Guatemala notes / ruling class follies.
If you think the ruling class in the US is insidious, they got nothing on rich Guatemalans. The big story here is the recent collapse of 2 major banks, Banco de Café and Banco de Comercio. Both cases are similar. The directors of these banks, who in each case belong to groups of related families, run their banks more or less honestly for a few years. Then suddenly they loan all the bank’s money to some unregistered “offshore” entity that they own and which subsequently disappears with all the money. The banks close their doors and the executives disappear. And there is no such thing as deposit insurance here. Thousands of depositors are left holding the bag – an empty one. One, a retired airline pilot, committed suicide outside the closed bank.
Later, the government shrugs its shoulders, saying that they only knew what the bank told them. There is no public audit either. Then, languidly, the government issues arrest warrants for all the bank executives, but – surprise!!! – they’re all gone without a trace, probably to Panama for plastic surgery and a few rounds of golf. Panama, the recent “compromise” addition to the UN Security Council, is where you go when you are too corrupt to go directly to Miami.
When are these provincial elites ever going to learn from their US counterparts to pass laws that allow them to steal the people’s money legally? But for pure immorality, these guys define “cojones.” I guess it’s what you’re reduced to when you can’t sponsor imperial aggression.
David Hamilton
