1996 - Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen
The 1985 Constitution provides for election by universal suffrage of a one-term president and a unicameral congress. It also mandates an independent judiciary and a Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH), who was elected by and reports to the Congress. Elections for president, vice president, congress, and municipal offices held on November 12, 1995, resulted in the National Advancement Party (PAN) winning 42 of the 80 congressional seats; however, no presidential candidate received an absolute majority of the votes. Alvaro Arzu Irigoyen of the PAN won the runoff presidential election and took office 14 January 1996. Reflecting a greater opening for political activity, 24 parties, including a broad front coalition composed of civic, human rights, and labor leaders, campaigned in the free and fair elections.
Peace talks between the Government and the leftist insurgent Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) resulted in a negotiated end to the 36-year-long civil war, with a final peace accord signed on 29 December 1995. Guerrilla groups unilaterally ceased offensive action in March, and government forces immediately responded by halting counterinsurgency patrols. In May the URNG announced that it would cease collection of "war taxes" following signature of an accord dealing with socioeconomic and agrarian issues. Even before the final peace agreement, the Government began demobilizing the rural civil self-defense groups called Civilian Defense Patrols (PAC's), a process largely completed in November. The peace accords call for restructuring and downsizing the military, abolishing all PAC's, and strengthening the civil government, including increased spending on education and health. The army's budget and authorized strength of 43,000 men are to be reduced by one-third by 1999, and the Government was to propose a constitutional amendment to permit a civilian Minister of Defense. The agreements also call for the creation of a new police force with increased training and for the army to be removed from all internal security functions. A broad range of civic groups, including prominent human rights groups, endorsed the final accords.
The U.N. Human Rights Verification Mission (MINUGUA), established by a 1994 Government-URNG accord on human rights, maintained a large staff with regional offices to monitor compliance with the human rights accord. It was expected to assume expanded responsibilities in the wake of the final peace agreement. A military observer component will be added to MINUGUA for a short time to monitor demobilization. MINUGUA had served as an important deterrent to human rights abuses.
The Minister of Government oversees the National Police and the Treasury Police, which shared responsibility for internal security with the army. There are no members of the military in the police command structure. More than 200,000 men served in the PAC's at the beginning of the year, and some PAC's still conducted counterinsurgency patrols then. An estimated 137,000 men participated in Peace and Development Committees (PDC's) at the beginning of the year. While PDC's are voluntary associations that have no official links to either the military or the PAC's, they are often composed of former PAC members. By the end of the year, the PAC's had been disbanded, over 215,000 PAC members demobilized, with over 10,000 weapons surrendered. Although the Constitution requires that service be voluntary, the PDH's office, the Catholic Archbishop's Human Rights Office (ODHAG), and MINUGUA reported that in some regions certain PAC's were still compelling members to join or remain in the patrols in the first half of the year. Security forces, especially PAC's and members of the police, committed numerous serious human rights violations.
The agricultural-based, private sector-oriented economy grew by approximately 3.1 percent in real terms. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the leading exports, with more than half the work force engaged in agricultural labor. Inflation was 11 percent.
There was a marked disparity in income distribution, and poverty was pervasive, particularly in the large indigenous community. According to U.N. statistics, approximately 80 percent of Guatemalans live in poverty, with 59 percent in extreme poverty. Per capita gross national product was approximately $1,400.
There was marked improvement in the overall human rights situation in 1996, as demonstrated by a decrease in the number of serious violations, but problems remain in several areas. The improvement was the result of the March cessation of hostilities, the December final peace accord, the Government's initial reforms of the security services, including disbanding the PAC's, as well as increased political will to combat impunity. These favorable military and political developments resulted in a greatly reduced number of conflict-related violations. Nonetheless, the PAC's, former civilian military commissioners, members of the army, and the police committed serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, physical abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention, and death threats. The security forces generally enjoyed impunity from the law. However, in contrast to past years, the Government prosecuted and civilian courts convicted members of several PAC's and some police officers, and the authorities indicted several members of the military for human rights abuses. In December Congress passed a controversial national reconciliation law to implement the peace accord's provisions on reintegrating the URNG into civilian life. The law provides exemption from prosecution for specific war-related acts; MINUGUA stated that it was consistent with international standards.
Even before the final agreements, the Arzu Government took important steps to begin to reduce the extensive institutional and legal autonomy of the army and police in military and security matters. In January the President restructured the military command, reducing the number of general officers from 23 to 8 and retiring or leaving without assignment numerous officers alleged to be involved in corruption or other abuses. In September the President dismissed two other generals, including the Deputy Defense Minister, on corruption charges. Earlier, in June the Congress enacted a law removing from military jurisdiction cases involving members of the military involved in common crimes; as a result 347 cases were transferred from military to civilian courts. In January the Government also dismissed over 100 police officers for corruption and other crimes, many of whom were also the subject of criminal investigations at year's end. In addition, it dismissed 25 members of the Treasury Police for similar reasons in the first half of the year.
Nonetheless, government policy changes and a more aggressive stance by the Minister of Government and the Director of the National Police, while having important positive effects and demonstrating increased political will, have not yet been sufficient to eliminate completely the impunity commonly enjoyed by government security forces and others. A climate of lawlessness persisted throughout the year, and violent acts were committed against all sectors of society, in particular striking such groups as media representatives and human rights monitors. With judges and other law enforcement officials subject to intimidation, corruption, and inadequate resources, the judicial system was often unable to ensure fair trials. Both legal and societal discrimination and violence against women persisted. Societal abuse of children and discrimination against indigenous people continued as well. Guerrillas, as well as leftwing and rightwing extremist groups, committed major human rights violations. Guerrilla abuses included death threats, kidnaping for profit, the use of mines and explosives in civilian areas, and forced recruitment of minors.
Citizens have the right to change their government by peaceful and democratic means, through secret ballot and universal suffrage for those 18 years of age and older. Members of the armed forces and police may not vote. Since the return to democracy and civilian rule in 1985, there have been seven free elections. International observers concluded that both the general elections for President, Vice President, Congress, and municipal offices, held on November 12, 1995, and the runoff presidential election held on January 7, 1996, were free and fair. In the runoff between Alvaro Arzu of the National Advancement Party (PAN) and Alfonso Portillo of the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), Arzu won with 51.2 percent of the vote to Portillo's 48.8 percent, and he took office on January 14.
Reflecting a greater opening for political activity, 24 parties, including a broad-front coalition composed of civic, human rights, and labor leaders, campaigned. The parties put forward 19 presidential candidates and thousands of candidates for congressional deputy and mayor. The election also was characterized by a greater participation by grassroots organizations and the left, incorporated into a newly formed coalition party called the New Guatemalan Democratic Front (FDNG). Although the URNG did not participate directly, in a radical departure from previous policy, it did call for voter participation in the election and agreed to a unilateral cease-fire for the last 2 weeks of both the first and second election periods in return for political parties' commitment to abide by those peace accords previously agreed to by the Government and the URNG.
Voters elect the 80-member Congress using a system of proportional representation based on population, with deputies elected both from districts and from a nationwide list. Congress had 64 deputies from districts and 16 from the national list. The last elections involved 24 political parties; 6 won seats in the legislature. Congress can and does act independently of the executive, but fragmentation along party lines and a weak support structure result in the Government being driven by the executive branch.
There are no legal impediments to women's participation in politics, but women are underrepresented in the political arena. Nevertheless, women do hold some prominent political positions, including a cabinet post. In the November 1995 elections, voters elected 11 women to the 80-member Congress. Two women also serve as Supreme Court justices, and one was a Constitutional Court justice.
Indigenous people are entitled to equal rights under the Constitution. Some have attained high positions as army officers (including one general), judges, and government officials, including eight members of Congress. In the November elections, 40 indigenous candidates won mayoral positions (out of 300 municipalities), including the mayor of Quetzaltenango, the second largest city. Nonetheless, they are still heavily underrepresented in politics due to limited educational opportunity and pervasive discrimination.
The Constitution states that Guatemala was composed of diverse ethnic groups and obliges the Government to recognize, respect, and promote the lifestyles, customs, traditions, forms of social organization, and manner of dress of indigenous people. Indigenous people constitute over one-half the population but remain largely outside of the country's political, economic, social, and cultural mainstream. Indigenous people suffered most of the serious human rights abuses. Although the Constitution accords indigenous people equal rights, in practice they have only minimal participation in decisions affecting their lands, culture, traditions, and allocation of natural resources. In July the Congress ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169, intended to safeguard the rights of indigenous people. The final peace accord reached between the Government and the URNG includes agreements on indigenous and socioeconomic issues which, together, should strengthen indigenous participation in society and increase government resources devoted to indigenous areas.
Rural indigenous people have limited educational opportunities and thus have fewer employment opportunities. Many indigenous people are illiterate and do not speak Spanish. Linguistic barriers hinder interaction with the Government and limit access to public services, including the judiciary, since few officials speak any of the 21 indigenous languages. Indigenous persons arrested for crimes are often at a disadvantage due to their limited comprehension of Spanish.
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