The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, carried out this Sunday the first dismissal of his Cabinet after a corruption scandal involving María José Iturbide, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. “With actions, I want to demonstrate to the people of Guatemala that our Government is different: we will not tolerate practices that may be at odds with the proper behavior of any public servant,” the president said this afternoon. Hours earlier, Juan Guerrero, the general secretary of the Presidency, announced in a statement the dismissal of the official after Iturbide granted security and official vehicles of the institution for the protection of her daughter, a influencer 28 years old.
“The president has made this decision to avoid any doubt about the commitment of his Administration and zero tolerance for the misuse of State resources and corruption,” the statement from the Secretary General of the Presidency quotes. The document states that Arévalo has instructed the National Commission against Corruption to “create presidential guidelines for the use of official vehicles, guaranteeing their responsible and ethical use.”
Iturbide's daughter, María Fernanda, 28, is a nutritionist and content creator who publishes her life on social networks daily. In one of her last videos, she recorded the bodyguards and the Ministry vehicles that she used. This was evidenced by local media on Thursday.
With actions, I want to demonstrate to the people of Guatemala that our government is different: we will not tolerate practices that may be at odds with the proper behavior of all public servants.
This is a precedent for our entire cabinet, which will also set criteria for… https://t.co/4NcxmzPpgR
— Bernardo Arévalo (@BArevalodeLeon) April 7, 2024
After the publication, the then Minister Iturbide justified the protection of María Fernanda through a statement. “A few weeks ago, my daughter was subjected to intimidation and persecution in zone 10. My reaction was to provide her with temporary security (…). I recognize that at that moment there was a bad procedure to request the protection of my family, since my reaction was immediate,” said Iturbide.
President Arévalo said on Friday on his official X account, formerly Twitter, that he spoke with the minister to let her know “her mistake” in not measuring the care she wanted to give her daughter. The president added that he told him “that under no circumstances should this be repeated.” This Sunday, on social media, the president made it clear that this becomes a precedent for the entire rest of the Cabinet.
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“The Minister of the Environment had become an unnecessary burden that caused great wear and tear on the Government. It's good that they made the decision to remove her from her. What a pity that it was not the one who offered her resignation,” Gustavo Berganza, sociologist and political analyst, said on his social networks.
Bernardo Arévalo won the elections in Guatemala in August 2023 after promising transparency and combating the deep-rooted corruption that has prevailed in the country for several governments. This April, the president will complete his first 100 days of Administration. The first change in his Cabinet occurred before the mark was met.
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