by the El Reportero’s wire services
The Central American Parliament (Parlacen), with its central headquarters in Guatemala, will have since today a new owner for the period 2015-2016: the Deputy of the opposition Liberal Constitutionalist Party of Nicaragua, José Antonio Alvarado.
The investiture of the new president of the integration mechanism, formally installed on October 28, 1991 will take place in a solemn ceremony in the capital’s National Palace of Culture, former governmental seat of this country.
According to the spokesman of the Parlacen, Fernando Calvillo, Alvarado was the winner after two rounds of voting carried out yesterday, and he will replace Honduran Armando Bardales in office.
The determination of carrying out a second round of elections responded to the fact that none of the candidates received more than 50 percent to their favor in the initial phase of the process, in which should participate the 120 members of the regional instrument.
Nicaragua should assume the direction of the agency, after Honduras, according to the annual rotation stipulated by the constitutive treaty of the organization, of which El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Dominican Republic are also members.
Each of these countries has around 20 representatives in the group, who are chosen in correspondence with the electoral rules in their home territories.
Parlacen membership is also comprised of former presidents and vice presidents of participating nations, including Mexico as an observer.
Mexico: Corruption is destructive
Mexican entrepreneurs and authorities coincided in the Business Summit of Guadalajara Tuesday, that corruption in the country is highly destructive.
“Corruption destroys”, assured Julio A. Milian Bojalil, president of the Corporacion Azteca Group (CORAZA), who stated that each year, corruption costs the Mexican government the equivalent to four percentual points of the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is 740 billion Mexican pesos (49 billion dollars).
Guatemalan president-elect approves action against corruption
President-elect Jimmy Morales expressed today his approval fo the dismantling of the corruption ring that operated in the Social Welfare Institute of Guatemala (ISSG) and reiterated that he will fight influence peddling.
“Every crime must be punished, must be tried, in case due process shows the crime was committed. No one is above the law and, from the presidency, we will fully allow all cases to be investigated,” he stated.
Regarding the permanence of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (cicig), a UN body that, along with the Attorney General’s Office, have dismantled this and other criminal groups in the country since 2007, Morales shared his determination to keep it.
Honduras received more than 7000 deported children in 2015
This year, Honduras has received at least seven thousand children deported from Mexico, where they arrive with the hope of crossing the U.S. border, an official source confirmed today.
Francisco Adalid, Head of the International Abduction and Migration at the Children, Adolescents and Family Directorate, told the press that half of that number are minors between 12 and 17 years old and the rest are even younger.
“The reasons why these children keep migrating are the same: firstly we have economic reasons, secondly family reunification and finally because of the widespread violence”, the official said.
According to Adalid, new repatriations are expected before the end of the year since Mexico has strengthened the security measures at the border.
He added that the Government plans to remodel a foster institution to properly receive the children, after several complaints about the violation of fundamental rights like access to food and health care.
Mexico: State of Guerrero keeps the highest murder rate
The Mexican state of Guerrero had 3,000 murdered people in the year 2014 and this year so far, with the highest rate of intentional murder in the nation, press media reported here Thursday.
These facts, are linked to insecurity, violence and organized crime.
Acapulco is considered one of the most violent municipalities in Mexico, since it reported a total of 591 homicides in 2014.
