GUATEMALA-CORRUPTION/PEREZ-STATEMENT Guatemalan president says won't stand down amid graft scandal
Record ID:
142735
GUATEMALA-CORRUPTION/PEREZ-STATEMENT Guatemalan president says won't stand down amid graft scandal
- Title: GUATEMALA-CORRUPTION/PEREZ-STATEMENT Guatemalan president says won't stand down amid graft scandal
- Date: 24th August 2015
- Summary: GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (AUGUST 23, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BANGING A DRUM AND SHOUTING PROTEST SLOGANS OUTSIDE OF PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MERCEDES VALLE RESIDENT SAYING: "I think that he has shown that he has a very hard face. A lack of shame. I think that any work team for shame for personal dignity if they have nothing to do with this (scandal) they should have resigned a long time ago because of what has happened." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS OUTSIDE PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE
- Embargoed: 8th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Guatemala
- Country: Guatemala
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA15Y8XB9VW8L5MTOBWCOWAB2A3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Perez dismissed corruption allegations leveled against him by prosecutors and said on Sunday (August 23) he would not stand down, despite mounting pressure on the government and calls for his impeachment as a presidential election looms.
In a combative, pre-recorded address that was televised to the nation, an animated Perez said he had received no money from the customs racket to which investigators have linked him, and stressed that his conscience "was clear".
Guatemala's attorney general and a U.N.-backed anti-corruption body known as the CICIG sought to impeach Perez on Friday after months of investigation into the racket known as La Linea, or 'the line', after a phone hotline used in the scandal.
"I will not resign and will fully submit myself to the legal process," said Perez, a 64-year-old retired general.
"I categorically reject any link (to the scandal)," he said, apologizing for the scandals afflicting his government.
"I can not help but recognize that this has happened in my government and by close government officials or those I designated. That obliges me to ask for public forgiveness and to say what comes from my heart, to ask that the Guatemalan people to forgive me," he said.
His words did not do much to move the hearts of protesters that banged on drums and chanted anti-Perez slogans outside the Presidential residence.
"I think that any work team for shame for personal dignity if they have nothing to do with this (scandal) they should have resigned a long time ago because of what has happened," said Mercedes Valle a resident who came out to show her discontent.
Investigations led by the CICIG have battered Guatemala's political establishment and also engulfed the running mate of the favorite to succeed Perez, casting doubt on the outcome of the race.
On Friday (August 21), former Vice President Roxana Baldetti was arrested over the La Linea scandal. Attorney General Thelma Aldana submitted a bid to impeach Perez later that day.
Perez's agriculture and health ministers both quit his cabinet on Sunday, following in the footsteps of two others on Saturday who said they could no longer serve in his government.
Baldetti, who stood down in May and was arrested on Friday while receiving treatment at a hospital, is suspected of illicit association, bribery and fraud linked to the customs racket.
Prosecutors say Perez was at the head of the scam.
It is unclear how much money was involved in the fraud, More than 20 people have been arrested over it so far.
The first round of the presidential vote is due on Sept. 6 although, with a 50 percent winning threshold in place, the elections are likely to go to a second round run-off on Oct. 25.
Perez cannot run for re-election under Guatemalan law. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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