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 14 January 2022
1st Vice President
Boris España, Todos
since 14 January 2023
2nd Vice President
Sergio Arana, Vamos
since 14 January 2023
3rd Vice President
Hérber Melgar Padilla, FCN
since 14 January 2023
1st Secretary
Mynor Mejía Popol, Vamos
since 14 January 2022
Structure
Seats160 members
Political groups
  WINAQ: 1 seat
  VOS: 4 seats
  SEMILLA: 24 seats
  UNE: 27 seats
  ELEFANTE: 1 seat
  Cambio: 1 seat
  CREO: 3 seats
  BIEN: 4 seats
  CABAL: 18 seats
  AZUL: 1 seat
  VAMOS: 40 seats
  PPN: 5 seats
  VICTORIA: 3 seats
  VIVA: 9 seats
  TODOS: 6 seats
  VALOR: 13 seats
Elections
Closed-list proportional representation
Last election
25 June 2023
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Guatemala City
Website
www.congreso.gob.gt
Politics of Guatemala
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Recent elections
Political parties
Foreign relations
flag 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.[1]

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 Legislative Palace in Guatemala city.[2]

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: 2019 Guatemalan general election
Result of the legislative election.
PartyNationalDistrictTotal
seats		+/–
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
National Unity of Hope717,20417.817731,01517.434754+26
Vamos320,9397.973331,8107.911316New
National Change Union218,9145.442243,7575.811012+6
Semilla211,6915.262215,6695.1457New
National Convergence Front210,3075.222227,1445.4268–27
Bienestar Nacional194,0674.822209,2064.9968+8
Vision with Values189,4674.702181,5884.3357+3
Humanist Party of Guatemala188,2344.672186,7764.4546New
Valor183,8144.561215,3385.1489New
Commitment, Renewal and Order177,6814.411189,6544.5256+1
Todos177,1824.401205,1444.8967–9
Winaq141,2523.511144,3143.4434+3
Citizen Prosperity131,6943.271152,5403.6423New
Movement for the Liberation of Peoples121,7433.021123,0842.9401New
Unionist Party118,3372.941109,7362.6223+2
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity112,0372.781116,9432.7923+2
National Advancement Party110,0162.731104,9002.5012–1
Victory101,4182.52171,6301.7123+3
Fuerza77,8621.93099,0902.3600–1
Encuentro por Guatemala71,6681.78066,2501.5800–6
Podemos67,6101.68077,7561.8511–11
Convergence49,2841.22051,0241.2200–3
Libre48,2671.20051,5181.2300New
Avanza31,7500.79024,7350.5900New
Productivity and Work Party29,7290.74030,6560.7300New
Unidos25,2580.63032,1110.7700New
Total4,027,425100.00324,193,388100.001281602
Valid votes4,027,42579.72
Invalid/blank votes1,024,40520.28
Total votes5,051,830100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,150,22161.98
Source: TSE, TSE, IPU

See also

Notes

    References
    1. Guatemala. Latin American series ;no. 30. 1947. hdl:2027/hvd.32044058953571.
    2. "Palacio Legislativo". Congreso de la República. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
    3. Wirtz, Nic; Kitroeff, Natalie (21 November 2021). "Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts". New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
    4. Pérez D., Sonia (21 November 2020). "Protesters burn part of Guatemala's Congress building". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
    5. "Protesters set fire to Guatemalan Congress". MSN.com. AFP. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
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