On May 31, the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, a document that, After its entry into force in 1985marked the beginning of a new institutional and democratic stage in the country.
Four decades later, the Magna Carta continues to be the legal framework that governs the country, amid political tensions, social demands and debates about its validity and need for reforms arising in recent years.
Creation
In 1985 the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala was created, after a long period of military governments and internal conflict. The current Constitution was prepared by the National Constituent Assembly, integrated after a call process through elections held on July 1, 1984.
17 political parties and three Civic Committees participated in this process, of which 88 deputies were elected that formed said assembly, responsible for drafting and enacting the new Constitution.
Through Decree 2-86 of the National Constituent Assembly, it is declared on May 31 of each year as the Day of the Constitution.
This decree also orders the executive and legislative agencies, as well as all state entities, which carry out civic activities to commemorate the promulgation of the Magna Carta.
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But do you know what is the content of the Magna Carta? What were the stages prior to your promulgation? These are the details:
Content
The Political Constitution consists of 281 articles and 22 transitory provisions.
It is divided into three parts: Dogmatic, organic and pragmatic.
The part Dogmatic It establishes the principles of the State, the fundamental rights – both individual as social – and the objectives that the State must pursue for the common good.
The part Organic Regulates the organization of public power, the division of the legislative, executive and judicial powers, the territorial organization of the State and the relations between state institutions.
The part pragmatics It establishes the mechanisms to guarantee constitutional rights, the guarantees of defense against violations of these rights and the procedures to protect the constitutional order.
Its structure includes eight titles:
- I. The human person, purposes and duties of the State
- II. Human Rights
- III. The State
- IV. Public Power
- V. STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE
- VI. Constitutional guarantees and defense of the constitutional order
- VII. Reforms to the Constitution
- VIII. Transient provisions
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History
Before the promulgation of the 1985 Constitution, there were several key stages in the constitutional history of the country as explained by the former president of Congress and Constitutionalist, Roberto Alejos, who was one of the members of the National Constituent Assembly that was in charge of the creation of the current Magna Carta.
He affirms that the creation of the maximum standard of the country was carried out within a very difficult stage for the world, specifically in the Cold War stage, and in Guatemala we were still “we were living the horrific armed conflict of which we suffered as much as a country.”
Before the creation of the current Constitution, several attempts were carried out in the country, since the nineteenth century, to create a constitution that will guarantee the rights and obligations of citizens, which are:
- 1825: The first Constitution originates, when Guatemala was still part of the Federal Republic of Central America.
- 1851: The constituent act that ratifies the dissolution of the Federation is issued and establishes a presidential system.
- 1879: A new Constitution is promulgated that also establishes a presidential system with the possibility of re -election.
- [1945:Socialandpoliticalrightsarerecognizedforthefirsttimewiththeaimofmodernizingthecountry
- 1956: A constitution is approved that sought to balance social reforms with anti -communist measures.
- 1965: A new Magna Carta is written in the context of the Cold War and military governments.
- 1985: The current Constitution is promulgated, the result of a negotiation process between military regime and political parties. It marks the beginning of the democratic era in Guatemala.
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Dialogue and changes
Throughout four decades, new issues and conjunctures have emerged that must be addressed from the Constitution.
For the time and the context in which it was elaborated, some issues were not treated in depth, as the rights of indigenous peoples and women’s rights. Nor does it include aspects related to the peace agreements, since they arose at the end of the armed conflict, when those who were in insurgency did not participate in the constituent, explains Alejos.
He said: “What should be done today is to recover the original spirit of the Constituent, which was lost with the reforms of 1993-1994. Changes such as those made in the justice system, the Bank of Guatemala, the parliamentary break, the purification of the congress and the re-election of mayors altered that spirit.”
He added that It is necessary to summon a dialogue to establish a national agenda that listens to all sectors of the country in order to identify the necessary changes for the development of the country.
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1993 reforms
In 1993, the Political Constitution suffered reforms derived from the failed State Autogolpe that the then President Jorge Serrano Elías carried out and that is known as the “Serranazo”. These reforms to the Constitution were ratified in 1994.
The aforementioned reforms were promoted by Ramiro de León Carpio who assumed the position after Jorge Serrano Elías left the country in the face of the crisis generated by his attempt at Autogolpe.
The reforms to the Constitution were approved by legislative agreement 18-93 and ratified by the Guatemalan population in the popular consultation that took place on January 30, 1994.
Among the main changes that were given to the Constitution with these reforms stand out:
- The reduction of the presidential period from 5 to 4 years.
- The creation of the new system of election of magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice where it was established that this process would be in charge of the Congress of the Republic, through a list proposed by the law faculties of the country’s universities.
- Reforms were introduced to improve the transparency and effectiveness of the judicial sector, better known as the reforms to the Justice sector.
- New mechanisms were also established to carry out the election of elected deputies to the Congress of the Republic.
- A review of the Law of Free Issuance of Thought was made, with the aim of guaranteeing freedom of expression in Guatemala.
- The Bank of Guatemala was prohibited to provide money to the government, this with the objective of guaranteeing their independence in the management of state finances.