Guatemala

Guatemala was freed of Spanish colonial rule in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million refugees.

• tropical;
• hot, humid in lowlands;
• cooler in highlands

• deforestation in the Peten rainforest;
• soil erosion;
• water pollution

party to:

Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

0-14 years:

42.9% (male 3,052,658; female 2,908,428)

15-64 years:

53.8% (male 3,779,688; female 3,706,315)

65 years and over:

3.3% (male 215,653; female 246,642) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Guatemalan(s)

adjective:

Guatemalan

conventional long form:

Republic of Guatemala

conventional short form:

Guatemala

local short form:

Guatemala

local long form:

Republica de Guatemala

• 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

• 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986;
• note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO;
• reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president;
• amended November 1993

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

chief of state:

• President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000);
• Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000);
• Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a four-year term;
• election last held 7 November 1999;
• runoff held 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003)

election results:

Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera elected president; percent of vote - Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (FRG) 68%, Oscar BERGER Perdomo (PAN) 32%

• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (thirteen members 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);
• Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados)

• Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Eduardo SUGER];
• Democratic Union or UD [Rodolfo PAIZ Andrade];
• Grand National Alliance or GANA [leader NA];
• Green Party or LOV [Rodolfo ROSALES Garcis-Salaz];
• Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo];
• Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Secretary General Alba ESTELA Maldonado];
• Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt];
• Movement for Guatemalan Unity or MGU [Jacobo ARBENZ Villanueva];
• Movement for Principals and Values or MPV [Francisco BIANCHI];
• National Advancement Party or PAN [Secretary General Leonel LOPEZ Rodas];
• National Unity for Hope or UNE [Alvarado COLOM Caballeros];
• New Nation Alliance or ANN, formed by an alliance of DIA, URNG, and several splinter groups most of whom subsequently defected [led by three co-equal partners - Nineth Varenca MONTENEGRO Cottom, Rodolfo BAUER Paiz, and Jorge Antonio BALSELLS TUT];
• Patriot Party or PP [retired General Otto PEREZ Molina];
• Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina];
• Reform Movement or MR [Secretary General Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE];
• Unionista Party [leader NA]

• 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;
• Mutual Support Group or GAM

chief of mission:

Ambassador Antonio Fernando ARENALES Forno

chancery:

2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

FAX:

[1] (202) 745-1908

telephone:

[1] (202) 745-4952

chief of mission:

Ambassador John Randle HAMILTON

embassy:

7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City

mailing address:

APO AA 34024

telephone:

[502] 331-1541/55

FAX:

[502] 334-8477

• 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

lowest 10%:

1.6%

highest 10%:

46% (1998)

general assessment:

fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala

domestic:

NA

international:

connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

total:

886 km

narrow gauge:

886 km 0.914-m gauge (2002)

total:

14,118 km

paved:

4,871 km (including 74 km of expressways)

unpaved:

9,247 km (1999)

• Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in Belize border region;
• OAS brokered Differendum in 2002 creating small adjustment to land boundary, large Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK financial package, but agreement was not brought to popular referendum leaving Guatemalan claim to southern half of Belize intact

• major transit country for cocaine and heroin;
• minor producer of illicit opium poppy and cannabis for mostly domestic consumption;
• proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (cocaine and heroin shipments);
• money laundering is a serious problem;
• corruption is a major problem