Central America’s legal systems are increasingly corrupt
In Guatemala alone some 15 legal officials have been forced to flee in the past year
“THE LAW IS a business,” says Juan, a 34-year-old who sells legal documents, including copies of the constitution, on a busy street opposite Guatemala’s highest court. “The laws I sell don’t apply; rather those with money get their way.” It is a common view in a country in which gun-toting men sometimes guard judicial offices, ostensibly to protect their inhabitants.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Injudicious judges”
From the April 2nd 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
An interview with Javier Milei, Argentina’s president
A transcript of his meeting with our journalist
Mexico and Canada brace for Donald Trump’s tariff thrashing
Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Justin Trudeau are taking different approaches to looming trade war
Javier Milei, free-market revolutionary
Argentina’s president explains how he has overturned the old economic order
Is Uruguay too stable for its own good?
The new president must deal with serious problems with growth, education and crime
Bolsonaro’s bid to regain Brazil’s presidency may end in prison
Brazilian police have accused some of his backers of involvement not just in a coup, but in an assassination plot
The mafia’s latest bonanza: salmon heists
Fish farming is big business in Chile. Stealing fish is, too