Congress of the Republic of Guatemala

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.

Congress of the Republic of Guatemala

Congreso de la República de Guatemala
Type
Type
History
Founded1945
Leadership
Shirley Rivera, Vamos
since January 14, 2022
1st Vice President
Carlos López, UNE
since January 14, 2022
2nd Vice President
Carolina Orellana, UCN
since January 14, 2022
3rd Vice President
Efraín Ménendez, Valor
since January 14, 2022
Structure
Seats160 members
Political groups
Elections
Closed-list proportional representation
Last election
June 16, 2019
Next election
2023
Meeting place
Guatemala City
Website
www.congreso.gob.gt
Politics of Guatemala
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Recent elections
Political parties
Foreign relations
 Guatemala portal

Deputies by Department
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
Main article: Guatemalan general election, 2019
Result of the legislative election.
Party National List Districts Total
seats		 +/−
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
National Unity of Hope724,517 17.9274754+26
Vamos321,830 7.9631316New
National Change Union220,728 5.4621012+6
Valor184,1554.55189New
National Convergence Front211,453 5.23268–27
Bienestar Nacional193,604 4.79268+8
Semilla212,012 5.24257New
Vision with Values189,862 4.70257+3
Todos177,3074.39167–9
Humanist Party of Guatemala188,327 4.66246New
Commitment, Renewal and Order178,057 4.40156+1
Winaq141,394 3.50134+3
Citizen Prosperity132,968 3.29123New
Victoria101,676 2.51123+3
Unionist Party118,6482.93123+2
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity112,489 2.78123+2
National Advancement Party110,080 2.72112–1
Movement for the Liberation of Peoples120,4482.98101New
Podemos67,910 1.68011–11
Fuerza77,999 1.93000–1
Encuentro por Guatemala70,490 1.79000–6
Convergence49,463 1.22000–3
Libre47,826 1.18000New
Avanza34,983 0.87000New
Productivity and Work Party29,582 0.73000New
Unidos25,662 0.63000New
Invalid/blank votes1,084,182 ––––––
Total5,127,244 10032100128160+2
Registered voters/turnout8,086,526 62.64––––
Source: Supreme Electoral Tribunal (99% counted)

See also

Notes
  1. The party is divided into two factions: Sandra Torres' faction (33 deputies) and Oscar Argueta Mayén's faction (19 deputies)
  2. After the UCN dissolved, all UCN MPs became non-affiliated politicians[1]
  3. The party is divided into two factions: Fidel Reyes Lee's faction (6 deputies) and Evelyn Morataya's faction (2 deputies)
  4. The party is divided into two factions: Samuel Pérez Álvarez's faction (6 deputies) and Alberto Sánchez Guzmán's faction
  5. The party is divided into two factions: Sonia Gutiérrez Raguay's faction (3 deputies) and Aldo Dávila's faction
  6. The party is divided into two factions: Manuel Conde's faction and Eduardo Zachrisson's faction
  7. Julia Izabel Anshelm-Moller and Héctor Manuel Choc Caal, who were expelled from the Victoria caucus

References
  1. "TSE ratifica la cancelación de la UCN y notifica al partido". El Periódico (in Spanish). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. Guatemala. Latin American series ;no. 30. 1947. hdl:2027/hvd.32044058953571.
  3. 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.
  4. Pérez D., Sonia (November 21, 2020). "Protesters burn part of Guatemala's Congress building". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2020-11-21. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  5. "Protesters set fire to Guatemalan Congress". MSN.com. AFP. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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