Arguing that it is time to "strengthen State institutions," President Morales has announced that he will not renew the mandate of the International Commission against Impunity, whose term expires in a year.
The controversial decision by the Guatemalan government, which was announced over the weekend, is based, according to Morales, on the idea that after ten years of work by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the time has come to transfer its capabilities over to the State.
One of the decisions taken by Guatemalan businessmen with interests in Nicaragua is to suspend new investments until the situation in the country is normalized.
Due to the social and political situation that the country has been experiencing for more than three months, Guatemalan investors that operate companies in Nicaragua have been analyzing the situation closely, and are already taking measures to minimize the impact of the crisis on businesses. One of the decisions that some companies have taken is to reduce the cost of the operation to the lowest possible level, in order to maintain or reduce product inventories.
In Guatemala, the government has extended until January 3, 2020, the timeframe for regularizing projects, works, industries or activities that do not have an environmental impact study.
Through agreement 137-2016, the government gave a period of two years for the environmental regularization of the different industries to take place, this period expired on July 11 of this year.
The international loan approved by Congress will be used to improve the response capacities of the country's emergency services and health services, social protection services and agricultural recovery.
From a statement issued by the Congress of Guatemala:
With 84 votes in favor, the Plenary of the Congress of Deputies approved this Wednesday, Decree 15-2018, which authorizes negotiations for a Loan Agreement, for US $250 million, between the Government of Guatemala and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD.
To be able to ship cargo throughout the region, Central American business leaders are exploring options for moving goods using alternative methods, such as shipping.
Representatives from the Costa Rican government and the union of exporters met to address the issue of blockades in Nicaragua and the logistical drawbacks that they have caused, since Costa Rica transports by land about five thousand containers to the other Central American countries every month. As a result of this meeting, both parties concluded that the most viable option is to use maritime transport.
In Guatemala, the National Competitiveness Policy has come into force, which aims to promote development through 11 economic clusters.
The Ministry of Economy reported that the National Competitiveness Policy, which is part of the 2018-2032 period, will focus on "... the 11 clusters chosen from a list of 25 that had been previously identified, those being: forestry, fruits and vegetables, processed foods, beverages, textile clothing and footwear, metalworking, light manufacturing, tourism and health services, TIC's software & Contact Centers, transport and logistics, construction."
In response to the rupture of the dialogue on the part of the Ortega administration, companies and citizen organizations have called for a national strike on Thursday, June 14.
Demanding the cessation of repression by the Government and the resumption of the National Dialogue, social and business organizations, called for a general strike to take place tomorrow.
Since the beginning of the week at least 500 cargo trucks from Central American countries have been unable to get around a blockade in the department of Carazo.
Since the afternoon of last Monday, traffic has reportedly been totally shutdown in the area known as Dolores, near the municipality of Jinotepe, because protesters opposed to the Ortega administration are blocking roads.
Entrepreneurs feel that corruption in the public administration is the State's main problem, and they affirm that a high percentage of companies have been exposed to bribes.
The Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations of Guatemala carried out the "I Survey of Business Perception 2018", and among the main results that were obtained, were that "...38% of entrepreneurs said that corruption in public administration is the state's main problem which prevents development, while 43% say that their companies have been exposed to bribes."
In the first projects that are planned to be developed as part of the plan, around $116 million will be invested in construction works, vehicle purchases and other things.
The first investments will be made in seven departments, and the province to which the most resources have been allocated is Quiché, which will receive an investment of $46 million.In this region, 43 projects will be implemented, including the construction of a service center and the acquisition of garbage trucks.
The government has modified the immigration status for people of Venezuelan origin with an ordinary passport, who will now be required to have a "consular visa".
Representatives of the Guatemalan executive announced that since last week Venezuelan visas have been changed to a more restrictive category, and now any person who is originally from that South American country and wishes to enter the country, must present a consular visa.
In 2017, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all of the countries in the region, with the exception of Guatemala and Nicaragua, where it remained the same as in 2016, and in Costa Rica, where it decreased slightly.
The public sector still perceives Nicaragua to be the most corrupt country (transparency level 26 on a scale from 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (28), Honduras (29), El Salvador (33), Panama (37) and Costa Rica (59).
Citizens are less than two months away from going to a ballotage to elect a new government without having discussed the country's priority issues, even though some of them require urgent attention and a deep national discussion in order to find a solution.
A savings fund, housing loans, expenses for recreation and bonuses, scholarships for children, and restaurant services for employees of the state and the monopolist hydrocarbons distributor of Costa Rica, are financed through the prices paid by consumers, even by the poorest.
Only 25% of graduates from Costa Rica 's National Institute of Learning managed to obtain a job in the specialty in which they supposedly were trained.
Two articles in Nacion.com warn of the very serious situation that is affecting not only young people who are wasting their time studying what will not help them get a job, but also that demand from companies for trained personnel is not being satisfied either, diminishing the competitiveness of the Costa Rican economy, and bringing down the aforementioned superiority of the country's human capital over the rest of the region.