Legislation: Guatemala has ratified the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in November 2006 and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption in July 2001, but has not yet implemented all of its provisions, such as criminalising illicit enrichment. However, fraud, extortion, using public resources for private gain, bribing foreign officials, active and passive bribery are addressed by the Penal Code (in Spanish). The passing of a strong Anti-Money Laundering Law (in Spanish) in 2001 has been seen as a positive step by observers. In October 2010, a new regulation targeting money laundering and terrorism financing was approved by monetary authorities, according to the US Department of State 2011. Under the new regulation, a depositor who deposits over USD 3,000 is subject to additional requirements such as a sworn statement. The constitution provides for all the acts of the administration to be made public, but a law on access to information was not passed until September 2008 (and went into force in April 2009), after almost a decade of discussions. The law provides for all documents regarding the amount of public funding, the way those are administered, and in some cases even the salaries of public employees to be made accessible to the citizens upon request. The law also includes penalties for public officers denying access to those documents. The US Department of State 2011 notes that the government has been criticised by the press, among others, for not having provided sufficient resources to allow government and publicly funded offices to comply fully with the law. In December 2010, the Congress passed the Asset Recovery Law, which allows the Guatemalan courts to seize goods and assets derived from illicit activities, including corruption, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds, extortion, trafficking, and money laundering. The seized goods will be handed over to the judiciary, the Ministry of Interior, and the Public Ministry, according to a December 2010 article by Global Issues. Another initiative has been the draft law Mechanisms of Transparency for Parliamentary Process, presented by two Guatemalan congressmen in December 2010, according to a February 2011 article by Voices Against Corruption. This draft law is aimed at introducing transparency and accountability to the Congress and has been developed as a result of discussions and workshops with members of civil society. It consists of implementing an electronic panel, acquired by the Congress around five years ago, which will allow the use of the electronic system of voting by all 158 congressmen, recording every decision for the public to access and monitor. Access the Lexadin World Law Guide for a collection of legislation in Guatemala.

Government Strategies: An increasing number of public initiatives addressing corruption have been launched by the Guatemalan administrations since 2000 under the National Programme for Global Transparency. Under the current administration, anti-corruption initiatives have primarily been headed by Vice President, Rafael Espada. In December 2008, he launched a National Campaign against Corruption to raise awareness about the problem, and to inform the public that the abuse of public funds by government officials will not be tolerated by the government. Another initiative was the implementation of the Integrated Financial Management System (SIAF) which, according to the World Bank, contributed to efficiency in financial transactions and the production of timely and transparent information on most government finances. Although the number of initiatives indicates a growing political interest in fighting corruption, the established agencies have also been criticised for the lack of coordination between strategies and for being under political influence. The relevant entities addressing corruption are listed below.

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Established by the Alfonso Portillo administration (2000-2004), both the Commission for Transparency and Anti-Corruption and the District Attorney's Office have been set up within the National Program for Global Transparency to address corruption and act on denunciation. According to Freedom House 2010, these anti-corruption agencies do not enjoy protection from political interference, which limits their effectiveness. Another initiative of the Portillo government was the Commission for Fighting Corruption in the Justice Sector, the mandate of which is to formulate policies and strategies that increase transparency and combat corruption in the judicial system. One of the objectives of the commission has been to raise awareness among officials in the judicial system about corruption.

Commission for Transparency and Anti-Corruption was created by the Colom administration in February 2008. The Commission is headed by Vice President Rafael Espada in conjunction with the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Special Affairs and the Project Coordinator of TI's Guatemalan chapter, Acción Ciudadana. The commission will seek to enhance transparency and fight corruption within the executive branch and to reform the executive's Code of Ethics. Other goals include the coordination of anti-corruption policies with the Comptroller General's Office to prevent embezzlement of public funds and to create an instrument to which corruption can be reported. There is a reporting mechanism on the website of the Vice President. However, there are no reports on the number of cases received or on user satisfaction. In regards to the independence of the Commission, Freedom House 2010 notes that it is not protected from political interference in practice, which has repercussions for the effectiveness of this agency.

International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG): Congress created the CICIG in August 2007. The CICIG examines the extent of corruption, violence and organised crime within public institutions, political parties and the civil society. The CICIG was jointly proposed by the United Nations and the government with the aim of strengthening public institutions and fighting the culture of impunity. CICIG is allowed by its mandate to conduct independent investigations and help authorities bring representative cases to trial in national courts. According to an August 2010 article by IPS News Agency, Congress has failed to act on several reform proposals submitted by CICIG, considered essential in the fight against corruption and impunity. According to the CICIG, out of more than 6,400 homicides committed in Guatemala in 2009, only 230 led to a conviction. Since its establishment, the CICIG's mandate had been extended once, and now it has been further extended to September 2013, according to the US Department of State 2011. However, the CICIG will face a budget cut of USD 5 million, cutting its budget from USD 20 million to USD 15 million in the year 2012, and as a consequence, the CICIG will dismiss 30 percent of its current employees, according to a November 2011 article by In Sight.

The Comptroller General (in Spanish) is the national supreme audit institution for the entire public sector, charged with overseeing proper use of public resources. However, previously, the Comptroller General's Office had been a target of corruption and money laundering. For example, in 2005, former Comptroller General, Oscar Dubon, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for money laundering and embezzlement. In October 2010, five Comptroller General's auditors were also arrested in relation to alleged corruption, according to Global Integrity 2010 and the US Department of State 2010. Some observers argue that it is under-funded and equipped with limited staff that are not adequately educated. Political appointments are also said to occur. However, despite these alleged deficiencies, the Comptroller General has demonstrated improved functionality, while, in 2004, it released a report identifying budget anomalies in 56 public institutions. Still, however, Freedom House 2010 characterises this institution as weak, underfunded and understaffed, and points to the fact that, although officials who manage public funds or earn more than USD 1,000 a month are subject to financial disclosure laws, these and other oversight provisions are weakly enforced by the office.

The Human Rights Ombudsman (in Spanish) covers the entire nation and is guaranteed freedom of action through the constitution. According to Global Integrity 2010, in law, the Ombudsman is an independent institution protected from political interference, but in practice it is sometimes not provided with enough resources to carry out its investigations. Despite of the lack of resources, the Ombudsman publishes reports regularly and they are publicly accessible, and the Ombudsman is considered reasonably effective and trusted by the public, according to the US Department of State 2010. The functions of the Ombudsman are to investigate, denunciate and promote administrative or judicial actions with regards to human rights violations committed in Guatemala. However, it is not mandated to cover corruption cases.

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI): Since 1 March 2011, Guatemala has been accepted as a candidate country in the EITI, which aims at strengthening transparency and accountability in the country's extractive sector. Guatemala is currently underway in implementing EITI requirements and has until 28 August 2013 to complete EITI Validation.

E-Governance: Until recently, e-governance has not been well-developed in Guatemala, which means that direct contact points between front-line public officials and companies was hard to avoid when operating in Guatemala. However, this situation has improved in recent years within some areas of the public administration. For instance, the Berger administration sought to improve transparency in public procurement and contracting by establishing Guatecompras (in Spanish), a web portal where companies may find information and download application forms related to procurement opportunities. In November 2006, the Superintendent of Tax Administration (SAT, in Spanish) launched a customs modernisation programme that implemented an advanced electronic system, e-SAT (in Spanish), which provides useful information, legislation and e-registration related to moving goods through customs. Since 2004, the government has operated the Invest in Guatemala website, where foreign investors can find detailed information about business opportunities and guidance about how to obtain the necessary licences and permits to operate in the country.

Public Procurement: Some observers report that enforcement of the Law on Public Procurement and Contracting (in Spanish) is inadequate and that other relevant laws regulating public procurement procedures are ambiguous. According to Freedom House 2010, unsuccessful bidders are not afforded an official review process other than litigation, which they rarely pursue given the inefficiency and corruption of the judicial system. The government has tried to curb corruption in public procurement and contracting by establishing Guatecompras (in Spanish), an internet-based electronic procurement system, which provides companies with all necessary information related to procurement opportunities. Computerisation of public procurement is intended to reduce the number of direct contact points between public officials and companies, thus reducing the opportunities to solicit bribes in return for contracts. Since March 2004, it has been mandatory for Guatemalan government entities to use Guatrecompras. According to the US Department of State 2011, this initiative along with other efforts to combat corruption within procurement has made some progress. Nevertheless, some government agencies reportedly continue to use parallel systems of procurement to avoid auditing and public bidding, such as spending through international organisations or NGOs. According to the procurement law, most government purchases over USD 111,000 are required to be submitted to competitive bidding. In August 2009, the Congress approved reforms to the Procurement Law, which simplified bidding procedures, eliminated the fee for receiving bidding documents, and provides an additional opportunity for suppliers to raise objections over the bidding process. Despite of the reforms, large government procurements are often subject to appeals and injunctions based on perceived irregularities in the bidding process, such as lack of transparency, according to the US Department of State 2011.

Whistle-Blowing: According to Global Integrity 2010, there is no legislation to protect civil servants or private sector employees from negative consequences of reporting corruption cases. The Organised Crime Act provides protection to people who have collaborated in the investigation of a crime or criminal prosecution, but only on criminal facts. Some public institutions have internal complaint mechanisms (i.e. a hotline, local office or e-mail) where civil servants can lodge their complaints. For example, the Comptroller General has a reporting mechanism (in Spanish) on its website (under 'Denúncias') where citizens can report cases of corruption related to the misuse of public funds. The Vice President's office also created a reporting mechanism on its website in 2008, to which citizens and public officials can report cases of corruption. Reporting cases of corruption to the Vice President cannot be done anonymously. Overall, Global Integrity 2010 evaluates whistleblower protection in Guatemala as very weak.

General Comments on the Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives: The Colom administration - much like the former administration - faces an uphill struggle in the fight against corruption. Apart from the assassination allegations against the President in May 2009, Colom's intentions to curb corruption and improve the business climate in Guatemala have suffered from corruption scandals in 2007 and 2008. Also structural problems within the political system are likely to impede Colom from pursuing reforms. In fact, the political deadlock in Congress currently limits the emergence of any efficient and full-scale campaign. Progress is slow, and only a few of the public initiatives have proven effective in the fight against corruption in Guatemala. The gap between the law and its application is perceived as widening. The proliferation of institutions with similar mandate and the lack of coordination between the different entities established to fight corruption in Guatemala is a major challenge for the future success of anti-corruption efforts. At this moment, President Colom will finish his tenure in January 2011, and the presidency will be succeeded by a retired army general, Otto Pérez Molina. It now remains to be seen how the government under Pérez Molina will be able to address corruption issues ahead of him.