Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President of Guatemala is both head of state, head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of the Republic. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Guatemala is a Constitutional Republic.
Juan José Arévalo Bermejo was a Guatemalan statesman and professor of philosophy who became Guatemala's first democratically elected president in 1945. He was elected following a popular uprising against the United States-backed dictator Jorge Ubico that began the Guatemalan Revolution. He remained in office until 1951, surviving 25 coup attempts. He did not contest the election of 1951, instead choosing to hand over power to Jacobo Árbenz. As president, he enacted several social reform policies, including an increase in the minimum wage and a series of literacy programs. He also oversaw the drafting of a new constitution in 1945. He is the father of the current President of Guatemala Bernardo Arévalo.
The National Unity of Hope is a populist political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 2002 and defined itself as a social-democratic and social-Christian party, but since transformed and is now described as a right-wing party. It is the largest political party in Guatemala by the number of members.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guatemala:
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically bordered to the south by the Pacific Ocean and to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras.
The Secretariats of the Presidency is a body within the executive branch of the Guatemalan government that supports the functions and agenda of the President. Secretariats are restricted from executing government programs, projects, or other functions designated to Ministries or other government institutions. However, the Executive Secretariat of the Presidency can perform such functions on behalf of the President.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Guatemala, and is carried out by lethal injection and, to a lesser extent, the firing squad. The death penalty today remains only in Guatemala's military codes of justice, and was abolished for civilian offences in October 2017.
First Lady of Guatemala is the title held by the wife of the president of Guatemala or designee. The current first lady is Lucrecia Peinado, wife of President Bernardo Arévalo, since 15 January 2024.
The order of precedence in Guatemala is a symbolic hierarchy of officials used to direct protocol. It is regulated by Presidential Decree 07-2003 of March 11, 2003. signed by then President Alfonso Portillo, President of the Congress Efraín Ríos Montt and Former Interior Minister José Adolfo Reyes Calderón.
Movimiento Semilla is a centre-left, progressivist, social-democratic political party in Guatemala. As of January 14, 2024, it became Guatemala's current government party.
General elections were held in Guatemala on 25 June 2023 to elect the president and vice president, all 160 seats in Congress, all 20 members of the Central American Parliament, and mayors and councils for all the country's 340 municipalities. Incumbent president Alejandro Giammattei was constitutionally prohibited from running for a second four-year term. However, as no presidential candidate obtained over 50 percent of the vote in the first round on 25 June 2023, a second round was held between the top two finishers on 20 August 2023: Congressman Bernardo Arévalo of the Movimiento Semilla and Sandra Torres, a former first lady representing the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party. Arévalo defeated Torres in the second round with nearly 61 percent of the vote in what was seen as a landslide. The ruling Vamos party won the largest number of seats in Congress.
César Bernardo Arévalo de León is a Guatemalan diplomat, sociologist, writer, and politician who is the 52nd and current president of Guatemala. A member and co-founder of the Semilla party, he previously served as a deputy in the Congress of Guatemala from 2020 to 2024, as Ambassador to Spain from 1995 to 1996 and as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1995.
Ana Patricia Orantes Thomas is a Guatemalan politician and biologist who serves as Minister of Environment and Natural Resources since 2024. A founding member of Semilla party, she was member of the Congress for National List in 2024, having been elected in 2023 general election.
The following lists events in the year 2024 in Guatemala.
The inauguration of Bernardo Arévalo as the 52nd president of Guatemala on Monday, 15 January 2024 marked the commencement of the four-year term of Bernardo Arévalo as president and Karin Herrera as vice president.
The Cabinet of Bernardo Arévalo constitutes the fifty-second and current cabinet of Guatemala. It succeeds the Giammattei cabinet.
Bernardo Arévalo, the president-elect of Guatemala, completed his transition to the presidency upon being sworn in on the 15th of January 2024. He became the candidate of Semilla in January 2020. Vice-president-elect Karin Herrera led Arévalo's transition team.
María José Iturbide is a Guatemalan politician who served as minister of environment and natural resources. She served from January 2024 to 11 April 2024 until President Bernardo Arévalo fired Iturbide after it was made aware that Iturbide assigned security and state vehicles to her daughter for her personal activities.
Henry David Sáenz Ramos is a Guatemalan military officer who has served as the Minister of National Defense, since 15 January 2024, under the government of Bernardo Arévalo. He holds a master's degree in Resource and Technology Management and another in Public Security and PhD in Political Sciences and Security.
Carlos Ramiro Martínez Alvarado is a Guatemalan diplomat serving as the minister of foreign affairs of Guatemala since 15 January 2024. He previously served as the ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay.
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