. >> i'm daniel schweimler in southern argentina. where satellites are made. we'll blast into orbit, and here they are very excited. >> you have kids here who've killed someone? >> award winning journalist soledad o'brien takes us inside the violent world of kids behind bars. will a new experimental program be their last chance? >> i have to do my 100 percent best so i don't end up in a place like this again. >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target >>> welcome back, you're watching al jazeera, live from doha, a reminder of our top stories. n.a.t.o. special forces reach the northern city of kunduz. they are there to bolster the army. fighting remains focused around the city's airports. >> russia's upper house of parliament has approved the use of military force abroad, as moscow builds up the presence in syria. the involvement will be limited to air strikes. syrian presid

daniel schweimler is live for us in guatemala city. where does this leave the government, the country now >>> that's a great question. it's the first time that has ever happened in guatemalan history. the culmination of a series of investigations started several months ago into a corruption scandal involving the customs office. normally you might expect the vice president to take over. she is in prison, implicated in the same scandal. six of the presidents, ministers have resigned, also involved in scandal. there has been huge demonstrations by guatemalans, in designation of the president. he could fight his own defense and run the ship at the same time. he was saying on wednesday, now it seems as though he decided his position is untenable. of course, there's elections in guatemala on sunday. he was due to stay off until january, when the new president - he wouldn't be standing in the elections, when a new president takes over in january, now it's a case of guatemalans finding out, looking at the constitution and finding out what the

things moving very, very fast here in guatemala >>> daniel schweimler reporting from guantanamo city >>> the white house addressed the political crisis in guantanamo, expressing hope about the upcoming election this weekend. >> evidently you expect, not just the vice president, but the next government that is elected in the september election, will continue to implement the kind of reforms that we believe are in the interests of the people of guatemala. particularly when it comes to fighting corruption and impunity >>> latin american organizations have some unfortunate injury, of leaders forced out of office. the president resigned in december, in 1992. before he could be impeached. he was accused of financial fraud, impeached and removed from office, august 1993. the president was impeached for physical and mental incapacity after serving for six months in office. in november 2000. peruvian president was impeached for weren't moral incapacity. in april 2005. the equadorian president was forced out by congress after six months of political conflict. joining us is ambassador who serve

daniel schweimler joins us live from guatemala city. given all of this controversy, what has the turn out been like. >> the turn out is very high. at the moment, as you may see, it has begun to rain in guatemala city. people are enthusiastic about voting, if a little syndicate about the 14 candidates on the paper in front of them. those doing the best in the opinion polls, apart from those being investigated, jimmy morales, distant from politics, who has not been tainted by the scandals that we see here in recent months. they are doing well. people want to see the electoral process go forward and someone emerge from what has been a mess here in the last week or so, and are putting their faith in the process, though they don't always talk to the people, have a great deal of faith in the people they have to choose from. >> on that night. it's a crowded field. what are the candidates offering? >> well, first and foremost they are offering honesty and they are free of corruption, which is not surprising given what has gone on. this is what

it's a plague. >> daniel schweimler has more from guatemala city. >> guatemalans are taking a breather ahead of sunday's elections in what's been one est most tumultuous weeks in their recent history. they changed presidents. the former president molina is sitting in a military baracks awaiting the redsumption of a hearing into his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal. the people face a huge array of candidates to potentially replace him after a second round of vote can, which will probably follow in october and the new president will step in, in january. those doing the best in the opinion polls are generally those who have been most distant from the political process, untated by these corruption scandals that the country has suffered. one in particular, a television comedian by the name of jimmy morales is surging in the opinion polls and is likely to reach the second round of voting. others, a little more statemented perhaps by association, by other alleged corruption scandals. guatemalans pleased with themselves for having as they see it got the rid of a man as they

daniel schweimler has more from guatemalan city. >> this is a case of how fast and how far otto perez molina put in a short time. tuesday morning he was president of guatemala. that was days that the immunity was lifted. the following day an order for arrest was issued, a few hours later he resigned. preliminary hearings on the corruption charges brought down members of the government. a few hours later the judge ordered him to be remanded in custody, fearing that he may flee the country, he may spend thursday night in prison. here things have been moving quickly. the vice president has been sworn in as the interim president, and will serve until january. there'll be elections sunday, with him presented with an array of candidates. many of them satisfied by allegations of corruption, or their association with corrupt politicians. a great deal of uncertainty leading up to the elections. watching or waiting with trepidation to see how things emerged. in the meantime people have been celebrating on the streets of guatemala. they have been asking for his resignation because of corruption

daniel schweimler reports from guatemala city. >> reporter: this judge gave an intimation during his address that he thought there was ample evidence for the former president molina to go to trial. charging him with criminal association, taking bribes and customs' fraud. and ordered him to be held in cpreventative custody. the former president resigned last week after an arrest warrant named him in a massive scandal. in which businesses gave bribes to avoid taxes on the imports. they were elected in 2011, promising to tackle corruption. there's not one shred of evidence. nothing solid that should allow the case to move forward. >> reporter: corruption in guatemala is not new. what changed is a successful campaign to end impunity. just a week ago president molina was the president. today he is under tight security. a sign to reform the country, but nobody is above the law. >> reporter: his down fall was swift. coming after months of protests which grew as details of the case he was involved in came to light. >> we are fed up with corruption in the government. that was something that u

daniel schweimler reports. >> it was a rare victory, even if only a partial one. after a round of meetings and phone calls, president dilma rousseff managed to veto 26 of the spending plans, ensuring savings of 31 billion. some contentious wage and pension issues were composed for another day. along with plans for 39 ministries. >> i have been telling the opposition and the governing coalition party that one day the president will go. we need to be involved in solving long-term problems. >> translation: we won't have the taxation measures go through. we don't think society should pay for the mistakes made by the government. >> cuts mean job losses. opponents came to protest here, here and here. outside the ministers lining the avenue leading up from the congress building and the president's office. >> she has nothing to celebrate with all the things pushing through, and neither do we since we'll suffer the consequences of what she's trying to do. >> what happened last night is part of a political game in which we the workers used. >> the cuts agreed, and those to

protesters have been calling for him to resign for months, daniel schweimler sent this update from guatemala city >>> fast-moving events in guatemala, tuesday the congress voted to lift the presidential immunity of president perez molina. a couple of days later the attorney-general issued an arrest warrant and the president said he would continue to run the county and take the accusations, and decided that situation was untenable, and he'd have to resign. this comes three days before sunday's presidential elections, but he was due to be in office until the winner of those elections was going to take over in january. a vice president was to be appointed. the current serving vice president in prison. implicated. six of the presidents, cabinet ministers resigned. along with leading business people. other politicians, and others on the run. this is a corruption scandal. called the line. in which business people, importers paid bribes to allow goods to be brought into the country without paying the full duty, millions involved in that. tens of thousands of guatemalans on the streets on a regular

daniel schweimler takes up the store from guatemala city. >> reporter: guatemala lives a turbulent history. for the second day prisoning, former president molina appeared in court on corruption charges. the judge suspended the proceedings on tuesday, remanding him amid fears he may flee the country. the interim president sworn in on thursday is getting to grips with the country that he'll be governing for 133 days. he stands down in the middle of jrn. he took type of out from his busy schedule to talk to al jazeera, and told us he'd try to ensure all members of the governments were free of the corruption that plagued guatemala in recent years. when you woke up monday, tuesday morning, did you in your wildest dreams end the week thinking you would be president of your country. >> the truth is the president told me about his intention to resign before going to court. it was only a question of hours until that medicine was taken. i was ready. this is not the outcome i wanted. i only agreed to be vice president to smooth the constitutional transition, it was a change i had to take. >> you had

more from daniel schweimler, live for us in guatemala. it's been an eventful couple of hours.ell us more. >> thinks have been moving fast. this whole week. i mean, monday, perez was still the president. today he is no longer the president, and is standing in court on charges of corruption. a new president has been sworn in, and as you mentioned, the country is facing elections on sunday. the people behind me are celebrating the president's resignation, and they have been asking for weeks that he stand down. but they are watching and waiting to see what happens after the election. they want change, they know that they want a new government. how that will come about, that is for them to decide and plan over the next few days and months. >> it's difficult for ordinary guatemalans to trust at the moment? >> well, the politicians, candidates are doing invest in the opinion polls, are those that are different from every day politics. he is shooting up in the opinion polls. because he admits to knowing little about politics, and not seen by the actions of the politicians. he's doing

daniel schweimler joins us from guatemala. why did he resign? >> i think the president felt his position was untenable. he said that he's innocent again against charges against him. he initially said he would fight them and run the country at the statement. but the owner general ordered his arrest a few hours ago. and there's growing protests. tens of thousands on the streets asking that the president and his cabinet resigns. there's elections on sunday. they will fight the charges against them. >> does this leave a political vacuum in the country, considering the deputies have been accused as well. >> yes, a huge vacuum. six of the cabinet ministers resigned. the vice president, roxana, who would have been expected to have taken over from the president, has been in prison for some weeks herself, implicated in the same scandal. the country had to find a new vice president who will step in to fill the gap between now, to cover the elections on sunday. president molina was due to be in office until january, when the winner of the elections was goi