Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces
may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since
14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14
January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo
(since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas
(since 14 January 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term
(may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 9 November
2003; runoff held 28 December 2003 (next to be held September 2007)
election results: Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected president; percent of
vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo (GANA) 54.1%, Alvarado COLOM (UNE) 45.9%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica
(158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held 9 November 2003 (next to be held September 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other 18
note: for the 9 November 2003 election, the number of congressional
seats increased from 113 to 158
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's
highest court (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); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte
Suprema de Justicia (13 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)
Political parties and leaders:
Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Eduardo SUGER]; Grand
National Alliance or GANA [Fraterno VILLA, secretary general];
Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo];
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Alba ESTELA
Maldonado, secretary general]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG
[Efrain RIOS Montt]; Movement for Guatemalan Unity or MGU [Jacobo
ARBENZ Villanueva]; Movement for Principles and Values or MPV
[Francisco BIANCHI]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Leonel LOPEZ
Rodas, secretary general]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Alvaro
COLOM Caballeros]; New Nation Alliance or ANN (formed by an alliance
of DIA, URNG, and several splinter groups most of whom subsequently
defected) [Pablo MONSANTO]; Patriot Party or PP [Ret. Gen. Otto
PEREZ Molina]; Reform Movement or MR [Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE,
secretary general]; Unionista Party [Fritz GARCIA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
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
International organization participation:
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA,
MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Guillermo CASTILLO
chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952
FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, Providence, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James M. DERHAM embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] 2326-4000 FAX: [502] 2326-4654
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and
light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the
coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird)
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