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Guatemala

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

August 2024

Prosecutions are brought against President Arévalo and officials
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The Special Prosecutor against Impunity has brought preliminary criminal proceedings against President Bernardo Arévalo for his alleged participation in a scheme in which the government allegedly made irregular payments to businesses for public works. According to the Special Prosecutor, Arévalo should be charged with abuse of authority and influence peddling. A member of Arévalo’s cabinet and Head of the Victims’ Institute, Ligia Hernandez, has been arrested in the context of a different investigation, one related to the alleged illicit financing of the now-suspended Seed Movement Party. Arevalo has denounced the prosecutions as politically motivated, which are widely regarded by both national and regional experts as part of the broader efforts by some domestic actors, including the Public Prosecutor’s office, to undermine the government and hamper its anti-corruption agenda. 

Sources: La Hora, Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias, CNN (1), Prensa Libre, CNN (2)

May 2024

President Arévalo proposes legal changes to remove top prosecutor
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President Bernardo Arévalo presented an initiative to Congress to modify the law governing the Public Prosecutor’s Office to reinstate the executive’s power to remove the chief prosecutor (Fiscal General). Current top prosecutor Consuelo Porras has been accused of selectively investigating Arévalo and his political party, to undermine the results and meddle in last year’s general elections. Porras, who has been the subject of international sanctions, has condemned Arévalo’s proposal and challenged it before the Constitutional Court. Though the initiative stalled in Congress, the Court granted a provisional protection (amparo provisional) and ordered Arévalo to refrain from taking any measure outside of the constitutional and legal framework against Porras’s term in office, and to refrain from acting against the autonomy of the Public Prosecutor’s office.  The president has sought to remove Porras through other means, such as a request to the Constitutional Court for an opinion on Porras’s suitability as top prosecutor and has argued that she has enabled impunity and corruption, an assessment shared by other political actors and many citizens.

Sources: TelesurTV, Prensa Libre, El Pais

March 2024

Electoral judges are indicted for fraud
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On 14 March, four electoral judges of Guatemala’s Electoral Tribunal were indicted for fraud for allegedly purchasing results transmission technology (for the 2023 elections) at inflated prices. The judges had been stripped of their immunity by a majority in Congress last November, in a measure widely deemed political in nature and criticised as part of the prosecutorial efforts to overturn the results of the 2023 elections. The move had sparked international condemnation and sanctions by the United States. Since then, the electoral judges had been in exile. Upon their return to Guatemala to face the accusations, the presiding criminal judge refused prosecutors’ call for the electoral judges to face additional charges for breach of duties and to remain in pre-trial detention.  

Sources: Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias, France 24, Associated Press 

January 2024

President Arévalo sworn in with delays and his party left out of Congress leadership

Bernardo Arévalo took office as President of Guatemala after numerous post-election hurdles and delays. Prosecutorial actions and investigations into Arévalo and his Semilla Party, widely considered to be unfounded and political in nature, as well as other attempts to undermine the Electoral Tribunal’s authority, had caused serious concerns about the transition of power. 

A group of regional leaders and diplomats, including the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, issued a statement in support of Arévalo, underlining the need to ensure that the popular will be respected and calling on Congress to abide by its mandate. 

Days later, the Constitutional Court ordered that elections for congressional leadership be repeated. This followed an appeal by a member of the opposition, who argued that due to the suspension of Semilla’s legal personality, its members could not take leadership roles. After a repeat election, a Blue Party legislator assumed the presidency of Congress’s Board, excluding Semilla Party members from leadership positions. 

Sources: France 24, El País (1),  El País (2)

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

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Representation
83/173
Rights
132/173
Rule of Law
130/173
Participation
127/173
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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
17 357 886
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Bernardo Arévalo (since 2024)
Head of government party
Movimiento Semilla
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
20%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
12.79
Head of state
President Bernardo Arévalo
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
25/01/2025
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
61.35%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
American Convention on Human Rights
State Party
Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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