While former president Jimmy Morales expelled the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), his successor Alejandro Giammattei, in office since January 2020, is supporting the restructuring of impunity. Democratic checks and balances have been undermined or totally disabled. Civil society organizations promoting anti-corruption have been under attack, as have independent media investigating abuse of power and corruption.
Although the economy remained relatively stable, enormous social inequalities remain and were exacerbated by the pandemic, leading to even more emigration. About one million additional people will likely descend into poverty. Remittances from the United States, however, did not decline during the pandemic but increased in the second half of 2020.
The government focused on balancing institutional power in order to support the continuity of corrupt networks and block advances in the prosecution of corruption. In managing the COVID-19 pandemic, the government failed to define plans and coherently use funding assigned to face the health crisis. All administration decisions have been short-term and reactive.
