This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
The Congress of the Republic (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Guatemala. The Guatemalan Congress is made up of 160 deputies who are elected by direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms. The electoral system is closed party list proportional representation. 31 of the deputies are elected on a nationwide list, whilst the remaining 127 deputies are elected in 22 multi-member constituencies. Each of Guatemala's 22 departments serves as a district, with the exception of the department of Guatemala containing the capital, which on account of its size is divided into two (distrito central and distrito Guatemala). Departments are allocated seats based on their population size and they are shown in the table below.
Congress of the Republic of Guatemala Congreso de la República de Guatemala | |
|---|---|
| X Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 11 March 1945 |
| Leadership | |
1st Vice President | Darwin Lucas Paiz, UNE since 19 January 2024 |
2nd Vice President | César Amézquita, VIVA since 14 January 2024 |
3rd Vice President | Nery Rodas, Cabal since 14 January 2024 |
1st Secretary | Karina Paz, VOS since 19 January 2024 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 160 members |
 | |
Political groups | Government (25)
Others (135) |
| Elections | |
| Closed-list proportional representation | |
Last election | 25 June 2023 |
Next election | 2027 |
| Motto | |
| God, Union, Liberty | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Zone 1,Guatemala City | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Deputies by Department
edit| Department | Deputies |
|---|---|
| Listado Nacional | 31 |
| Distrito Central | 19 |
| Alta Verapaz | 9 |
| Baja Verapaz | 2 |
| Chimaltenango | 5 |
| Chiquimula | 3 |
| El Progreso | 1 |
| Escuintla | 6 |
| Guatemala (Distrito) | 11 |
| Huehuetenango | 10 |
| Izabal | 3 |
| Jalapa | 3 |
| Jutiapa | 4 |
| Petén | 4 |
| Quetzaltenango | 7 |
| Quiché | 8 |
| Retalhuleu | 3 |
| Sacatepéquez | 3 |
| San Marcos | 9 |
| Santa Rosa | 3 |
| Sololá | 3 |
| Suchitepéquez | 5 |
| Totonicapán | 4 |
| Zacapa | 2 |
| Total | 160 |
History
editGuatemala had a bicameral legislature in the 1845 constitution. It was replaced with the unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes), which was in turn reformulated as the National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional) in 1879, then the Congress of the Republic in 1945.[1]
Political culture
editIt is not uncommon for deputies to change parties during the legislature's term or to secede from a party and create a new party or congressional block.
Building
editThe Congress of the Republic Guatemala is located in the Legislative Palace in Guatemala city.[2]
During the protests against the budget for 2021 on 21 November 2020, protestors entered the building and set parts of it on fire.[3][4][5]
Latest election
edit
| | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | National | District | Total seats | +/– | |||||||
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||||
| Vamos | 628,126 | 15.06 | 6 | 696,325 | 15.54 | 33 | 39 | +23 | |||
| National Unity of Hope | 538,010 | 12.90 | 5 | 571,867 | 12.76 | 23 | 28 | –26 | |||
| Semilla | 488,692 | 11.72 | 5 | 430,297 | 9.60 | 18 | 23 | +16 | |||
| Cabal | 371,215 | 8.90 | 3 | 401,035 | 8.95 | 15 | 18 | New | |||
| Vision with Values | 288,546 | 6.92 | 3 | 258,605 | 5.77 | 8 | 11 | +4 | |||
| Valor–Unionist | Valor–Unionist | 229,861 | 5.51 | 2 | 124,133 | 2.77 | 3 | 5 | New | ||
| Valor | – | 197,538 | 4.41 | 7 | 7 | –2 | |||||
| Unionist Party | – | 22,363 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 | –3 | |||||
| Will, Opportunity and Solidarity | 186,438 | 4.47 | 1 | 178,750 | 3.99 | 3 | 4 | New | |||
| Todos | 169,101 | 4.05 | 1 | 198,893 | 4.44 | 5 | 6 | –1 | |||
| URNG–MAIZ–Winaq | URNG–MAIZ–Winaq | 133,694 | 3.21 | 1 | 25,013 | 0.56 | 0 | 1 | New | ||
| Winaq | – | 76,137 | 1.70 | 0 | 0 | –3 | |||||
| Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity | – | 87,687 | 1.96 | 0 | 0 | –3 | |||||
| Nosotros | 131,217 | 3.15 | 1 | 138,742 | 3.10 | 2 | 3 | New | |||
| Victory | 124,946 | 3.00 | 1 | 126,830 | 2.83 | 2 | 3 | – | |||
| Bienestar Nacional | 112,742 | 2.70 | 1 | 121,488 | 2.71 | 3 | 4 | –4 | |||
| Blue Party | 98,487 | 2.36 | 1 | 109,802 | 2.45 | 1 | 2 | New | |||
| Elephant Community | 95,435 | 2.29 | 1 | 90,040 | 2.01 | 1 | 2 | New | |||
| Podemos | 86,475 | 2.07 | 0 | 87,011 | 1.94 | 0 | 0 | –1 | |||
| Commitment, Renewal and Order | 84,667 | 2.03 | 0 | 102,421 | 2.29 | 3 | 3 | –3 | |||
| Movement for the Liberation of Peoples | 74,802 | 1.79 | 0 | 81,142 | 1.81 | 0 | 0 | –1 | |||
| Humanist Party of Guatemala | 61,564 | 1.48 | 0 | 72,059 | 1.61 | 0 | 0 | –6 | |||
| Change | 52,754 | 1.26 | 0 | 87,821 | 1.96 | 1 | 1 | New | |||
| National Advancement Party | 45,940 | 1.10 | 0 | 41,594 | 0.93 | 0 | 0 | –2 | |||
| My Family | 45,402 | 1.09 | 0 | 44,576 | 0.99 | 0 | 0 | New | |||
| Republican Union | 34,982 | 0.84 | 0 | 34,159 | 0.76 | 0 | 0 | New | |||
| National Convergence Front | 28,827 | 0.69 | 0 | 29,386 | 0.66 | 0 | 0 | –8 | |||
| Guatemalan People's Party | 23,837 | 0.57 | 0 | 12,672 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | New | |||
| Republican Party | 21,658 | 0.52 | 0 | 20,115 | 0.45 | 0 | 0 | New | |||
| National Integration Party | 13,927 | 0.33 | 0 | 12,416 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | New | |||
| Total | 4,171,345 | 100.00 | 32 | 4,480,917 | 100.00 | 128 | 160 | – | |||
| Source: TSE (99.13% counted, national votes) TSE | |||||||||||
Central American Parliament
edit| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vamos | 655,906 | 17.75 | 5 | +2 | |
| National Unity of Hope | 594,918 | 16.10 | 4 | –1 | |
| Semilla | 425,629 | 11.52 | 3 | +2 | |
| Vision with Values | 274,193 | 7.42 | 2 | +1 | |
| Valor–Unionist | 256,291 | 6.94 | 2 | +1 | |
| Todos | 166,509 | 4.51 | 1 | – | |
| Will, Opportunity and Solidarity | 155,181 | 4.20 | 1 | +1 | |
| Nosotros | 131,284 | 3.55 | 1 | +1 | |
| Victory | 120,106 | 3.25 | 1 | +1 | |
| URNG–MAIZ–Winaq | 118,998 | 3.22 | 0 | –2 | |
| Bienestar Nacional | 108,030 | 2.92 | 0 | – | |
| Elephant Community | 100,932 | 2.73 | 0 | – | |
| Blue Party | 95,540 | 2.59 | 0 | – | |
| Podemos | 86,116 | 2.33 | 0 | – | |
| Commitment, Renewal and Order | 81,892 | 2.22 | 0 | –1 | |
| Humanist Party of Guatemala | 70,219 | 1.90 | 0 | – | |
| Change | 55,276 | 1.50 | 0 | – | |
| My Family | 48,948 | 1.32 | 0 | – | |
| National Advancement Party | 41,712 | 1.13 | 0 | – | |
| Republican Union | 34,415 | 0.93 | 0 | – | |
| National Convergence Front | 28,930 | 0.78 | 0 | –2 | |
| Guatemalan People's Party | 23,435 | 0.63 | 0 | – | |
| Republican Party | 20,666 | 0.56 | 0 | – | |
| Total | 3,695,126 | 100.00 | 20 | – | |
| Valid votes | 3,695,126 | 65.83 | |||
| Invalid votes | 1,272,521 | 22.67 | |||
| Blank votes | 645,511 | 11.50 | |||
| Total votes | 5,613,158 | 100.00 | |||
| Source: TSE (99.10% percent counted) | |||||
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Guatemala. Latin American series ;no. 30. 1947. hdl:2027/hvd.32044058953571.
- ^ "Palacio Legislativo". Congreso de la República. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Wirtz, Nic; Kitroeff, Natalie (21 November 2021). "Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ Pérez D., Sonia (21 November 2020). "Protesters burn part of Guatemala's Congress building". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "Protesters set fire to Guatemalan Congress". MSN.com. AFP. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.