Thousands have hit the streets in protest since the scandal first erupted in April, on a scale never before seen in Guatemala.
The accusations have stoked outrage in the country of 15 million people, 53.7 percent of whom live in poverty, where the scars are still fresh from a 36-year civil war that ended in 1996.
Guatemala also has the dubious distinction of being one of Latin America’s most violent nations, with 6,000 murders each year.
The scandal was uncovered by investigators from a United Nations commission tasked with fighting high-level graft in Guatemala, who say they found massive evidence that Perez orchestrated a scheme dubbed “La Linea” (The Line), named for the hotline that importers would allegedly call to access a network of corrupt officials.
Investigators say their accusations are based on 89,000 wire-tapped phone calls.
The climate in Guatemala is jubilant but also tense heading into Sunday’s elections, which will also choose the members of the 158-seat legislature and 338 mayors.
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