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Guatemala: Guatemala Government Profile 2012

2012/03/13

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Guatemala Government Profile 2012

Government
Until a military coup in 1982, Guatemala was governed under a constitution that became effective in 1966. Following the coup, Guatemala was ruled by the military. A new constitution based on the 1966 model was drafted in 1984. National elections were held late in 1985, and the new constitution took effect in January 1986.

Executive
Under the 1986 constitution, executive power in Guatemala is vested in a president, popularly elected to a nonrenewable 5-year term. The president exercises a broad range of powers, including the authority to preserve public order, command the armed forces, and nominate and remove cabinet ministers and other officials. The president is aided by a vice president, who presides over congress.

Legislature
Legislative functions are exercised by a unicameral National Congress, whose 100 deputies serve 5-year terms. Three-fourths of the deputies are directly elected by universal suffrage; the remaining 25 are elected on the basis of proportional representation.

Political Parties
After the military coup in 1982, all political organizations were required to disband; political parties were once again legalized in 1985. In congressional elections held that November, the Guatemalan Christian Democrat party (founded in 1968) won 51 of the 100 seats. The candidate of the Christian Democrat party was the leading vote-getter in the 1985 presidential elections, followed by the nominee of Union of the National Center (1984).

Local Government
Each of the 22 departments of Guatemala is ruled by a governor. Departments are divided into municipalities.

Judiciary
The highest tribunal is the Supreme Court of Justice, made up of at least seven judges elected to 4-year terms by the National Congress. It nominates judges of lower tribunals, such as the court of appeal, the administrative disputes tribunal, and courts of first instance.
 

Government type: 

constitutional democratic republic

Administrative divisions: 

22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa

Independence: 

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: 

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 

31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; suspended 25 May 1993; reinstated 5 June 1993; amended November 1993

Legal system: 

civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 

18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day

Legislative branch: 

unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 9 September 2007 (next to be held in September 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - UNE 30.4%, GANA 23.4%, PP 18.9%, FRG 9.5%, PU 5.1%, other 12.7%; seats by party - UNE 48, GANA 37, PP 30, FRG 15, PU 8, CASA 5, EG 4, PAN 4, UCN 4, URNG 2, UD 1

Judicial branch: 

Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected by Congress for concurrent five-year terms); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members are elected by Congress to serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms)

Political parties and leaders : 

Center of Social Action or CASA [Feliz Adolfo RUANO de Leon]; Democracy Front or FRENTE [Alfonso CABRERA]; Democratic Union or UD [Edwin Armando MARTINEZ Herrera]; Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENGRO]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Jaime Antonio MARTINEZ Lohayza]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Hector Alfredo NUILA Ericastilla]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Independent Bloc Guatemala or BG [Macario Efrain OLIVA Muralles]; Independent Democratic Freedom Renewed or LIDER [Roberto Ricardo VILLATE Villatoro]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Carlos YAT Sierra]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Roberto KESTLER Velasquez]; Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Cesar Leonel SOTO Arango]; Patriot Party or PP [Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias]; Unionista Party or PU [Pablo Manuel DURATE Saenz de Tejada]

Political pressure groups and leaders: 

Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala or CICIG; Mutual Support Group or GAM

International organization participation: 

BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag description: 

three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue, with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath