Political messaging fills the streets, local broadcasts and social media as of last month due to the up-and-coming General Election in Guatemala, but rising concerns about the integrity of the vote on June 25 have been on the rise for the past three months. There are 30 political parties with more than 22,000 candidates registered to run for presidency, congress, regional parliament and councils across the country. Unfortunately, Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal who governs elections, has blocked several opposition candidates from running on “dubious grounds”, according to the human rights watch. Even though this tribunal has ruled against popular candidates, it has allowed others with ties to corruption to run for office. This general election is the first to be held since 2019 after the closure of the United Nations backed International Community against Impunity in Guatemala after the government opted not to renew its mandate. Because of this, corrupt judges, prosecutors and investigators related with Guatemala’s civil war have been targeted by authorities and far right groups into exile. Democratic Institutions sense the end of the commision has culminated in the recent elections, has seen a rollback which could threaten the countries democracy.
This article shows how strained Guatemala’s democracy currently is. This is unfortunately not a new problem, as Guatemala has had a long and treacherous history with its government. All the way back in 1523-24, Spanish adventurer Pedro de Avarado defeated the indigenous Maya, turning Guatemala into a Spanish colony. Things were looking up for Guatemala however, because in 1839 Guatemala became fully independent. Then things took a turn for the worst when in 1844-65 conservative dictator Rafael Carrera took control, leading to political chaos far into current times. It looks as though history is bound to repeat itself and that Guatemala may not stay democratic for much longer.
Guatemala has a human rights score of 0.68. There are many reasons why they score so low. Some of their government officials are deeply entrenched in corruption, which has been plaguing their judicial system. Some other reasons for their low score include lack of reconciliation for past human rights violations, violence against journalists, attacks on human rights defenders, lack of reproductive rights for women and girls with disabilities, high sexual violence towards women and girls, high levels of discrimination towards the LGBT, high levels of discrimination against those with differing gender identities and the forcing of children with high support disabilities into institutions.