-ranked category of the three. The country is above the regional average in terms of civil society mobilization against corruption. The CCC Index indicates that Guatemala has a "vibrant civil society" and, compared to other countries, the issue of reducing corruption has remained a citizen priority.
Confronting Corruption
Corruption hinders development, violates the rights and freedoms of citizens, worsens low levels of education or health, and above all, spreads to many corners of our society. However, our civility and commitment to a better country can change the situation. The fight against corruption must be every day, and especially to commemorate that effort on International Anti-Corruption Day.
Fighting corruption requires our civic engagement.