Congress of the Republic of Guatemala

Congress of the Republic of Guatemala

Congreso de la República de Guatemala
Congress of the Republic of Guatemala ; Congreso de la República de Guatemala
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	1945
Leadership
President	Allan Estuardo Rodríguez, Vamos ; since January 14, 2020
1st Vice President	Sofía Hernández ; since January 14, 2020
2nd Vice President	Luis Alfonso Rosales, Valor ; since January 14, 2020
3rd Vice President	Armando Damián Castillo, Viva ; since January 14, 2020
Structure
Seats	160 members
Political groups	Government (80) Vamos (17); Independent (12); Valor (9); FCN (8); Todos (7); VIVA (7); Humanist (6); Citizen Prosperity (3); BIEN (3); Unionist (3); Victory (2); PAN (2); Podemos (1); Opposition (80) UNE (52); Semilla (7); CREO (6); BIEN (5); Winaq (4); URNG–MAIZ (3); Victory (2); MLP (1);
Elections
Voting system	Closed-list proportional representation
Last election	June 16, 2019
Next election	2023
Meeting place
	Guatemala City
Website
	www.congreso.gob.gt

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 Guatemalas'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.

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[]

Guatemala had a bicameral legislature in the 1845 constitution. It was replaced with unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes), which was reformulated as National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional) in 1879, which was replaced by Congress of the Republic in 1945.^[2]

Political culture[]

It 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[]

The Congress of the Republic Guatemala is located in the National Palace in Guatemala city.

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[]

Result of the legislative election.

Party		National List			Districts			Total seats	+/−

Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats	+/−
	National Unity of Hope	724,517	17.92	7			47	54	+26
	Vamos	321,830	7.96	3			13	16	New
	National Change Union	220,728	5.46	2			10	12	+6
	Valor	184,155	4.55	1			8	9	New
	National Convergence Front	211,453	5.23	2			6	8	–27
	Bienestar Nacional	193,604	4.79	2			6	8	+8
	Semilla	212,012	5.24	2			5	7	New
	Vision with Values	189,862	4.70	2			5	7	+3
	Todos	177,307	4.39	1			6	7	–9
	Humanist Party of Guatemala	188,327	4.66	2			4	6	New
	Commitment, Renewal and Order	178,057	4.40	1			5	6	+1
	Winaq	141,394	3.50	1			3	4	+3
	Citizen Prosperity	132,968	3.29	1			2	3	New
	Victoria	101,676	2.51	1			2	3	+3
	Unionist Party	118,648	2.93	1			2	3	+2
	Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity	112,489	2.78	1			2	3	+2
	National Advancement Party	110,080	2.72	1			1	2	–1
	Movement for the Liberation of Peoples	120,448	2.98	1			0	1	New
	Podemos	67,910	1.68	0			1	1	–11
	Fuerza	77,999	1.93	0			0	0	–1
	Encuentro por Guatemala	70,490	1.79	0			0	0	–6
	Convergence	49,463	1.22	0			0	0	–3
	Libre	47,826	1.18	0			0	0	New
	Avanza	34,983	0.87	0			0	0	New
	Productivity and Work Party	29,582	0.73	0			0	0	New
	Unidos	25,662	0.63	0			0	0	New
Invalid/blank votes		1,084,182	–	–		–	–	–	–
Total		5,127,244	100	32		100	128	160	+2
Registered voters/turnout		8,086,526	62.64	–			–	–	–
Source: Supreme Electoral Tribunal (99% counted)

Notes[]

^ After the UCN dissolved, all UCN MPs became non-affiliated politicians^[1]

References[]

^ "TSE ratifica la cancelación de la UCN y notifica al partido". El Periódico (in Spanish). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
^ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044058953571
^ Wirtz, Nic; Kitroeff, Natalie (November 21, 2021). "Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts". New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^ Pérez D., Sonia (November 21, 2020). "Protesters burn part of Guatemala's Congress building". ABC News. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
^ "Protesters set fire to Guatemalan Congress". MSN.com. AFP. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links[]

Official website

[2] After the UCN dissolved, all UCN MPs became non-affiliated politicians^[1]

[1] "TSE ratifica la cancelación de la UCN y notifica al partido". El Periódico (in Spanish). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

[3] ttps://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044058953571

[4] Wirtz, Nic; Kitroeff, Natalie (November 21, 2021). "Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts". New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2021.

[5] Pérez D., Sonia (November 21, 2020). "Protesters burn part of Guatemala's Congress building". ABC News. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

[6] "Protesters set fire to Guatemalan Congress". MSN.com. AFP. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

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