Guatemala drops five points in international evaluation on political rights and civil freedom – 2024-03-12 07:34:32

Guatemala dropped five points in terms of political rights and civil liberties, according to the evaluation of said organization, which gave it 46 points out of 100. In political freedoms the country had a rating of 17 points out of 40 and in civil liberties, 29 out of 60. Both criteria are distributed in different aspects and the total score in 2022 was 51/100.

Freedom in the World is an annual global report on political rights and civil liberties, composed of numerical ratings and descriptive texts for each country and a select group of territories.

The 2024 edition covers developments in 195 countries and 15 territories from January 1 to December 31, 2023.

The entity evaluates the real-world rights and freedoms enjoyed by individuals, rather than by governments or government performance as such. political rights and Civil liberties can be affected by both state and non-state actors, including insurgents and other armed groups.

“Freedom House does not believe that legal guarantees of rights are sufficient for the enforcement of those rights on the ground. While both laws and actual practices are taken into account in rating decisions, greater emphasis is placed on implementation.”

Important considerations

Within the evaluation, it is questioned whether the president was elected through free and fair elections, highlighting that the Guatemalan electoral period was marred by significant irregularities. “During the pre-election period, several presidential candidates They were prohibited from participating in the elections for arbitrary reasons,” the report quotes.

He adds that prior to the second round of elections there were events that revealed repeated attacks on the rule of law by the authorities in office, who were trying to disrupt the electoral process.

Regarding whether the deputies were elected through “free and fair elections,” the organization highlights that the incumbent legislators have stated that The suspension of the Semilla Movement disqualifies that party’s elected legislators from assuming leadership roles in the new Congress.

Regarding whether the laws and the electoral framework are fair and the relevant electoral management bodies implement them impartially, it is mentioned that during the years 2022 and 2023 there were controversial decisions of the Guatemalan courts that favored the ruling party and other conservative parties, while in 2023, regarding 10% of candidates were “arbitrarily prevented from participating in elections on dubious grounds, reducing genuine competition.”

Regarding whether the people have the right to organize themselves in different political parties, he indicates that the poor application of the Party financial regulations have allowed some candidates and parties to access vast resources.

As to whether there is a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections, it is indicated that “Guatemalan politics is unstable and power frequently rotates between parties, which can deter a traditional opposition to joining. The new parties have systematically gained significant amounts of power in recent years,” they say.

Freedom in the World highlights that “verbal harassment and physical violence once morest voters are common during elections in Guatemala” and the “weak and arbitrary” application of campaign finance regulations allows for unbalanced advantages in matters of resources, as well as the financing of candidates with special interests and organized criminal groups.

“The direct purchase of votes and the use of public funds to influence the outcome of elections is common. Observers reported that armed groups and criminal organizations have attempted to influence the results of local elections,” he highlights.

Regarding whether the various segments of the population, which include ethnic, racial, and religious groups, have full political rights and electoral opportunities, it is indicated that they struggle to fully exercise their political rights, because according to the organization, they do not there are affirmative measures to promote the election of representatives of indigenous peoples and are underrepresented despite representing approximately half of the population.

Of the 30 political parties that participated in the 2023 elections, only one identified as indigenous. Of a total of 160 legislative seats, only 12 will be occupied by indigenous members, they noted.

Influences

Regarding whether the president and deputies determine government policies, it is stated that they do, but they are often subject to the influence of external interests and former military officers continue to exercise significant power.

“Business groups continue to exert significant influence in all branches of government and serve on the governing bodies of various public institutions. Organized crime groups have penetrated state institutions,” they emphasize.

They also report that corruption is often related to organized crime, and remains a serious problem.

“The authorities continue to obstruct the fight once morest corruption, paralyzing processes and dismantling cases presented by anti-corruption organizations such as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

Judges, prosecutors, journalists and civil society actors committed to the fight once morest corruption have increasingly been targets of physical attacks, threats, malicious lawsuits and smear campaigns,” they highlight.

Additionally, it highlights that the government does not interfere with academic freedom, but academics have received death threats for questioning past human rights abuses or ongoing injustices. He also states that many Guatemalans take precautions when talking regarding social and political issues outside their homes due to the high level of insecurity in the country.

Organizational rights

Regarding whether there is freedom of assembly? They indicated that it is a right that is not always protected and the police frequently threaten and sometimes use violence once morest protesters. “Protests related to environmental or indigenous rights have met with stiff resistance from police and armed groups. The judiciary is hindered by corruption, inefficiency and intimidation of judges and prosecutors,” he says.

“Attorney General Consuelo Porras has repeatedly blocked high-profile corruption investigations and has increasingly used the justice system as a weapon once morest prosecutors, lawyers and judges involved in the fight once morest corruption,” they highlighted.

Experts give their opinion

For Francisco Quezada, political analyst at the National Economic Research Center (Cien), This rating reflects a setback for Guatemala in democracy. However, he considers that this occurs in various countries.

“They place us behind liberal democracy. At the Central American level Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras are more committed. “Costa Rica is the one that has the most advantage over us,” he claimed.

Quezada says that the loss of democracy is due to the fact that, like in the United States, many Guatemalans are betting on a dictatorial regime “because they do not see that democracy comes to save them from problems and they feel that freedom does not respond to their needs.” basic; That is why we see Bukele phenomena, people prefer to lose freedoms in order to feel better. “The citizen believes that a dictator is the solution, which is a global phenomenon and is alarming.”

Luis Miguel Reyes, from the Libertad y Desarrollo Foundation, said that in recent years, Guatemala has had a setback in human rights and freedoms. “And following what happened last year when the institutions were put at risk following the elections, it is logical that the country would be affected in international ratings.”

However, once the transition is achieved, he considers that the panorama changes positively once more. “That we achieved a transition of power rescues us from that situation and the organization. “It is a country that gives some hope that there is a possibility of an institutional rescue,” he stated.

Reyes emphasizes that any institutional deterioration has an effect on the country and it may be that with these qualifications, it becomes a country that is not attractive for investment. “To the extent that they do not worry regarding rescuing the justice system, which is key to institutionality, there is very little we can do to bring in foreign investment,” he stated.