Guatemala: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala etymology: name derives from the Mayan word meaning "land of trees" |
|---|---|
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | Guatemala City
Guatemala City
geographic coordinates: 14 37 N, 90 31 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| 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 | several previous; latest adopted 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; suspended, reinstated, and amended in 1994 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years with no absences of six consecutive months or longer or absences totaling more than a year |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces and police by law cannot vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (since 14 January 2016); Vice President Jafeth CABRERA Franco (since 14 January 2016); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (since 14 January 2016); Vice President Jafeth CABRERA Franco (since 14 January 2016) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (not eligible for consecutive terms); election last held in 2 rounds on 6 September and 25 October 2015 (next to be held in September 2019) election results: Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (FNC) elected president; percent of vote in first round - Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (FNC) 23.8%, Sandra TORRES (UNE) 19.8%, Manuel BALDIZON (LIDER) 19.6%; percent of vote in second round - Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (FNC) 67.4%, Sandra TORRES (UNE) 32.6% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; 127 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies within each of the country's 22 departments by simple majority vote and 31 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 6 September 2015 (next to be held in September 2019) election results: percent of vote by party - LIDER 19.10%, UNE 14.83%, TODOS 9.74%, PP 9.43%, FCN 8.75%, EG 6.24%, PU 5.69%, UCN 5.43%, Winaq-URNG-MAIZ 4.32%, Convergence 3.84%, VIVA 3.66%, PAN 3.42, FUERZA 2.07%, other 3.48%; seats by party - LIDER 44, UNE 36, TODOS 18, PP 17, FCN 11, EG 7, UCN 6, PU 5, Winaq-URNG-MAIZ 3, Convergence 3, VIVA 3, PAN 3, FUERZA 2 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 13 magistrates including the court president and organized into 3 chambers); note - the court president also supervises trial judges countrywide; Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad (consists of 5 judges and 5 alternates) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court magistrates elected by the Congress of the Republic from candidates proposed by the Postulation Committee, an independent body of deans of the country's university law schools, representatives of the country's law associations, and representatives of the Courts of Appeal; magistrates elected for concurrent, renewable 5-year terms; Constitutional Court judges - 1 elected by the Congress of the Republic, 1 by the Supreme Court, 1 by the president of the republic, 1 by the (public) University of San Carlos, and 1 by the lawyers bar association; judges elected for concurrent, renewable 5-year terms; the presidency of the court rotates among the magistrates for a single 1-year term subordinate courts: numerous first instance and appellate courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Commitment, Renewal, and Order or CREO (Roberto GONZALEZ Diaz-Duran) Convergence Democratic Union or UD (Edwin Armando MARTINEZ Herrera) Encounter for Guatemala or EG (Nineth MONTENEGRO Cottom) Everyone Together for Guatemala or TODOS (Felipe ALEJOS) FUERZA (Maurico REDFORD) Grand National Alliance or GANA (Jaime Antonio MARTINEZ Lohayza) Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or Winaq-URNG (Angel SANCHEZ Viesca) Institutional Republican Party (formerly the Guatemalan Republican Front) or PRI (Luis Fernando PEREZ) National Advancement Party or PAN (Juan GUTIERREZ Strauss) National Unity for Hope or UNE (Sandra TORRES) Nationalist Change Union or UCN (Mario ESTRADA) National Convergence Front or FCN (Edgar Justino OVALLE Maldonado) New National Alternative or ANN (Pablo MONSANTO) Patriot Party or PP (Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias) Renewed Democratic Liberty or LIDER (Manuel BALDIZON) Unionista Party or PU (Alvaro ARZU Irigoyen) Victoria (Victory) (Amilcar RIVERA) Vision with Values or VIVA (Harold CABALLEROS) (part of a coalition with EG during the last legislative election) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Alliance Against Impunity or AI (includes among others Center for Legal Action on Human Rights (CALDH), Family and Friends of the Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA)) Civic and Political Convergence of Women Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF Foundation for the Development of Guatemala or FUNDESA Guatemala Visible Mutual Support Group or GAM Movimiento PRO-Justicia National Union of Agriculture Workers or UNAGRO |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gladys Marithza RUIZ SANCHEZ (since 2 June 2016) chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (1) (202) 745-4952 FAX: (1) (202) 745-1908 consulate(s): Del Rio (TX), San Bernadino (CA), Silver Spring (MD), Tucson (AZ) consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, McAllen (TX), Miami, New York, Phoenix, Providence (RI), San Francisco, Silver Spring (MD), Tucson (AZ) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Todd D. ROBINSON (since 10 October 2014) embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: DPO AA 34024 telephone: (502) 2326-4000 FAX: (502) 2326-4654 |
| 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) representing liberty 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 signifying Guatemala's willingness to defend itself and a pair of crossed swords representing honor and framed by a laurel wreath symbolizing victory; the blue bands represent the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea; the white band denotes peace and purity |
| National symbol(s) | quetzal (bird); national colors: blue, white |
| National anthem | name: "Himno Nacional de Guatemala" (National Anthem of Guatemala) lyrics/music: Jose Joaquin PALMA/Rafael Alvarez OVALLE note: adopted 1897, modified lyrics adopted 1934; Cuban poet Jose Joaquin PALMA anonymously submitted lyrics to a public contest calling for a national anthem; his authorship was not discovered until 1911 |