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Description
Guatemala's legislature passed a law Dec. 11 that could and should put an end to the country's deserved reputation as a free market for trafficking in babies, the adoptions racket. Social groups within the country and the international community have been exerting great pressure for years to end the system by which pretty much anyone could buy a baby for about US$30,000 and be able to have it sooner than would be the case in any other country in the world (see NotiCen, 2007-05-24).
Eighty votes, or two-thirds of the total, were needed to get the law passed in the unicameral Congress, and it was uncertain as late as the day before whether the required number of deputies could be rounded up from their vacations to do the job.
Pressure on the deputies came from the very pinnacles of the international presence in Guatemala. The diplomatic corps dropped in en masse to observe the floor proceedings and party-delegation chiefs promised to muster their people on time. Party whips counted four legislators who had presented excuses not to show up and several more were said to be traveling. The legislature has been in recess... |
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