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● Collect and publish information on candidacies at all levels broken down by ethnicity.
This will draw attention to the representation of indigenous peoples in elected office and their inclusion in the political system.
● Collect information broken down by ethnicity on the composition of permanent and temporary electoral bodies, as well as promote the participation of the indigenous population as permanent or temporary electoral authorities and/or electoral personnel. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In addition, the Mission found that the organizational structure of the TSE does not yet include a department or unit specifically aimed at promoting the political participation of indigenous peoples, establishing links with their communities and developing national policies oriented to this large segment of the population. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The OAS/EOM reiterates the recommendation to: 40 ● Create a specific unit within the TSE to work on the promotion and encouragement of the electoral and political participation of the indigenous population, with a linguistic and intercultural approach.
Inclusion and accessibility The OAS/EOM observed that most of the information campaigns on polling stations and voting that the TSE undertook were only in Spanish, with the exception of information spots in four of the 24 indigenous languages. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
All ballots for elective offices contained information only in Spanish, which is an obstacle for the monolingual indigenous population, which represents 24% of the total population according to official statistics. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In the case of the Mayan people, the percentage is estimated to be around 30%; for the Xinca people, 21%; and for the Garifuna people, 16%.85 The Mission reiterates its recommendation: ● To include native languages in the dissemination of electoral information, the drafting of technical material, and the printing of electoral stationery, especially in those departments where the indigenous population exceeds 50% of the total, within the framework of compliance with the National Languages Law. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The indispensable requirement to vote is possession of a Personal Identification Document (DPI), which costs 100 Quetzales (approximately US$ 12).
This cost could pose an obstacle for the electoral participation of indigenous people, due to the poverty mainly afflicting this population.
The Mission again suggests: ● Reducing the cost of the procedure for obtaining a DPI, or establishing special subsidies for indigenous people who cannot afford this expense. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The Mission was informed about difficulty in accessing polling stations, due to lack of transportation and the long distances from indigenous communities.
The OAS/EOM offers the following recommendation: ● Continue efforts to bring polling stations closer to remote populations and analyze the possibility of providing a free transportation service on Election Day for transportation from the communities to the polling stations, especially in rural areas.
85 INE (2021). | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
85 INE (2021).
Statistical Compendium of Villages 2018.
P. 21.
Available at: https://www.ine.gob.gt/sistema/uploads/2021/12/30/20211230192119ITIf0Taxw7mbshQNenoLw9A9K5cR4pMt.p df 41 The OAS/EOM received information regarding the need to coordinate training and organizational activities between the TSE and the indigenous ancestral authorities, especially strategies for the prevention of electoral conflict and training on the electoral process. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The OAS/EOM offers the following recommendation: ● Establish mechanisms for coordinated and participatory work with ancestral authorities of indigenous peoples, especially for strategies to prevent electoral conflicts in the municipalities, as well as training on the electoral process. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Finally, the Mission welcomes the work of various electoral observation missions promoted by indigenous organizations, whose observers have been helping to promote the political participation of indigenous peoples and the deepening and strengthening of Guatemalan democracy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Mission is grateful for the help it received from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the temporary electoral bodies, and the various agencies of the Guatemalan State that allowed it to carry out its functions. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The OAS/EOM acknowledges the work of the government of the Republic of Guatemala and the security forces, who guaranteed a largely smooth and uneventful election day and cooperated fully with the Mission.
The Mission is expressly grateful for the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in all the deployments carried out in connection with this electoral process. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The OAS/EOM also commends the national and international observation teams, particularly the Gt EOM and the EU EOM, whose work contributed to the transparency and reliability of the process.
The OAS Electoral Observation Mission for the presidential runoff was made possible thanks to financial contributions from Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.
42 | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258681242.pdf | http://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/PRELIMINARY-REPORT---OAS-Electoral-Mission-in-Guatemala-Second-Round.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations Updated March 20, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R42580 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations Summary Guatemala, the most populous Central American country, with a population of 16.3 million, has been consolidating its transition to democracy since the 1980s. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala has a long history of internal conflict, including a 36-year civil war (1960-1996) during which the Guatemalan military held power and over 200,000 people were killed or disappeared.
A democratic constitution was adopted in 1985, and a democratically elected government was inaugurated in 1986.
President Jimmy Morales is being investigated for corruption and has survived three efforts to remove his immunity from prosecution. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Morales took office in January 2016, having campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.
The previous president and vice president had resigned and been arrested after being implicated in a large-scale corruption scandal.
In what many observers see as a step forward in Guatemala’s democratic development, the Public Ministry’s corruption and human rights abuse investigations in recent years have led to the arrest and trial of high-level government, judicial, and military officials. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The Public Ministry is responsible for public prosecution and law enforcement, and works in conjunction with the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to strengthen rule of law in Guatemala.
As their anti-corruption efforts prove effective, the circle of those feeling threatened by investigations broadens, and attacks against CICIG and the judicial system it supports broaden and intensify as well. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Since Morales and some of his inner circle became the targets of investigations, he has ended CICIG’s mandate, tried to terminate it early, and fired some of his more reformist officials.
The Guatemalan Congress is moving legislation forward that would give amnesty to perpetrators of crimes against humanity, free some high profile prisoners held for corruption, and limit the work of non-government organizations. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Observers within Guatemala and abroad worry that Morales and the Congress are trying to protect themselves and others from corruption and other charges, and threatening the rule of law in doing so.
Guatemala continues to face many other challenges, including insecurity, high rates of violence, and increasing rates of poverty and malnourishment.
Guatemala remains a major transit country for cocaine and heroin trafficked from South America to the United States. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Although Guatemala recorded record drug seizures in 2017, the lack of law enforcement and the collusion between corrupt officials and organized crime in many areas enable trafficking of illicit drugs, precursor chemicals, weapons, people, and other contraband.
During Morales’s first year, his administration improved tax collection, and the interior ministry reported a 5% drop in homicide rates.
Morales has since fired many of the officials responsible for those advances and other reforms. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America and in recent decades has had relatively stable economic growth.
Despite that economic growth, Guatemala’s economic inequality and poverty have increased, especially among the rural indigenous population.
The Economist Intelligence Unit projects that the country’s economic growth rate will likely peak in 2018-2019 at 3.2%, followed by a decrease until 2022. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The World Bank calls for rapid economic growth coupled with increased public investment and pro-poor policies to improve social conditions.
Traditionally, the United States and Guatemala have had close relations, with friction at times over human rights and civil/military issues.
Guatemala and the United States have significant trade and are part of the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Top priorities for U.S. bilateral assistance to Guatemala include improving security, governance, and justice for citizens; improving economic growth and food security; providing access to health services; promoting better educational outcomes; providing opportunities for out-of-school youth to reduce their desire to migrate. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The U.S. Strategy for Congressional Research Service Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations Engagement in Central America is meant to spur development and reduce illegal emigration to the United States.
The Trump Administration has proposed substantially cutting funds for Guatemala, and eliminating traditional food aid and the Inter-American Foundation in its FY2018-FY2020 budget requests. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Congress rejected much of those cuts in the reports to and language in the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2018 (P.L.
115-141), and 2019 (P.L.
116-6).
Tensions between Guatemala and much of the international community have arisen over Guatemalan efforts to oust CICIG and to grant amnesty for human rights violations.
The Trump Administration suspended military aid to Guatemala in March 2019 over its misuse of armored vehicles provided by the Department of Defense to combat drug trafficking. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Bills introduced in the 116th Congress regarding Guatemala address immigration, order security, corruption and other governance issues, and include H.Res.
18, H.R.
1630, and S. 716. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Congressional Research Service Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations Contents Political Conditions ......................................................................................................................... 1 2019 Elections ........................................................................................................................... 4 President Jimmy Morales’s Administration .............................................................................. 5 Links between Morales’s Party and the Military ................................................................ 8 Efforts to Combat Impunity and Corruption ............................................................................. 8 Impeachment of a Former President, Arrest of Another ..................................................... 9 Tensions over President Morales’s Dispute with CICIG .................................................. 10 Prosecutions for Wartime Human Rights Violations and Efforts to Stop Them ............... 12 Judicial Reforms to Combat Corruption and the Backlash Against Them ....................... 13 Economic and Social Conditions................................................................................................... 15 U.S.-Guatemalan Relations ........................................................................................................... 18 U.S. Foreign Assistance .......................................................................................................... 20 The Alliance for Prosperity and Other Regional Initiatives .................................................... 22 Trade and CAFTA-DR ............................................................................................................ 23 Counternarcotics Cooperation ................................................................................................. 24 Migration Issues ...................................................................................................................... 25 Intercountry Adoption ............................................................................................................. 26 Figures Figure 1. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala ........................................................................................................................ 2 Tables Table 1.
U.S. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Bilateral Assistance to Guatemala by Account and Fiscal Year .............................. 21 Contacts Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 27 Congressional Research Service Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations Political Conditions President Jimmy Morales, then a relative political newcomer, ran in 2015 on a platform of governing transparently and continuing to root out corruption. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
He is now being investigated for corruption himself.
During the election campaign, as mass protests calling for then-President Pérez Molina’s resignation and an end to corruption and impunity grew, so did Morales’s popular appeal.
Morales framed his lack of political experience as an asset.
His campaign slogan was “Neither corrupt nor a thief.” He won Guatemala’s 2015 presidential election by a landslide with 67% of the vote. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Morales initially supported the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which Guatemala asked the United Nations (U.N.) to form in 2007 to help the government combat corruption, human rights violations, and other crimes.
After he became a target of investigations, he said he would not renew their mandate, which ends in September 2019.
The President tried to terminate CICIG early unilaterally. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Many observers are concerned that Morales’s efforts could undermine ongoing investigations by the Guatemalan attorney general’s office and judicial proceedings, make political reform more difficult, and heighten instability in Guatemala.
The Guatemalan Congress is also moving legislation that, if passed, would reverse progress made in holding government officials and others accountable for corruption and crimes against humanity. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala faces many political and social challenges in addition to widespread corruption and impunity.
Guatemala has some of the highest levels of violence, inequality, and poverty in the region, as well as the largest population.
Indigenous people, about half of the population, experience higher rates of economic and social marginalization than nonindigenous citizens, and have for centuries.
Almost half of the country’s children are chronically malnourished. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala’s homicide rate decreased to 26.1 per 100,000 in 2017, which nonetheless Guatemala at a Glance People Population: 16.91 million (2017, WB) Life expectancy: men, 70 years; women, 74 years (CIA) Ethnic groups: Mixed and European (60.1%); Indigenous Maya (39.3%); other (0.6%) (CIA) Literacy: men, 87.4%; women, 76.3% (CIA) Poverty: 59.3% (2014) Economy GDP: $75.62 billion (2017, WB) GNI per capita: $4,060 (2017, WB) GDP composition by sector: agriculture, 13.3%; industry, 23.4%; services, 63.2% (2017 estimates, CIA) Trade Key export partners: United States (33.8%), El Salvador (11.1%), Honduras (8.8%) (2017, CIA) Top exports to the United States (2016): edible fruit and nuts, citrus fruit, or melon peel; apparel articles and accessories; coffee, tea, mate, spices (GTA) Key import partners: United States (39.8%), China (10.7%), Mexico (10.7%) (2017, CIA) Top imports from the United States: mineral fuel, oil; electric machinery, sound and television equipment; nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery parts (GTA) Leadership President Jimmy Morales (the president is both chief of state and head of government) Sources: CIA World Factbook (CIA), Global Trade Atlas (GTA), World Bank (WB) Congressional Research Service 1 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations remains one of the highest rates in the region.1 Guatemala has a long history of internal conflict and violence, including a 36-year civil war (1960-1996). | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
For most of that time, the Guatemalan military held power and violently repressed and violated the human rights of its citizens, especially its majority indigenous population.
Reports estimate that more than 200,000 people were killed or disappeared during the conflict, with the state bearing responsibility for 93% of human rights violations. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
More than 83% of the victims were identified as Mayan.2 In 1986, Guatemala established a civilian democratic government, but military repression and human rights violations continued.
Peace accords signed in 1996 ended the conflict.
The United States maintained close relations with most Guatemalan governments, including the military governments, before, during, and after the civil war.
Figure 1. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Figure 1.
Guatemala Source: Graphic created by CRS using data from the Department of State (2015) and Global Administrative Areas (2017).
Since the late 1980s, Guatemala has sought to consolidate its transition from military and autocratic rule to a democracy.
Democratically elected civilian governments have governed for 1 “Homicidios bajan a 12.16 por ciento,” Diario de Centro América, February 7, 2018. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
2 Christian Tomuschat, Otilia Lux de Coti, and Alfredo Balsells Tojo, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Commission for Historical Clarification,1999, pp.
17, 20.
Congressional Research Service 2 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations over 30 years, but democratic institutions remain fragile due to high levels of corruption, impunity, drug trafficking, and inequitable distribution of resources. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Although state institutions have investigated and arrested high-level officials, including a sitting president, for corruption, high levels of impunity in many cases continue due to intimidation of judicial officials, deliberate delays in judicial proceedings, and widespread corruption.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) investigated multiple political parties for violations of election campaign finance laws in 2014 and 2015, as part of its auditing process. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
As a result, the TSE dissolved two major parties, the Partido Patriota—former President Pérez Molina’s party— and LIDER.
These investigations are ongoing and may affect the 2019 elections.
President Morales presented his General Government Policy for 2016-2020 in February 2016. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The five pillars of this plan are zero tolerance for corruption, and modernization of the state; improvement in food security and nutrition; improvement in overall health and quality education; promotion of micro, small, and medium enterprises, and tourism and housing construction; and protection of the environment and natural resources. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Halfway into his four-year term (2016-2020), however, Morales was being investigated for corruption and criticized for seemingly backing off his pledge of zero tolerance for corruption.
In 2017, the president’s brother and son were arrested on corruption charges. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In August and September 2017, Guatemala’s attorney general and CICIG announced they were seeking to lift the president’s immunity from prosecution as they investigated alleged violations of campaign finance laws and bonuses paid to him by the military.
Shortly thereafter, the president tried unsuccessfully to expel the head of CICIG, Commissioner Ivan Velásquez.
In 2018, his third year in office, he prevented Velásquez from reentering the country. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In January 2019 Morales tried unilaterally to terminate CICIG’s mandate.
The Constitutional Court ruled that he lacks the authority to do so.
(See “Efforts to Combat Impunity and Corruption,” below.
)Various observers see Morales’s moves against CICIG as part of an effort to impede anti-corruption investigations against him, his relatives and associates.
Morales will lose his immunity from prosecution when his term ends in January 2020. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
A recent opinion poll found that more than 72% of the population has little or no trust in the police, and about 65% has little to no trust in the government.3 Conversely, 83% of the population said they supported CICIG and the Public Ministry—which is headed by the attorney general— making them Guatemala’s most trusted institutions.
So far, the judicial process, protests, and mass mobilizations in the wake of high-level government corruption scandals have remained peaceful. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Nonetheless, tensions have heightened as President Morales’s efforts to impede CICIG have escalated, and the Guatemalan Congress has tried to reduce criminal penalties for corruption and human rights violations.
In January 2019, thousands of Guatemalans joined renewed public protests supporting CICIG and calling for the resignations of President Morales and members of Congress seen as protecting corrupt practices.
(See “Tension,” below.) | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
(See “Tension,” below.)
Continued impunity, coupled with the state’s failure to provide basic public services to large parts of the population, and limited advances in reducing Guatemala’s high poverty levels could prolong tensions.
Military-criminal enterprises and other powerful interests that have benefited from corruption and the status quo have fought against anti-corruption and anti-impunity work since it began. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
They have threatened public prosecutors, the attorney general, and members of the judiciary.
The promote legislation that would protect them from prosecution.
Continued 3 Martín Rodríguez Pellecer, “Encuesta: Pro MP-CICIG y Democracia, y no por Gobierno, Cacif y Ejército,” Nómada, March 27, 2017. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Congressional Research Service 3 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations prosecution of corruption could provoke increasingly violent responses from those whose wealth or power are threatened.
Powerful interests also use more subtle methods to try to weaken CICIG, the Public Ministry, and groups pushing for political reform. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
These include tactics such as discrediting the reputations of officials, activists, and their organizations; delays or cuts in the judicial system’s budget; spurious legal actions that delay trials and drain fiscal and human resources; and attempts to change CICIG’s mandate or terms.
A 2016 International Commission of Jurists report maintains that the Guatemalan state has responded passively to defamation campaigns and attacks on judicial independence. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The report suggests that criminal allegations are fabricated against judges, community leaders, human rights defenders and others to demobilize their anti-corruption activities and silence them.
Since mid-2017, those opposed to anti-corruption efforts have escalated many of these tactics.
2019 Elections Guatemala is scheduled to hold national elections for president, the entire 158-seat Congress, 340 mayors, and other local posts on June 16, 2019. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
President Morales will not be running for reelection, since the Guatemalan constitution limits presidents to one term.
If no presidential candidate wins the first round with more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will compete in a second round on August 11.
Only a few of Guatemala’s 27 parties have named a presidential candidate so far; a final list is supposed to be published on March 17.
As in the last elections, corruption is a major theme for voters this year. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In response to public outcry over past illegal campaign financing and other electoral crimes, Guatemala adopted electoral law reforms in 2016.
Eleven of the 27 parties face charges of illicit or unreported campaign financing, and several candidates face judicial proceedings.4 Registered candidates have immunity from prosecution. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Former Attorney General Thelma Aldana (2014-2018) is the presidential candidate for the new Seed Movement party.5 Aldana has been internationally recognized for her anti-corruption and judicial reform work. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
She, along with CICIG Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, was awarded the 2018 Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” for their “innovative work in exposing abuse of power and prosecuting corruption, thus rebuilding people’s trust in public institutions.”6 The U.S. Department of State awarded her its International Women of Courage Award in 2016. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Aldana has reportedly said she is on the right wing politically, although more recently indicated that she would be interested in an “inclusive platform that was open to people from the left and the right, to women, to immigrants, to young people, to indigenous people, to the private sector…”7 The day that Aldana announced her candidacy, a Guatemalan judge ordered her arrest on charges including embezzlement.8 Aldana has denied wrongdoing, and said that many people in Guatemala are afraid of her continuing fight against corruption. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Sandra Torres, a 2015 presidential candidate and former First Lady, is again running for president with the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party.
Public prosecutors sought to lift Torres’s immunity 4 “Upcoming Guatemala elections seen as challenge for democracy,” BBC Monitoring Americas, February 18, 2019.
5 “Ex-chief prosecutor to run for president in Guatemala,” Associated Press, January 29, 2019. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
6 https://www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/2018-announcement/thelma-aldana-ivan-velasquez/ 7 Brian Winter, “AQ Top 5 Corruption Busters: Thelma Aldana,” Americas Quarterly, 2016; Ximena Enríquez, “Could This Prosecutor Become Guatemala’s Next President?,” Americas Quarterly, July 10, 2018.
8 Sofia Menchu, “Guatemala judge orders arrest of former attorney general,” Reuters, March 19, 2019. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Congressional Research Service 4 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations as a presidential candidate on February 6, over $2.5 million in illicit campaign financing in 2015.
Torres said, without offering evidence, that the request was a move to benefit Aldana’s campaign.9 As mentioned above, the TSE has been investigating illegal campaign financing of the 2015 election process since 2014, and several parties have been dissolved as a result of illegal activities. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Zury Rios, whose father was the late Guatemalan military dictator Efrain Rios Montt, intends to run for president.
Officials initially said she would not be allowed to run, and then a legal judgment ruled in her favor.10 Some observers have expressed concern that President Morales’s efforts to hinder CICIG before the elections could strengthen parties involved in corruption.
CICIG helps Guatemalan institutions enforce campaign finance laws. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Weakening these efforts could facilitate continued financing of politicians by drug cartels and other criminal organizations.
President Jimmy Morales’s Administration President Morales’s administration achieved a few significant reforms in the first year and a half.
For example, the administration developed tax reform policies covering tax collection, the tax authority administration, and the customs office structure. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Since Morales and some of his inner circle became the targets of investigations, however, he has tried to terminate CICIG and fired some of his more reformist Cabinet ministers and other officials who worked closely with CICIG and the attorney general’s office, replacing them with closer allies.
This has raised concerns both domestically and internationally that Morales is trying to protect himself and others from corruption charges and appears to be reversing reformist policies. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
President Jimmy Morales Born in 1969 in Guatemala City, Guatemala, to a family of humble means, Morales made a name for himself as a TV comedian, including as a character in blackface, before entering politics.
After he lost the mayoral race for Mixco in 2011, Morales joined his current party, the right-wing National Convergence Front-Nation (FCN- Nación), in 2013 and became secretary general of the party. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In 2015, FCN-Nación nominated him as its presidential candidate; he drew on his outsider status to distance himself from the historically corrupt political class.
Investigations by CICIG and the Public Ministry (MP) have implicated Morales’s brother and son in a fraud case.
Two attorneys general have sought to have Morales’s immunity from prosecution lifted so he can be investigated for possible campaign finance violations and payments the military paid to him while president. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The Guatemalan Congress, almost half of whose members face criminal investigations themselves, have voted three times to maintain the president’s immunity from prosecution.
The tax administration (SAT), under the leadership of Juan Francisco Solórzano for the first two years of the Morales administration, used judicial measures and intervention to increase recovery of unpaid taxes and substantially increased tax collection. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Solórzano, a former head of the criminal investigation unit at the attorney general’s office, had the endorsement of CICIG as well as the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund.11 Under his leadership, the SAT collected $297 million in recovered taxes in 2016 compared to $5 million in 2015.12 Following austerity measures in 2016 that limited government spending and decreased the deficit, the Guatemalan Congress passed an expansionary 9 Sonia Perez D., “Guatemala presidential candidate targeted over financing,” Associated Press, February 6, 2019. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
10 “Upcoming Guatemala elections seen as challenge for democracy,” BBC Monitoring Americas, February 18, 2019.
11 “Morales Fills a Key Post in Guatemala,” LatinNews, March 10, 2016.
12 Urias Gamarro, “Intervenciones de SAT Mejoraron Cobranza,” Prensa Libre, May 2, 2017.
Congressional Research Service 5 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations budget for 2017.13 This was possible in part because of increased state revenues from improved tax collection. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Solórzano also played a key role in prominent anti-corruption cases.
President Morales fired Solórzano in January 2018. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The interior ministry, which includes Guatemala’s National Civil Police (PNC) force, oversaw a drop in the homicide rate from 27.3 homicides per 100,000 people in 2016 to 26.1 per 100,000 in 2017, the lowest rate in nine years.14 In February 2018, the Morales administration dismissed the three senior officials of the national police, saying it sought “to generate more positive results to benefit citizen security and the fight against organized crime.”15 A wide range of people, including human rights activists and business leaders, expressed concern at their dismissal. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The country’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Jordán Rodas, said Guatemalans must be “very alert” to any movement that represents “regression.”16 A prominent trade association known by its acronym CACIF criticized the ouster, saying that outgoing police Director Nery Ramos had reduced crime. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala congratulated Ramos just a few weeks before his dismissal for his team’s work in reducing homicides by 10% compared to January 2017 and for the PNC’s “fight against corruption and to improve security throughout Guatemala.”17 In response to the high level of violence over many years, a number of municipalities asked for military troops to augment their ineffective police forces; the Guatemalan government has been using a constitutional clause to have the army “temporarily” support the police in combating crime. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Despite efforts to develop a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to security, the previous five administrations’ actions often have been reactive and dependent on the military.
The Morales administration announced a two-phase plan to remove the military from citizen security operations by the end of 2017. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The new plan includes shuffling military currently involved in citizen security efforts to the country’s borders to control land routes used by traffickers and gangs.18 This would be a significant effort to comply with provisions of the 1996 peace accord calling on the army to focus solely on external threats.
The interior minister who initiated the plan, Francisco Rivas, was fired by the president in January 2018. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Morales said that the plan would continue, however, and military troops would be withdrawn from the streets by March 2018.19 Morales’s current Minister of the Interior, Enrique Degenhart Asturias, indicated a shift in priorities away from fighting corruption to fighting gangs. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
One of his first actions was to ask the Guatemalan Congress to designate criminal gangs as “terrorist organizations.”20 On August 30, 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that the government must justify the appointment of Degenhart, and his Vice Minister, Kamilo Rivera, in response to a complaint that their actions had put the security of Guatemalans at risk.
13 Economist Intelligence Unit, “Country Report: Guatemala,” generated June 7, 2017, p. 2. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
14 Carlos Hernández, “Monitoreo Final de PNC Reportó 258 Homicidios Menos en el País,” Ministerio de Gobernación, January 1, 2017, and “Homicidios bajan a 12.16 por ciento,” Diario de Centro América, February 7, 2018.
15 “Destituyen a los tres altos mandos policíacos en Guatemala,” Diario 24 Horas, February 28, 2018.
16 Héctor Silva Ávalos, Felipe Puerta, and Kelly Grant, “Ousting of Police Director May Shift Guatemala’s Balance of Power,” InSight Crime, March 2, 2018. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
17 “Ambassador Arreaga supports the efforts of the National Civil Police,” U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, January 31, 2018.
18 Lorena Baires, “Guatemala Reforzará Sus Fronteras para Cortar Rutas de Narcotráfico,” Diálogo, April 4, 2017.
19 José Meléndez, “Guatemala retira al ejército de las calles,” El Universal, March 8, 2018.
20 “Guatemala seeks to designate criminal gangs as ‘terrorists’,” Agence France Presse, January 29, 2018. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Congressional Research Service 6 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations Morales had already faced criticism for not acting forcefully enough on his pledge to crack down on corruption, and for his links to family and friends under investigation, before he tried to expel Commissioner Velásquez.
Then-Attorney General Aldana worked closely with the commissioner of CICIG to prosecute high-level corruption and human rights violation cases. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Both said that the president initially had not interfered directly in corruption cases—even those involving his family.
But both also expressed disappointment that he had not spoken out in support of them and their anti-corruption efforts when attacked by anti-reform elements.
They also voiced concern that Morales has publicly portrayed himself and his family as victims of the judicial system, potentially biasing the judicial process. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Initially, President Morales’s political power was limited as a result of his own inexperience and his party’s weak position in the legislature.
Morales’s small party, the right-wing National Convergence Front-Nation (FCN-Nación), won 11 of 158 seats in the legislature.
The Guatemalan Congress elected an opposition member to be president of the unicameral chamber.
At the beginning of Morales’s term, deputies defected from other parties, bringing the FCN- Nación’s seat total to 37. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
People criticized Morales for allowing the deputies to join his party just before the Congress outlawed the practice.
The public prosecutor received complaints alleging that bribery motivated some defections to the FCN-Nación.21 Morales has since formed an alliance able to pass legislation, however, and consolidated his support in the Congress. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In 2017, the legislature twice voted against prosecutors’ requests to lift the president’s immunity for violations of campaign finance laws and bonuses paid to him by the military, blocking further investigations into the president’s role in the scandals.
The Congress tried to weaken anti-corruption laws with a measure to reduce penalties for illegal campaign financing that the public dubbed the “Pact of the Corrupt.” Public outcry was so strong that Congress repealed the law two days after passing it. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Nonetheless, the Congress elected a new leadership in February 2018, all of whom, according to the State Department, voted for that pact.
In August 2018, the newly appointed Attorney General, Maria Consuelo Porras, submitted a third request to lift the President’s immunity.
The Guatemalan Congress voted again to maintain the President’s immunity from prosecution.
Almost half of the deputies in Congress are under investigation or have legal processes pending against them for corruption or other crimes. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Morales has also come under fire for two contracts with an Indiana lobbying firm that reportedly has ties to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.22 The firm was hired to improve relations between the U.S. and Guatemalan governments outside of normal diplomatic channels.
Guatemalan politicians without the authority to act in foreign affairs signed the contracts. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Morales denies knowing about the contract, though one was signed on his behalf, and only he and the foreign ministry are authorized to intervene in foreign affairs.23 Furthermore, observers criticize his reclusiveness with the press: he has removed journalists’ access to the presidential palace, and rarely holds press conferences.
Morales’s administration and the secretariat for Social Welfare came under scrutiny after a fire killed 41 girls in a state-run home in March 2017. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The director of the shelter, the minister of Social Welfare, and his deputy were dismissed after the fire.
Later that year a judge charged the former minister, his deputy, and five additional people (two police officers with abuse, and three 21 “Lack of Reforms Will Undermine Corruption Crackdown,” Business Monitor Online, March 1, 2016.
22 Nina Lakhani, “Guatemala President Under Pressure over Lobbying Firm Linked to Mike Pence,” The Guardian, June 23, 2017. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
23 Nina Lakhani, “Guatemala President Under Pressure over Lobbying Firm Linked to Mike Pence,” The Guardian, June 23, 2017.
Congressional Research Service 7 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations senior members of social and child protection agencies with manslaughter or negligence).24 Trials against public officials charged in the case began in February 2019. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Links between Morales’s Party and the Military Before the current controversy between Morales and CICIG, human rights and other observers expressed concern that Morales’s party’s ties to former military officers might put pressure on Morales’s support of CICIG, as well as limit his government’s investigation of military corruption and human rights violations. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Before the new government was sworn in, then-Attorney General Aldana requested legal action against retired army colonel Edgar Ovalle, a key advisor to Morales and a legislator-elect with the FCN-Nación, for alleged civil war-era (1960-1996) human rights violations.
After declining the request in 2016, Guatemala’s Supreme Court lifted Ovalle’s immunity in 2017.
Ovalle fled, his whereabouts unknown since March 2017.
Over a dozen other military officers have been arrested on similar charges. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Many of them support the FCN-Nación and belong to a military veterans’ association, Avemilgua, which Ovalle helped found.
Avemilgua members created the FCN-Nación in 2004, and testified in court in defense of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt in 2013.
Rios Montt, found guilty in 2013 of committing genocide and crimes against humanity during the civil war, had his conviction effectively vacated a short time later.
In 2016, a retrial began. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
In 2016, a retrial began.
In 2017, a judge ordered Rios Montt to stand trial in a different case for the massacre of 201 people between 1982 and 1983 in Dos Erres.25 Rios Montt died in 2018 before the trials concluded.
Morales reportedly said he did not believe genocide had been committed during the war, but that crimes against humanity had.26 CICIG The United Nations and Guatemala agreed to establish CICIG in 2007. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Guatemala sought the U.N.’s help in combatting a “parallel state” of criminal gangs, business elite, politicians, and security services that was undermining the elected government.
The Commission’s mandate is to help Guatemala dismantle illegal groups and clandestine structures responsible for organized crime, human rights violations, and other crimes through investigations and prosecutions, as well as to recommend legal reforms.
Many experts agree CICIG has made significant progress in its goals. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
According to public opinion polls, CICIG and the Public Ministry are the most trusted institutions in Guatemala.
CICIG’s current mandate ends September 3, 2019.
Morales has already said he will not renew its mandate.
The Defense Ministry said in 2017 that it had been paying President Morales a substantial salary bonus since December 2016 (see “Tension” below). | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Two former presidents, Alfonso Portillo and Alvaro Colom, reportedly said they received no such bonus.27 Morales’s former defense minister has been arrested in the case.
Efforts to Combat Impunity and Corruption In what many observers see as a step forward in Guatemala’s democratic development, the Public Ministry’s corruption and human rights abuse investigations in recent years have led to the arrest and trial of high-level government, judicial, and military officials. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
They have also led to a 24 “Guatemala: Officials and Police Charged over Girls Shelter Blaze,” BBC, June 25, 2017.
25 Henry Estuardo Pocasangre and Jerson Ramos, “Ríos Montt Enfrentará Juicio Especial por Masacre de Dos Erres,” Prensa Libre, March 31, 2017.
26 Sarah Blaskey, Jeff Abbott, “The Military Powers behind Guatemala’s Comedian Presidential Front-Runner,” Tico Times, October 9, 2015. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
27 Martin Rodriguez Pellecer, Javier Estrada Tobar, “Aislado y en pie de guerra, asi afrontan Jimmy y FCN el Paro Nacional,” Nomada, September 20, 2017.
Congressional Research Service 8 Guatemala: Political and Socioeconomic Conditions and U.S. Relations backlash against those reform efforts, threats against the attorneys general and the head of an international commission, and a political crisis involving current President Jimmy Morales. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The Public Ministry, which is headed by the Attorney General, is responsible for public prosecution and law enforcement, and has worked in conjunction with CICIG to strengthen rule of law in Guatemala.
President Morales appointed a new attorney general, Maria Consuelo Porras, in May, 2018, when Aldana’s term expired. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
Since 2007, CICIG has worked with the Public Ministry and the attorney general’s office to reduce the country’s rampant criminal impunity by strengthening Guatemala’s capacity to investigate and prosecute crime.
The government invited CICIG to assist with constitutional reforms and restructuring the judicial system.
As a result of collaboration with CICIG, prosecutors have increased conviction rates in murder trials, and targeted corruption and organized crime linked to drug trafficking. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
The Guatemalan public widely supports CICIG.
The United States, other governments, and international institutions have expressed broad support for the work of both the attorney general’s office and CICIG over the years, and offered praise for their accomplishments. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
A 2018 U.S. State Department report highlights these accomplishments: CICIG’s hundreds of investigations have resulted in charges against more than 200 current and former government officials—including two recent presidents and several ministers, police chiefs, military officers, and judges.
CICIG Commissioner Ivan Velasquez and [then-] AG [Thelma] Aldana forged a strong cooperative alliance to pursue many high- profile corruption cases. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
CICIG also builds the capacity of prosecutors, judges, and investigators working on high-profile and corruption-related cases.28 A January 2019 CICIG statement reports that the commission has supported the Public Ministry in more than 100 cases, including against former President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti, both of whom subsequently resigned. | Democratic Participation | Electoral facilitation for women candidates and women voters | Guatemala | https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1709258693981.pdf | https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42580.pdf | federal political party act | true |
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