Derived from various world-wide factors such as the economic crisis and the fluctuation of fuel prices, the search for alternate energy sources has become imperative. This fact has lead to the modernisation of regulatory legal frameworks.
The May 2009 murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano made world headlines when a video surfaced showing the prominent Guatemalan attorney predicting his own death days before it happened. What made the story more sensational was that Rosenberg implicated Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom and several others in the assassination plot....
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The May 2009 murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano made world headlines when a video surfaced showing the prominent Guatemalan attorney predicting his own death days before it happened. What made the story more sensational was that Rosenberg implicated Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom and several others in the assassination plot. Rosenberg then outlined a scheme in which illegal funds were flowing through the public-private bank Banrural into non-existent social programmes run by Colom's wife. Colom denied the accusations and invited UN and FBI officials to participate in the government's investigation of Rosenberg's death.
While news reports focused on the salacious details of the murder, the coverage generally failed to offer deep analysis into the allegations proposed in Rosenberg's video. Lawyers in Guatemala find themselves in a delicate position - holding a great deal of respect for their murdered colleague but not wanting to exacerbate strain on the already fragile economic situation.
In a country known for having one of the highest rates of violent crime in Latin America, some lawyers point to Guatemala's larger problem as a more significant focus than the single case involving Rosenberg. As one interviewee says: "I would not want to take away from the importance of the situation but this happens every day." Many lawyers predict little real impact on business operations in the country other than an immediate downgrade by international economic rating agencies.
Recent bank failures have had a cleansing effect on Guatemala's financial system in terms of shedding foreign debt and streamlining the banking market. But security issues continue to deter investors from opportunities in the nation. While being largely an agrarian economy, Guatemala boasts untapped deposits of minerals and enjoys a moderate level of oil production - more than any of its central American neighbours. Expected bright spots for foreign investors in Guatemala in the future are infrastructure projects financed by private and multilateral lenders as well as the industry promised by the Cafta treaty.
Lawyers see access to microfinance as the key to fostering local enterprises that will help end the country's dependence on the US economy. Last year's trend-breaking drop in export and remittance revenue coincided with America's decline in retail spending. One interviewee invokes the adage: "When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold". "This time around the US has a cold," the lawyer says, "and we are beginning to sneeze."
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