Basically, I'm not entirely convinced that Guatemala is anymore corrupt than it was a few years ago even though its score on the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International showed a sharp decline from 2010 to 2011 meaning its much more corrupt.
I think a lot of the increase has to do with the uncovering of corruption by Paz y Paz and CICIG which I mention at the end of the piece. What I didn't mention is the role of the media. It sure seems as though Guatemala's media is much more focused on uncovering corruption in politics today than they were a few years ago. Perhaps it's because there is more corruption with Colom than other presidents.
It's also possible, however, that the media is more committed to uncovering corrupt acts today and will continue to be so going forward (which is a good thing). It's also possible that they never liked Colom and have been harder on him than they were on Portillo and Berger. I guess we'll have to wait to see whether their committing to uncovering corruption is just related to Colom or will continue into the next Perez administration.
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