Guatemala Passport

The Republic of Guatemala, La Rep ú blica de Guatemala.

【 Area 】 108900 square kilometers.

Population: 18.918 million (2023). Native Americans account for 41%, while the rest are Indo European mixed race people and descendants of European immigrants.

Spanish is the official language.

70% of residents believe in Catholicism, and 20% of residents believe in Protestantism.

The capital is Ciudad de Guatemala, with an area of 996 square kilometers and a population of 3.015 million (as of 2022). At an altitude of 1480 meters.

Currency: Quetzal. 1 US dollar ≈ 7.7 quetzales

[Head of State] President Bernardo Ar é valo, inaugurated on January 15, 2024, for a term of 4 years.

Independence Day: September 15th.

【 Overview 】 Located in the northwest of Central America. It borders Mexico to the west and north, Belize to the northeast, Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast, the Gulf of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The coastline is about 500 kilometers long. There are many mountains and volcanoes in the area, fertile soil in coastal plains, and high forest coverage in the north. The climate is mainly subtropical, with an average annual temperature of 16-20 ℃. The rainy season is from May to October, and the dry season is from November to April.

Guatemala was once one of the centers of Maya culture. It was colonized by Spain in 1524. On September 15, 1821, independence was declared. Joined the Confederation of Central America in 1823. The Republic was established in 1839. Long term implementation of authoritarian rule. The democratization process began in 1944. Since 1954, it has entered a period of alternating right-wing military and civilian governments. Left wing military organizations emerged in 1960. In 1982, left-wing guerrilla groups in Guatemala merged to form the "Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union", and armed struggles spread throughout the country. In December 1996, the Alsu government (National Vanguard Party) reached the "Final Peace Agreement" with the "Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union", ending 36 years of internal strife. Afterwards, the dangerous government underwent normal rotation through democratic elections, with severe political fragmentation, but the political situation remained basically stable.

The current president is Bernardo Ar é valo, who will take office in January 2024 and serve until January 2028. Abe is the first center left president in nearly 11 years.

The current Constitution was passed by the National Assembly in May 1985, came into effect on January 14, 1986, and was amended on January 30, 1994. The Constitution stipulates that the President is the Head of State, the Head of Government, and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces; The President and Vice President are directly elected for a term of 4 years and cannot be re elected; Soldiers can only run for president after retiring for 5 years.

The National Assembly is a unicameral system that exercises legislative power. Members serve a term of 4 years and are eligible for re-election. Establish a Speaker and three Vice Speakers, with a term of one year. The current term of the National Assembly is from January 2024 to January 2028, with a total of 160 seats. The seats held by each party are as follows: the "Forward for a Different Guatemala" party won 39 seats, the National Hope Alliance won 28 seats, the Seed Movement Party won 23 seats, the Kabal Party won 18 seats, the Value Vision Party won 11 seats, and the other 11 party groups held a total of 41 seats. The current Speaker is Nery Ramos, a member of the Blue Party, who took office in January 2024 and will serve until January 2028.

The current government will be formed in January 2024. The main cabinet members include Vice President Karin Larissa Herrera Aguilar (female), Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Mart í nez, Interior Minister Francisco Jim é nez Irungaray, Finance Minister Jonathan Menkos, Defense Minister Henry Saenz Ramos, Communications, Infrastructure and Housing Minister F é lix Alvarado, Education Minister Anabella Giracca (female), Health and Social Welfare Minister Joaquin Balnord Joaqu í n Barnoya P é rez, Minister of Energy and Mines Victor Hugo Bencula Ruiz Hugo Ventura Ruiz, Minister of Economy Gabriela Garc í a-Quinn, Minister of Labor and Social Security Miriam Roquel Ch á vez, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Maynor Estrada, Minister of Social Development Abelardo Pinto, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Patricia Orantes, Minister of Culture and Sports Liwy Grazioso.

[Administrative divisions] The country is divided into 22 provinces, with 338 municipalities under them.

The National Judicial Council is composed of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General's Office, the State Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and others. Establish a Supreme Court, an appellate court, and a lower court. The Supreme Court has 13 justices with a term of 5 years, elected by the parliament and eligible for re-election; The President of the Supreme Court also serves as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council, elected by a two-thirds majority vote of the Grand Justices for a term of one year and cannot be re elected. The new president of the Supreme Court has not yet been elected, and the acting president is Carlos Lucero Paz, who has been in office since October 2024.

The main political parties are:

Movimiento Semilla: The current ruling party. Established in 2017 by the current President Arevalo. In 2023, A participated in the general election as a candidate and general secretary of the Seed Movement Party and won. After being elected, A announced his resignation from the position of General Secretary. The current General Secretary is Abelardo Pinto. In the June 2023 parliamentary elections, the party won 23 seats and became the third largest party in parliament.

Vamos por una Guatemala diferente: opposition party. It is a former ruling party founded by former President Jamat in 2017. The current General Secretary is V í ctor Valenzuela. In the June 2023 parliamentary elections, the party won 39 seats and became the largest party in parliament.

Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza: opposition party. Founded by former President Colom in September 2002, it currently has over 90000 members and is the largest party in the country. In the June 2023 parliamentary elections, the party won 28 seats and became the second largest party in parliament.

Bernardo Ar é valo: President. Born on October 7, 1956 in Montevideo, Uruguay. His father was the first democratically elected president in history and the founder of the left-wing movement. A has served as Deputy Foreign Minister of Guatemala and Ambassador to Spain, and has worked at the Central American Regional Studies Center, international peace organizations, and United Nations international peace projects. In 2017, A founded the center left political party Seed Movement Party. In August 2023, A won the general election as a candidate of the Seed Movement Party and took office in January 2024. Married, with 3 daughters.

The economy is mainly based on agriculture, with a weak industrial foundation. In 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) was 98.7 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4%, with a per capita GDP of 5637 US dollars. In 2023, the gross domestic product of China will reach 102.31 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%.

The main exports of foreign trade are traditional agricultural products such as coffee, sugar, bananas, etc. The main export destinations are the United States, Central American countries, Eurozone countries, Mexico, Panama, and other countries; The main sources of imported consumer goods, raw materials and semi-finished products, capital goods, and fuel are the United States, Mexico, Central American countries, China, Eurozone countries, Colombia, and other countries. In 2021, the export value was 13.594 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 22.5%, and the import value was 26.606 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 46.1%. In 2022, the total foreign trade volume was 44.16 billion US dollars, including exports of 14.43 billion US dollars and imports of 29.73 billion US dollars. In 2023, the total foreign trade volume of China reached 44.516 billion US dollars, including exports of 14.196 billion US dollars and imports of 30.32 billion US dollars.

In 2019, the average life expectancy was 72.5 years, the birth rate was 25.27 ‰, and the mortality rate was 4.83 ‰. As of 2018, the urban population accounted for 53.85% of the total population. The wealth gap is significant, with the top 10% of the population owning 42.4% of the country's wealth and the bottom 10% only owning 1.3% of the country's wealth, resulting in a Gini coefficient of 0.445.

Implement compulsory primary education. The education system is 6 years for primary school and 6 years for secondary school. In 2020, there were 29300 public primary education institutions with approximately 2.539 million students; There are 3659 public high schools with approximately 819000 students; There are 16 universities, among which San Carlos University is national. The illiteracy rate in 2019 was 18.5%. In 2019, education funding accounted for 3.2% of the gross domestic product. In 2023, the dropout rate for teenagers aged 5-18 is 24%, and the college enrollment rate is 5%.

We advocate for maintaining international peace and security, respecting national self-determination and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and resolving international disputes through peaceful means. Actively participate in international affairs and promote regional integration processes. Formerly served as a non permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2012-2013 term. Appointed as the rotating chair of the Central American Integration System in the first half of 2019 and the second half of 2021. Host the 51st Annual Meeting of the Organization of American States in November 2021. In May 2023, as the rotating chair of the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States, the 7th International Cooperation Conference of the Association of Caribbean States will be held.