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Region

Francisco Flores to be region's OAS candidate
On November 19, ex president of El Salvador, Francisco Flores (1999-2004) became Central America's official candidate for the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS). His nomination comes in the wake of ex Costa Rican president Miguel Ángel Rodríguez' resignation from the post on October 9, following corruption allegations in his home country. While Flores' candidature was sealed by a majority vote, the nomination remains controversial in various Central and South American countries. Against this backdrop, critics of the OAS's limitations have multiplied, prompting suggestions that a new institution be created all together.

Region "falls behind" global economies
The Global Competitiveness Report, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), paints a disheartening picture of Central America's ability to compete with the rest of the world's economies. The report suggests that the region is floundering as a result of the debilitating effects of corruption, lack of civil liberties, political instability and fragility in the Rule of Law, among other reasons.

Costa Rica

Corruption scandals good news for some
Costa Rica is currently in the midst of a corruption crisis with two ex presidents in prison, a third under police investigation and many high ranking officials under preventive detention - these include company executives, ex deputies, ex heads of state enterprises and leaders of the two traditional political parties. The cases against ex presidents Rafael Calderón (1990-1994) and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (1998-2002), involve State-run institutions - the Costa Rican Social Security Bank (CCSS) and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) respectively. For some analysts, the revelations are the result of assiduous press investigations and fearless efforts by the judiciary. However, other specialists believe that the recent emergence of so many scandals is instead part of a media strategy to expose events that have been known about for years. By giving the impression that the country is steeped in corruption, so the argument goes, the stories serve to discredit public institutions which national elites as well as multinationals would like to privatize, namely the Social Security Bank and the state-run telecommunications industry.

Guatemala

Northern Transver-sal Strip advances
The Northern Transversal Strip (FTN) project is currently under consideration by the Technical Commission of Finance. While government sources hope it will boost the economy in an area which represents 10% of national territory, critics argue that there are other commercial interests at stake.

An interview with Edgar Gutiérrez
Edgar Gutiérrez, Foreign Minister under Alfonso Portillo´s government (2000-2004) shares his views with CAR on the current state of corruption in the country, considering it a problem endemic to the State. While he highlights the role of the press in uncovering corruption of past governments, in order for the media to avoid "stagnating", he also underlines the need to continue investigations into the present administration.

El Salvador

Triumph of FMLN hardliners
The internal elections of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) on November 7 were marked by accusations of vote rigging and fraud by the two sides competing for party leadership: the traditionalists and the reformists. The traditionalists, led by Shafick Hándal, eventually won but the reformists are contesting the result.

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3 December 2004