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handle is hein.crs/govenvm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CongressbonalBR inforrning the iegisltive d 0 Updated December 28, 2023 Guatemala: An Overview Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America, has strived to consolidate its democracy since the 1990s. It has faced many political and social challenges, as well as widespread corruption, impunity, and human rights abuses. Traditionally, the United States and Guatemala have had close relations, with friction at times over certain issues, such as democratic governance and migration. Government corruption, migration, and food security in Guatemala have been long-standing concerns for some in Congress. Figure I _Guatemala Man Source: Congressional Research Service. Politkcal Situation Guatemala has a long history of internal conflict and violence, including a 36-year civil war (1960-1996). For most of that time, the Guatemalan military held power and brutally repressed citizens' human rights, with an estimated death toll of over 200,000 people and forcible disappearance of some 45,000 (Indigenous people made up the majority of these victims). In 1986, Guatemala established a civilian democratic government, although military repression continued. In December 1996, then- President Alvaro Arzd (1996-2000) and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unit (URNG), with support from the U.N. mission in Guatemala, signed peace accords to end the conflict. Goals put forth in the accords (e.g., eradicating extreme poverty, integrating indigenous Guatemalans, bolstering institutions) remain unfulfilled. Successive governments have failed to strengthen the Guatemalan justice system to punish perpetrators of grave human rights abuses and massive corruption; Indigenous Guatemalans continue to face poverty and social exclusion. Democratically elected civilian governments have led Guatemala for over 30 years, but democratic institutions remain fragile, largely due to high levels of state capture by elites. In 2007, Guatemala requested that the United Nations establish the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to assist Guatemala in investigating, prosecuting, and dismantling illegal groups and clandestine structures. The United States provided more than $44.5 million in funding for CICIG over the course of the commission's 12-year mandate (2007-2019). CICIG and Guatemalan attorneys general secured convictions of dozens of high-level officials, including a former president and vice president for graft and customs fraud. CICIG's work angered many elites, including then- President Jimmy Morales (2016-2020), himself under investigation, who refused to extend its mandate. Guatemala at a Glance Area: 42,000 square miles, about the size of Tennessee Population: 19.0 million (2023, IMF est.) Ethnic Composition: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish; Ladino in local Spanish) 62.8%, Maya 34.9%, Xinka (Indigenous, non-Maya) 2.1%, Garifuna 0.1%, foreign 0.I% (2018 est., INE) Gross Domestic Product (GDP)/Per Capita GDP: $102.8 billion/$5,410 (2023, current prices, IMF est.) Key Import Partners: United States (31.9%), China (18.2%), Mexico (10.1%), El Salvador (3.3%) (2022, TDM) Key Export Partners: United States (31.1%), El Salvador (13.1%), Honduras (10.1%), Nicaragua (6.4%) (2022, TDM) Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF); National Statistics Institute of Guatemala (INE); Trade Data Monitor (TDM). 2023 Elections After a tumultuous preelection period and first-round presidential election marred by alleged irregularities and the disqualification of several leading candidates, Guatemala held a runoff election on August 20. Anti-corruption, center-left candidate Bernardo Ardvalo captured 58% of the vote, according to Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), defeating centrist candidate Sandra Torres, who won 37.2% of the vote. Despite this wide margin of victory, President-elect Ardvalo has faced a turbulent path to office. Certification delays, raids on the TSE, and the spread of propaganda against Ardvalo's party, Movimiento Semilla (Semilla), have hindered the transition process. U.S.-sanctioned Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras, the Public Ministry's Office of the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity, and political opponents of Semilla are primarily responsible for these actions. The State Department, Organization of American States, and European Union have expressed concerns over the threats to Guatemala's democratic transition of power. The Guatemalan arch Se Ssince 1914

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