Speakers

• Claudia Escobar, Fellow, National Endowment for Democracy; former Guatemalan Court of Appeals Magistrate
• Kristin Tennyson, Chair, Western Hemisphere Area Studies, U.S. Foreign Service Institute
• Donald J. Planty, Senior Advisor, Albright Stonebridge Group; former U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas (Moderator)

When corruption is present, there is no strong rule of law, explained Claudia Escobar, a former Guatemalan Court of Appeals Magistrate, adding: "There is a fight against corruption, but the system is still the same." Judge Escobar was joined by a former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala and a Latin American expert in a Council of the Americas event in Washingon to discuss the impendiments to strengthening rule of law in Central America because. Panelists also addressed the history of other countries such as Spain and Chile as models for battling impunity.

• Watch the second panel discussion about the role of the private sector in improving the rule of law in Central America.