Article by PBI-Canada

On August 13, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted about their accompaniment of the residents of Patzicia in their actions against corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PBI-Guatemala article highlights:

“Municipalities are one of the institutions which manage and control aid.

Patzicía, a municipality in the department of Chimaltenango, located just over 60 kilometers from the capital city of Guatemala, is one of the municipalities which has received funds from the central government to implement programs that support the population in addressing the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

This municipality, however, has an asset that many of country’s territories do not: more than 150 residents organized against institutional corruption in the region.

The Neighbors Against Corruption in Patzicía are leading a process of social audit of government aid programs which are being implemented by the municipality, with the aim of preventing possible episodes of corruption.

They asked about the contents of the boxes to be delivered, how many boxes were sent to Patzicía and how many families benefited. They also point out the importance of transparency in the criteria used by the municipal council to choose the families to benefit from the boxes as well as a list of beneficiaries to be broken down by hamlets, villages and areas of the municipality, in addition to how many boxes were finally delivered.

PBI is accompanying the residents of Patzicía in their actions against corruption, seeking to protect the space they work in so that they can continue to carry out citizen audit and reporting actions, which are essential to a democratic system.”

To read the full PBI-Guatemala article in English, please click on The coronavirus has not stopped the fight against corruption for the residents of Patzicía and in Spanish at El coronavirus no frena la lucha contra la corrupción de los y las vecinas de Patzicía.

For more about PBI-Guatemala, please click here.