Corruption Case Uncovered In Guatemalan Town- Margaret Canady

Last month in the small tourist town of Antigua, Guatemala, the mayor and nine other people were arrested for being involved in a corruption case. Many view the arrests as a major step towards attacking the political wrongdoings common to Guatemala.

Guatemala is one of the poorest, most violent, and corrupted countries in Latin America. However, the small tourist town that features colonial architecture, language schools, and quaint stores felt protected and apart from the country's troubles. But corruption eroded the cobblestone streets of Antigua.

The mayor, Adolfo Vivar Marroquín, and 9 others were jailed on charges of fraud, money laundering, abuse of authority, and more. A United Nations team of prosecutors took up the case and accused Mr. Vivar of stealing millions of dollars of public funds.

Mr. Vivar actually grew up in one of the poor villages surrounding Antigua. He became a doctor, and then was elected mayor twice. Civic leaders supported him at first, but in the past year began to question his motifs. Suspicions included, "Why were the cobblestone streets not being repaired despite all the money approved for it? How did that new condominium project a few miles from downtown get licenses without the required environmental study?" In addition, Mr. Vivar's personal wealth continued to grow.

Local reporters began writing articles, and prosecutors began an investigation. Mr. Vivar was arrested September 14.

The arrest of the officials is a positive step towards getting rid of local political corruption scams in Guatemala. I feel like this is a good thing to happen for the small town, but I hope the arrests do not affect the prosperous tourism economy of Antigua. The big picture is hopefully to free Latin America of corrupted politics. This one incident has set an example for other towns: officials will not be able to get away with lying to citizens.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/world/americas/in-guatemalan-tourist-town-corruption-case-draws-interest.html?ref=americas&_r=0