Justice in Guatemala has been questioned in recent years, But recent judicial decisions have made citizens see a prompt constitutional reform as a solution, for which they will need five thousand signatures.
The justice reform project was presented as Poder Ciudadano, a civil association made up of individuals who claim to be far from any political party.
The new association has among its founders the spouses Edgar Ortiz, a lawyer expert in constitutional issues, and Marjorie von Ahn, a businesswoman and communicator. Both presented the project in a live broadcast on their social networks.
The proposal seeks to reform just over 10 articles of the Constitution, which they hope will solve some of the country’s problems which, they claim, are due to poor management of the laws.
“It is the first time where justice is at the center of the conversation. Justice gave us a disaster in the eight years of Consuelo Porras; justice showed us that freedoms are lost with a co-opted, corrupt, poorly designed system; we believe that most of the country’s problems, today, go through justice,” Ortiz explained.
The changes
The proposed changes detail eliminating the system of nomination commissions that is used to nominate candidates for high positions, including the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Comptroller General of Accounts, and Attorney General and Head of the Public Ministry (MP).
“Justice intervenes in relevant issues, such as the election of the rector of the Usac; in the purchase of Social Security medications; who is paid and who is not in the Ministry of Communications. Unfortunately, justice has reached a level of deterioration that is in all of the country’s problems,” Ortiz expanded.
Let’s change the rules of the game.
Let’s dream big and make it possible.📲 Learn about our proposal to transform justice into https://t.co/sWzpOGS7w0 #CitizenPower #Guatemala #guate #502gt pic.twitter.com/3HHkIzcgCI
— Poder Ciudadano Gt (@PoderCiudadanGt) June 15, 2026
Also propose a staggered system in the renewal of magistrates in the CSJ and Constitutional Court (CC), which would change the number of magistrates to prevent all of them from being changed at the same time.
The proposals also seek to ensure that deputies can no longer elect magistrates in the Courts of Appeals, a form of election that is usually questioned due to the apparent political invasion of judicial functioning.
The full proposal for the constitutional reforms appears on the Poderciudadano.gt website, so that everyone can read the document and feel free to make proposals to be considered for the final version.
The signatures
Poder Ciudadano seeks to propose its package of constitutional reforms supported by article 277 of the Constitution, section “d”, which allows “no less than five thousand citizens duly registered by the Registry of Citizens” to present an initiative for changes to Congress.
This future bill cannot be ignored by the deputies, since “the Congress of the Republic must take care of the matter raised without any delay,” establishes constitutional 277.
Throughout June, Poder Ciudadano will receive proposals to draft a final document that will become a bill, but to have the necessary support they will begin a process of seeking signatures from next July 4, planning events in each department of the country.
“What we provide is that the volunteers who are going to receive signatures receive an induction and we are going to verify, one by one, that those who signed agree. They will be asked for a record and we will look for them to confirm their signature, if it cannot be confirmed, then the signature is annulled,” the lawyer explained.
The initiative is expected to be prepared and have five thousand signatures from registered citizens to be presented to Congress on September 28. Poder Ciudadano seeks to have this initiative approved before the 2027 elections.
“If this is approved by Congress, it must be ratified in a popular consultation, the last word is with the people. The idea of doing it now is to save money and do it before March so that the popular consultation is held together with the elections and a ballot is added to the votes,” Ortiz explained.
The founder was emphatic that they are not part of any political party and that in the statutes of the civil association they make it clear that the project was not born, nor will it become, a party organization.
Requires study
For the independent analyst Marco Antonio Canteo, the situation of the current justice system is worrying, since there is a perception of “deterioration” in the way in which judges of the Cortes and tribunals are appointed.
“I see with concern how the system of electing justice authorities has deteriorated. Many of us believe that a fundamental change is needed to give the State of Guatemala a justice system that guarantees the rule of law,” Indian.
For Canteo, the effort at constitutional reforms is positive, since it seems to be the right step towards a solution. “The initiative that comes from two citizens committed to their country is positive, we must analyze it, review it, make comments. I am sure that they will be open to receiving comments to review it.”
But the biggest obstacle he identifies is not the number of signatures, he even estimates that due to the situation in the country it is likely that this number will be exceeded without further complications, but he sees that there may be resistance from political groups.
“The drawback that I see is that the political class, the leadership, starting in Congress and passing through the Executive, the CSJ and the CC, none of them have shown a minimum of concern about making important changes in matters of justice. The political class is interested in things being as they are, far from being a solution, they are part of the problem,” projection.
Consider that, although the draft reforms presented by Poder Ciudadano seem to touch on vital points, there are others that have not yet been addressed and that would need to be addressed.
“One of the things that worries me the most is how the Public Ministry and the Constitutional Court have monopolized so much power, sometimes even with more power than Congress and the president, bodies that are not popularly elected and I do not see that part being corrected,” he concluded.
Poder Ciudadano made it clear that it is open to receiving suggestions for the initiative they plan to present to Congress, which will be arriving just months before deputies and other officials begin their campaign for the 2027 elections.
This Sunday Poder Ciudadano was presented, a civil proposal that seeks a constitutional reform of 10 articles on justice. The proposal is detailed on its web portal and was announced by @edgar_ortizgt and @Marjorievonahnhttps://t.co/VyXLBYPOY3 pic.twitter.com/eycvyMYl0J
—Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_pl) June 15, 2026