The 1999 presidential elections were won by A. Portillo from the right-wing populist Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG; took office in January 2000), which the former dictator Ríos Montt founded in 1989. Ríos Montt, against whom legal proceedings for genocide have been opened in Spain, was able to consolidate his power as party leader of the FRG and as speaker of parliament. Growing violence and persistent poverty of large sections of the population were at the center of the election campaign. However, the government did not even begin to contain the violence. In addition to robberies, serious involvement in the international drug and arms trade and a high level of corruption in state institutions and the government, political murders and numerous cases of lynching represented a persistent problem in Guatemala that was not dealt with politically or legally History of the country was related. Military and secret service functionaries as well as members of the officially dissolved PAC maintained powerful parallel structures that mainly intimidated civil society forces and repeatedly threatened or even murdered people who were committed to a legal processing of the civil war and stronger democratic structures. In addition, hundreds of street children were murdered by death squads each year. All of these acts generally went unresolved against the backdrop of persistent impunity and the weakness of the judicial system. In addition, hundreds of street children were murdered by death squads each year. All of these acts generally went unresolved against the backdrop of persistent impunity and the weakness of the judicial system. In addition, hundreds of street children were murdered by death squads each year. All of these acts generally went unresolved against the backdrop of persistent impunity and the weakness of the judicial system.
In December 2003, according to Youremailverifier, Portillo was replaced by O. R. Berger Perdomo (* 1946), who won the runoff elections for the presidency with the Gran Alianza Nacional (GANA) alliance consisting of three small conservative parties (took office in January 2004). He promised to improve the dramatic economic situation of the country, which is heavily indebted and weakened by an ongoing economic crisis, by creating an investment-friendly climate. Exdictator Ríos Montt was also at the election. The election campaign was overshadowed by numerous threats and even murders of human rights activists, opposition activists and journalists. In 2004 the new government tried, above all, to put a stop to the strong corruption. Several members of the previous government were charged in this regard. Ex-President Portillo left for Mexico. While political transparency increased, the policy of impunity continued and the precarious economic situation of large parts of the population could not be improved. On May 28, 2004, Guatemala signed the 2003 Free Trade Agreement between the Central American States and the USA (CAFTA).
In the 2007 election campaign, which was also overshadowed by violence (around 40 candidates for the congressional elections or their relatives were murdered), the topics of crime, poverty and corruption dominated. Á. After the casting vote on November 4, 2007, Colom Caballeros (UNE) prevailed against the former General O. Pérez Molina, who had advocated a hard-handed policy to combat crime. Colom Caballeros, on the other hand, had named the fight against poverty as the top priority. With Colom, a left-wing politician became president for the first time since the end of the military dictatorship. Colom Caballeros it did not succeed in resolving the country’s fundamental problems (poverty, organized crime). In the parliamentary elections on September 11, 2011, the Partido Patriota (PP) won 56 seats, the alliance of the former governing parties Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE) and Gran Alianza Nacional (GANA) won 48 seats. The presidential elections in the same year won O. Pérez Molina . This was the first time since the end of the military dictatorship 25 years ago that an army representative took the helm of the state.
Former ruler Ríos Montt was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity on May 10, 2013 in connection with a massacre that killed 1,771 members of the Ixil-Maya and sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison. On May 20, 2013, the Constitutional Court overturned the judgment for procedural errors; in July 2015, Ríos Montt was declared incapable of litigation. In the course of numerous mass protests, the demonstrators also demanded the resignation of President Pérez Molina. After parliament lifted the president’s immunity, Pérez Molina announced his resignation on September 3, 2015. The judicial authorities took him into custody.
Parliamentary and presidential elections were held on September 6, 2015. The winner was the TV comedian J. Morales, candidate for the Frente de Convergencia Nacional. He was sworn in as the new President of the country on January 14, 2016.
In July 2019, the US and Guatemala signed a controversial migration agreement that classifies Guatemala as a safe third country and makes it a buffer against migration for the US. US President Trump countered Guatemalan resistance to this treaty by threatening economic sanctions. The popular unpopular President Morales is suspected of corruption and is considered loyal to Washington. In the first round of the presidential election on June 16, 2019, Morales did not run again because the constitution does not allow re-election. The social democrat Sandra Torres emerged victorious with 25.5% of the vote, but did not achieve the absolute majority required. The conservative Alejandro Giammattei (* 1956), former head of the prison administration and already run three times in presidential elections, received 14% of the vote. In the runoff election on August 12, 2019, Giammatei was 59% ahead of Torres. He took office on January 14, 2020 and wants to fight corruption and violent crime and reintroduce the death penalty; His position on the migration agreement with the USA is also critical.
