Calls Grow for Guatemalan VP to Resign Over Corruption Scandal

​ Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti received further pressure to resign Wednesday after the influential business lobby, Cacif, publicly called on the embattled politician to step down.

In a televised press conference, Cacif president Jorge Briz, said that Baldetti should resign “for the sake of transparency, governability and in defense of democracy and the preservation of institutionally.”

Baldetti is accused of having participated in a large-scale scam in which she and at least 24 other high-ranking civil servants are alleged to have received bribes in exchange for lower taxes on imported goods.

Meanwhile, around 200 protesters staged another march in the capital calling for both Baldetti and President Otto Perez Molina to step down immediately.

In recent weeks, thousands of citizens have been demanding the resignations after an investigation uncovered the US$130 million operation, which Baldetti’s personal assistant is charged with being at the head of.

Last month, political deputy Amilcar de Jesús Pop of the opposition Winaq party submitted a formal legal complaint requesting that the immunity given to Baldetti as an elected official be removed so that she could be investigated in relation to the case.

Meanwhile, Guatemala’s supreme court (CSJ) ruled Wednesday that there was sufficient evidence to justify an investigation of Baldetti after intercepted phone calls linked her to the corruption scheme.

Baldetti’s legal team has denied any involvement, however the ruling means that Baldetti may face investigation just months before the Sept. 6 general elections.