OEA/Ser.L/V/II.53
REPORT
ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS CHAPTER
IX POLITICAL
RIGHTS1
1.
Political rights in Guatemala are founded upon the Constitution of the
Republic and are also governed by the laws on the subject.
The Guatemalan legal system sets forth a body of standards that uphold
the free and democratic exercise of the political rights to which the individual
is entitled as a citizen with capacity to participate in the conduct of a
country's public affairs.2
2.
The foregoing notwithstanding, in practice the political rights are not
exercised to the fullest, and the situation is not in keeping with the
provisions of the Constitution.
3.
In this Chapter, the Commission will analyze the various aspects related
to political rights, their legal governance and respect for political rights in
Guatemala today. B.
Political history in recent decades
1.
To understand the situation of political rights in Guatemala in both
theory and practice, one must understand its political evolution in recent
decades, inasmuch as that evolution has great bearing upon the current situation
vis-á-vis the country's public affairs.
In view of the foregoing, this section will provide a general outline of
how Guatemala's politics have evolved in the last 40 years.
2.
In the mid 1940's, a revolutionary movement developed in Guatemala that
involved both civilians and military personnel. That movement broke with the
system of political traditionalism that had prevailed until that time. On
October 20, 1944, a triumvirate composed of one civilian, Jorge Toriello, and
two military men, Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán and Francisco Javier Arana, came to
power. This had the sympathy and backing of the majority of the Guatemalan
people and began a stage in the nation's political life that has exerted a
powerful influence on the direction that country has taken.
The revolutionary movement in question replaced the regime of General
Jorge Ubico, who had governed from 1931 to 1944. As a result of public pressure,
on June 30, 1944, Ubico resigned in favor of three generals and on July 3 of
that year Federico Ponce Vaides, another military man, was designated President.
3.
Elections were held in December 1944. Dr. Juan José Arévalo, a
prestigious educator who was living in Argentina, won a sweeping victory. He
took over the Office of the Presidency on February 1, 1945; his six-year term of
office ended in 1951. The Arevalo government was characterized by its support
for culture and its various realms, by its promotion of and adherence to
pluralistic democracy, by the enactment of such important laws as the Labor and
Social Security Code, by its encouragement of a free union movement and by its
respect for the other state powers, i.e., the Congress and the Judiciary. The
foregoing notwithstanding, Arévalo had to deal with a number of subversive
movements in order to complete his reformist Government.
4.
Arévalo's successor to the Office of the Presidency was Colonel Jacobo
Arbenz Guzmán, who was elected to the office in 1951 in what was considered to
be a democratic election.
The Government of Arbenz Guzmán initiated a process of agrarian reform
and encouraged nationalization of the United Fruit Company plants operating in
Guatemala. This made for a climate of domestic and foreign intrigue bent upon
bringing down the Arbenz Guzmán Government.
In June 1954 Guatemala was invaded by forces under the command of Colonel
Carlos Castillo Armas, who, from exile, was the center of the opposition to the
Government of Arbenz Guzmán. This movement caused the President to relinquish
his power to a military triumvirate which negotiated with Castillo Armas in El
Salvador. The latter joined the Military Governing Junta, and a few weeks later
had absolute power as the sole head of government. Castillo Armas was
assassinated in June 1956. During his Government, there were massive violations
of human rights.
5.
With the death of Castillo Armas, power was exercised by the First
Designate to the Office of the Presidency and shortly thereafter by a military
triumvirate that announced elections. General Miguel Idígoras Fuentes was
elected President. He came to office on March 1, 1958, and remained there until
removed on March 3, 1963, by Colonel Enrique Peralta Azurdia, among other
reasons because of a fear that Dr. Arévalo, who was in exile, would win the
elections for the next term of office.
The Government of General Idígoras Fuentes was considered to be
democratic; the state powers functioned normally and Central American
integration was promoted. On the other hand, this Government was the target of
repeated allegations of administrative corruption.
6.
Colonel Peralta Azurdia governed from 1963 to 1966. He attempted to
establish order on the basis of political repression. During his de facto
term of office, the guerrilla movement resurfaced and the National Constituent
Assembly issued the Constitution of 1965, still in force.
7.
In 1966, Lic. Julio César Méndez Montenegro became President of the
Republic. He had replaced his deceased brother, Lic. Mario Méndez Montenegro,
as the leader of the Revolutionary Party, one of the political organizations
that were the offspring of the 1944 revolution. During the Méndez Montenegro
Government, the abuses committed by the military, which the Government was
unable to control, increased as did the guerrilla activity. The ambassadors of
the United States and West Germany were kidnapped and murdered.
8.
In 1970, elections were held for the presidential term of office provided
for in the constitution. The election was won by Colonel Carlos Arana Osorio, a
candidate backed by a coalition of rightist parties that included the National
Liberation Party founded by Castillo Armas. Human rights violations increased
considerably during the period subsequent to the election of Arana Osorio.
Further, leftist-guerrilla activities were brought to a bloody end while
paramilitary groups gained strength.
9.
From 1974 to 1978, General Kjell Eugenio Laugeraud García governed for
the constitutional term of office; he had the political backing of the National
Liberation Party which was in coalition with the Institutional Democratic Party.
By allowing some degree of latitude, the Government of Laugeraud García
exchanged views with the political parties and unions, and managed to curb the
violence.
10.
In 1978, another military man, General Romeo Lucas García, was elected
for the next constitutional term of office; he was backed by a coalition which
had led to the formation of the Frente Amplio. Participating in the Frente
Amplio were the Institutional Democratic Party and a sector of the Revolutionary
Party with social democratic leanings. That sector added Dr. Francisco Villagrán
Kramer to the ticket, as Vice President. Two years later, Dr. Villagrán Kramer
resigned and went into voluntary exile. The constitutional term of office of the
current Government ends in 1982.
The resignation of the Vice President, addressed to the Congress of the
Republic on September 1, 1980, points up the repeated violations of human rights
and the Guatemalan Government's responsibility for those violations. The
resignation was as follows:
To the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala:
I, FRANCISCO VILLAGRÁN KRAMER, Vice President of the Republic, with my
abiding respect,
DO HEREBY STATE THE FOLLOWING:
A significant part of the people of Guatemala have confidence in the
joint program which the Frente Amplio presented in 1978 and by virtue of which I
was elected Vice President of the Republic.
Since I came to office, I have done my best to put that program into
practice and to strengthen a central-leftists government that would enable the
country, after more than twelve years of political violence, to restore peace
and modernize its socio-economic and cultural system.
The absence of any ideological interplay and the predominance of the more
radical rights sectors have obstructed and continue to obstruct a settlement of
differences among Guatemalans and execution of the approved program.
In effect:
-
The political latitude necessary
for healthy democratic development was cut short by the murder of political
leaders from the center and from the left;
-
The development of the union
movement and collective bargaining between capital and labor have been seriously
harmed by the systematic persecution and killing of union leaders and a
considerable number of businessmen;
-
Social integration as a means for
social development has been adversely affected by the persistent harassment of
the country's indigenous groups;
-
Protection of the country's
economic assets has suffered serious setbacks due to the lack of a comprehensive
and nationalistic outlook, and
-
Culture and its highest
institutions, among them the University of San Carlos, have been under siege,
which has affected future cultural and technological development. As a
consequence, the end sought is that culture should reflect the regime's
ideological leanings.
The crisis that has developed and that now has the country in its grip is
a serious one. The new generations are expressing their dissent and their
standards appear on the horizon. The country is demanding major national
decisions that take into account those young people and their hopes, the free
interplay of ideologies and respect to the fundamental rights of the citizen. It
is calling for an end to barricades and trenches, since history has shown that
this is the wrong course of action.
Given the differences with the President of the Republic and the absence
of institutional forums to discuss the serious national problems affecting the
country, my resignation from the Office of the Vice President is imperative.
Hence, I respectfully tender to this Congress my irrevocable resignation from
the Office of the Vice President.
As an old soldier in the cause of democracy and social justice I shall
carry with me the experience I have acquired, undoubtedly useful to the youth
who aspire to a more just and humane country.
I respectfully request that the Congress of the Republic, in accordance
with the Constitution, accept my resignation.
I remain,
(s) Francisco Villagrán Kramer
Vice President of the
Republic
September 1, 1980. C.
The political rights in the Constitution
1.
The 1965 Constitution establishes the political rights of the citizen,
such as the right to participate in government and in the conduct of public
affairs, the right to vote, the electoral system, the organization and operation
of the political parties. These rights are included in the American Convention
on Human Rights, to which Guatemala is a State Party.
2.
With respect to citizenship, the Constitution states that all
Guatemalans, men and women over 18 year of age, are citizens. The following
rights and duties are established as inherent in citizenship:
1. To vote and be elected to office.
2. To hold public office.
3. To safeguard the freedom and
effectiveness of suffrage and the integrity of election procedures.
4. To defend the principle of
rotation and nonreelection to the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, in
any manner that it may be exercised, as an invariable rule in the political
system of the state.
5. To register with the Electoral
Register.
6. To vote, except when this is
optional.2
3.
The Constitution provides that “suffrage is universal and secret,
compulsory for votes who can read and write and optional for illiterate
voters.” All Guatemalans who enjoy the rights of citizenship and are inscribed
in the Electoral Register are voters. It is provided that those who prevent or
try to prevent citizens from registering to vote or from exercising their right
of suffrage, those who compel or try to compel persons to vote in a certain way,
and those who by any coercive means compel or try to compel illiterates to go to
the polls shall be punished in accordance with criminal law.3
4.
The Constitution provides that the state shall guarantee the free
establishment and functioning of political parties that have democratic
standards and principles; it also prescribes the establishment or functioning of
parties or entities that advocate the communist ideology of if their doctrinal
leanings, modus operandi or international connections threaten the
sovereignty of the state or the foundations of Guatemala's democratic system.4
Legally registered political parties are institutions of public law and
the respective law determines how they shall be organized and operate.5
5.
The Constitution establishes the institutional bases of the electoral
authorities, which are governed by the corresponding law. In that regard, the
Constitution establishes the Electoral Register and the Electoral Council, which
have independent functions and jurisdiction throughout the Republic.6 D.
The electoral and party system
1.
The electoral and party system is based on the provisions of the
Constitution and is governed under the Electoral and Political Party Law enacted
through Decree-Law Nº 387, of October 23, 1965. This law was enacted so as to
adapt electoral standards to the corresponding provisions of the Constitution,
mentioned earlier in this chapter.
2.
As for the electoral system, the law confirms the status and requirements
of citizens as set forth in the Constitution. It also confirms that the vote is
a duty inherent in citizenship, that it is personal and nontransferable. “It
is universal and secret, compulsory for citizens that can read and write and
optional for illiterate citizens. Voters enjoy absolute freedom in casting their
vote and no one shall compel them to vote for any specific person or
platform.”
Under Guatemala's Electoral Law, political claims must be resolved within
a period of eight days and if not resolved within that period, the claim shall
be denied and the interested party may resort to the legal remedies. Citizens in
active service in the army or in police forces may not exercise the right to
vote. The law also prohibits officials of the judiciary from serving as officers
in political parties; religious associations and groups are prohibited from
participating in party politics, as are military chaplains.
3.
Among the functions of the Electoral Register under the electoral system
in Guatemala are the following: to register citizens to vote and to note all
those circumstances that have some bearing upon their political rights; to
register candidates, and such other obligations as the law may assign to it.
To ensure proper exercise of the right to vote, the Electoral Register
“shall be permanently empowered to use all means to improve election
proceedings and enhance the qualifications of the voters, particularly those who
are unable to read and write. Following studies on demographic and sociological
conditions, mechanical voting procedures may be established either in whole or
in part, as the results of those studies dictate.7
The Electoral Register and the Electoral Council are instituted and
established as the law provides, and both institutions have autonomous functions
and jurisdiction throughout the republic, in accordance with the provisions of
that law. Other provisions of the law establish the following: the Electoral
Register is a permanent administrative organ, headed by a Director appointed by
the Executive for a period of four years; the Electoral Council is empowered to
take cognizance of all acts and proceedings relating to electoral matter.8
The only remedies allowed with respect to decisions of the Electoral
Register and Electoral Council are those of review and amparo before the
Court of Appeals of the Capital. The remedy of review is admissible for
reconsideration of a matter decided by the Register or the Council on subjects
that fall within their respective purview. Amparo is admissible when the
provision or decision appealed infringes upon electoral rights or electoral
guarantees or affects the interest of political parties, or committees or
associations provided for under the law.
4.
The law also includes provisions on the following: the calling of
elections, which is the responsibility of the chief of state or, when
appropriate, the Congress of the Republic or the Permanent Commission, the
electoral organization of the electoral system, which includes the powers and
authority of the Electoral Register, of the Electoral Council, of the municipal
electoral boards, and of the voting stations; the question of candidates, where
it provides that only those political parties that are legally registered can
nominate candidates for the office of president, vice president and deputy; the
matter of campaign propaganda, wherein it states that such propaganda is free
and is subject to no restriction other than restrictions against acts that
offend morality or affect the right of property and public order; and the
question of the list of voters, ballots, voting, vote tallying, election
systems, announcement of elections, nullification, penalties and temporary and
final results.
As for the election system, it is important to point out that there are
three: absolute majority of votes, relative majority of votes, and minority
representation. The absolute majority system is used only in the case of
elections for the president and vice president. The relative majority system
applies to the election of deputies and members of municipal bodies, provided
that only one post is to be filled. The minority representation system applies
to election of members of an associate body, when there are three or more posts
to be filled.
5.
As for political parties, Guatemalan law provides that political parties
that have democratic standards and principles are free to form and function and
that legally organized and registered political parties are institutions of
public law. The law repeats the constitutional provision that prohibits the
formation or functioning of parties or entities that advocate the communist
ideology or whose doctrinal leanings, modus operandi or international
ties threaten the sovereignty of the state or the foundations of the Guatemalan
democratic system.
The legal system provides that any group of citizens may work to form a
political party, provided the legal requirements are met. It also provides that
a group of citizens that wishes to organize a political party must appear before
the Electoral Register in the person of a responsible official, and establish
that it is an association created for political purposes. The Public Ministry
shall be allowed to intervene in each case.
In order to form a political party, its organizers must meet the
following requirements: they must have a minimum of fifty thousand members, all
of whom must have full citizenship rights, and be registered on the electoral
rolls; not less than 20% of the members must be able to read and write; the
organization must have been constituted in a public act of constitution, and the
party Statutes must have been drawn up according to the terms established by
law.
Political parties are entitled to form alliances for electoral purposes
and must record their agreement to do so in the proper register; they are also
entitled to federate themselves or to merge, provided they meet the requirements
established in the statutes or in the act of constitution. E.
The Actual Political Rights Situation
1.
It will be appreciated that as it refers to the electoral system and
political parties, Guatemala's legal system, is broad in some respects, but in
others, it conditions and limits political pluralism. This runs counter to the
Constitution of the Republic when it defines the Guatemalan system of
governments as republican and a representative democracy.9
In the present situation in Guatemala, political rights operate in
conditions that are totally different from the principles upheld in the
Constitution. While it is true that there has been no change in the legal system
in recent years and that the Constitution has a formal continuity, by means of
elections every four years, this theoretical framework lacks any empirical basis
in reality, inasmuch as in practice, political rights have been seriously
violated on a continuing basis.
2.
Guatemalan political life has been dominated by the Army, to such an
extent that for the last three constitutional terms, the country's Presidents
have been military officers, and in the two most recent terms, all the
presidential candidates were high-ranking army officers.10
Political parties of varying stripes have existed and operated in
Guatemala, and in that context, the National Liberation Party has had an
influence because of its alliance with the military sectors. This party, which
is considered to be ultra right-wing, was founded by Carlos Castillo Armas as a
result of the takeover of power with the 1954 invasion.11
In recent years, some political organizations have split off and
subdivided, and with rare exceptions, have not proposed any consistent
ideological platform to enlighten the various sectors of Guatemalan society.
3.
The permanent climate of violence in Guatemala, which is made worse by
the acts of paramilitary groups, has had a very profound effect on the
observance of political rights. Recognized leaders who did not condone the
actions of the Government have been assassinated, such as Dr. Alberto Fuentes
Mohr, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and Manuel Colom Argueta, leader of
the Frente Unido de la Revolución, as stated in the Chapter on the Right
to Life in the present report. Other political leaders have been persecuted or
kidnapped, and many have been forced to go into exile, including the Vice
President of the current government, as already noted.12
In circumstances such as these, the opposition parties cannot act
independently, and cannot have sufficient guarantees to enable them to
participate freely in the country's decisions. At present in Guatemala, those
circumstances add up to a repressive order of arbitrariness and injustice, in
which the authorities, by commission or omission, become those responsible for
or accomplices in violations of political rights, and are given to the practice
of state terrorism, with a manifest deterioration in the free existence and
operation of political organizations.
4.
These conditions have also led to a meager turnout of the electorate when
elections are held in Guatemala. In recent elections, there has been a
progressive and considerable increase in the number of people staying away from
the polls, which shows that citizens do not believe in the political process and
do not have confidence in the electoral system or in the political organizations
in their practical operations.13
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1 The
American Convention on Human Rights establishes the following in Article 23
concerning Political Rights: 1. Every citizen shall enjoy the following
rights and opportunities: a. to take part in the conduct of public affairs,
directly or through freely chosen representatives; b. to vote and to be
elected in genuine periodic elections, which shall be by universal and equal
suffrage and by secret ballot that guarantees the free expression of the
will of the voters, and c. to have access, under general conditions of
equality, to the public service of his country. 2 The
law may regulate the exercise of the rights and opportunities referred to in
the preceding paragraph only on the basis of age, nationality, residence,
language, education, civil and mental capacity, or sentencing by a competent
court in criminal proceedings. 2 Articles
13 and 14 of the Constitution. Article 143 of the Constitution states the
following: “Exercise of the public power is subject to the provisions
contained in the Constitution and the Laws.” Article 144 states the
following: “The rule of law extends to all persons found within the
territory of the republic, with the exception of the limitations established
in the Constitution, in international treaties, and by provisions of general
international law accepted by Guatemala.” Article 145 states the
following: “The public officials are the depositories of the authority,
legally responsible for their official conduct; they are subject to and are
never above the law. Public officials and employees are in the service of
the state and not of any political party. The public function cannot be
delegated except in those cases specified by law, and it may not be
exercised without first taking an oath of loyalty to the Constitution.” 3 Articles
19, 20, and 21 of the Constitution. Article 22 establishes the penalties for
individuals prohibited from participating in active politics and officials
of the state who violate freedom of suffrage. Article 23 provides that from
the moment a candidate is nominated, he enjoys personal immunity, except in
those cases provided for in the law. Article 24 states that numerically
determinable minorities shall be entitled to representation in the associate
bodies chosen by popular election. Article 25 provides that the law shall
prescribe rules for the exercise of suffrage “in order to guarantee its
freedom and integrity, so that it may constitute a true expression of the
popular will.” 4 Article
27 of the Constitution. 5 Article
29 of the Constitution. The matter of political parties is governed under
Chapter V of Title I of the Constitution, on the Nation, the State and Its
Government. 6 The
matter of electoral authorities is governed under the Constitution in
Chapter VI of Title I, cited earlier. 7 Article
14 of the Electoral and Political Party Law. 8 Articles
34 and 37 of the law. 9 In
the report on human rights in Guatemala prepared by Dr. Rafael Cuevas del
Cid, former Rector of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala and
President of the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in Central
America, published in 1979, he says: “The right not to be discriminated
against on account of political opinions is also nonexistent. Apart from
limitations established in the Constitution itself and in the Penal Laws,
the existence of restrictive laws makes it extremely complicated to set up
political parties—provided, of course, it is not a question of groups
having a 'communist ideology;' we note, however, that that description can
fit all those who in one way or another show any discontent or disagreement
with the current regime or with the unjust social system.” 10 A
document submitted to the Commission in March 1981 by the Democratic Front
against Repression, which had been created in March 1979 by 143
organizations, states as follows: “The Guatemalan electoral system is one
of the most corrupt and anti-democratic in Latin America, because although
there are elections, there is a single elector: the Army. It designates the
candidates and the political parties, which are completely under its
tutelage, and which will unconditionally defend the rights of a privileged
minority such as they themselves to form a government. Although earlier,
there was a civilian regime (in 1976), from that time on, being an army
general has been a prerequisite for being a candidate for the presidency.
With the parties being totally controlled and with candidates imposed on
them, citizens have no practical possibility of participating in politics.
It is laughable, but in Guatemala, the elections are “won” by the losing
candidate, because when the elections are over, the army always chooses the
person that will best guarantee its interests, even though all the
candidates are military men. The most blatant electoral frauds have been
practiced in order to ensure final imposition of the presidents. The people
look on the electoral process as a circus, and have stopped believing in the
elections, in the traditional political parties or in the candidates. The
turnout at the elections is minimal. In 1978, only 25% of registered voters
went to the polls, while in the 1980 municipal elections, more than 90% of
eligible voters withheld their vote. Most of the political parties, except
for the Frente Unido de la Revolución (FUR) and the Democratic
Socialist Party, are for eminently electoral purposes, and orchestrate with
their demands the designs of the central powers. The FUR was registered as a
political party after eighteen years of annoying requirements and dilatory
tactics, and when it was finally able to be registered, its top leader,
Manuel Colom Argueta, was assassinated. In recent years, he had fought
tenaciously for legal recognition of his party. Colom Argueta's
assassination was carried out in an operation directed from a helicopter by
the Minister of Defense himself, General David Cancinos. The top leader of
the Democratic Party, Dr. Alberto Fuentes Mohr, suffered the same fate, the
day after he had submitted his application to register on the electoral
roll. He was assassinated. Hundreds of active members, operatives and many
leaders of both groups, as well as of the Christian Democratic Party, have
been assassinated. Under these conditions, the right to vote has no validity
and anyone who demands that it be pure will be assassinated, as happened to
many citizens, including the journalist Mario Monterroso Armas, in 1974. The
elections are held in Guatemala when everything has already been decided:
the Presidency, the deputies, the mayors, offices in the judicial system,
etc.” 11 The
Report of the Mission of the International Commission of Jurists that
visited Guatemala in June 1979, which has already been cited above, states
as follows: “Ever since 1954, the main legal political party has been the
National Liberation Movement (MLN). Two legal parties grew out of the MLN:
the PNR (Revolutionary Nationalist Party) and the FUN (National Unification
Front). The CAO (Central Aranista Organizada) is the party of former
President Arana. The Frente Unido de la Revolución (FUR) the Social
Democratic party, gained legal recognition shortly after the assassination
of Manuel Colom Argueta, its top leader. The Partido Institucional Democrático
(PID) and the Revolutionary Party (PR)—to which Méndez Montenegro,
president from 1966 to 1980 belonged—supported the Broad Front which gave
General Lucas the Victory in the 1978 elections. Alberto Fuentes Mohr,
leader of the Social Democratic Paty and candidate for the Vice Presidency
in the 1974 elections, was assassinated in January 1979. The President of
the Christian Democratic Party, who in turn is Secretary General of the
World Christian Democratic Union, has virtually been a prisoner in his own
house since October 1978, when he was the victim of an attack.” 12 The
Report of the National Union of Attorneys, headquartered in New York, and of
the Legal Alliance of La Raza, which reports the views of a joint delegation
from the two organizations that visited Guatemala in March 1979, and which
was sent to the Commission by them, states as follows: “Many of the
opposition political leaders who have challenged the government have been
assassinated; this is part of the recent campaign of violence. On January
25, 1979, Dr. Alberto Fuentes Mohr, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and
leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) was assassinated near the
American Embassy. The two new leaders of the PSD were in turn assassinated
on June 12, 1979. On March 22, 1979, Manuel Colom Argueta, former mayor of
Guatemala City, and a leader of the Frente Unido de la Revolución
(FUR), an opposition party, was machine-gunned to death in broad daylight,
along with his two bodyguards. Colom Argueta was assassinated only two days
after the Government had officially recognized the FUR as a legitimate party
with the right to take part in the upcoming presidential elections. The
recognition of the FUR gave rise to grand official pronouncements about a
new democratic opening. By eliminating Colom Argueta only two days
afterwards, the government ended a serious electoral threat to its
continuing domination. Colom Argueta's funeral procession offered evidence
of his enormous popularity and the people's repudiation of the government.
More than 200,000 people marched, thus defying a government ban on
demonstrations. His sister, Luisa Colom de Herarte and his brother,
Guillermo Colom Argueta, publicly declared that the 'G-2', the Police
Intelligence Division, had assassinated their brother. As a result of
threats against his own life, Guillermo Colom Argueta sought refuge in the
Venezuelan Embassy and had to leave Guatemala. Criminal charges were brought
against Luisa, for 'libel and slander against the integrity and security of
the State', charges which bring a twenty-year prison sentence. The car
belonging to Marina Coronado de Noriega, a member of the FUR, was bombarded.
The reign of terror in Guatemala has found its victims every where in the
population. As the International Commission of Jurists said recently,
'Although the most notorious assassinations have been of the leaders of
various political organizations and political figures, the peasants and the
workers are the class that suffers most.' According to an announcement
published by the Christian Democratic Party on June 26, 1979 in El Gráfico,
a Guatemalan newspaper,, this violence is caused by an effort to repress the
popular will and will inevitably lead to civil war. The announcement ends on
a note of hope, declaring that if all men and women of goodwill dedicate
themselves to working to restore democracy to Guatemala, there is still time
to avoid the consequences.” On May 29, 1980, the then Vice President of
the Republic, Dr. Francisco Villagrán Kramer, wrote to the Christian
Democratic Party in reference to the assassination and kidnapping of a
number of members of the party, in the following terms: “I should like to
express my serious concern and solidarity with the Guatemalan Christian
Democratic Party over the acts of violence affecting both it and its
members, including the assassinations of former Deputy Hamilton Noriega and
the former candidate for Deputy, Sisimit Par. It is reported in the press
today that Professor Víctor Abel Ramírez Bravo, a former candidate for
Deputy of that party for the Department of San Marcos, has been kidnapped.
These events are in addition to those denounced in the press by the
Guatemalan Christian Democratic Party itself. To the extent that the
Guatemalan Christian Democratic Party feels that the Office of the Vice
President of the Republic could be of use in any legal action, I would be
grateful if you would so inform me, since as a citizen and as a public
official, it is my duty to contribute my assistance. Regardless of any
situation of a family nature that affect me also, I cannot fail to consider
the pain and the concern of others.” 13 Referring
to the political situation in Guatemala in recent years and to the low voter
turnout, the report cited above by Dr. Cuevas del Cid states as follows:
“The Guatemalan scene after 1954 is fairly well known. The progress made
between 1944 and 1954 in all areas, and of course, as regards human rights,
particularly economic, social and cultural rights, is being brutally
truncated. In different guises, government succeeds government, but their
common denominator is to serve the dominant classes. However, despite this
common denominator, Guatemala's more recent history shows that repression
has been given a new twist. It is difficult to pin down the exact date when
these changes began, although perhaps it may be fixed approximately during
the government of General Enrique Peralta Azurdia (1963-1966). Under this de
facto government, the army came to govern 'as an institution', under the
command of its chief, who had overturned President Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes,
whom he had served as Minister of Defense. Twenty-eight workers and peasant
leaders and scholars of democratic thought died. That was the first
indication of the irrationality and brutality that the repression of
following years would come to. However, it was particularly after 1966,
under the government of Julio César Méndez Montenegro, an attorney and
university professor, that repression by the state and paramilitary groups
reaches its highest levels of sadism, cruelty and irrationality. From the
angle of the political structure, it was also after 1966 that a particular
'model' of government was established in Guatemala; mutatis mutandi, it has
been repeating itself every four years. This 'model' appears with the
outward form—although it is not very well preserved—of 'representative
democracy'. It presupposes therefore, the holding of elections every four
years, in order to participate in the elections, the official parties (and
those appearing as 'opposition' parties that are legally recognized) choose
a candidate taken, without fail, from the highest ranks of the military;
popular participation in elections is increasingly less, and is more
skeptical; in the midst of mutual accusations of fraud, the military officer
who is officially said to have obtained a relative majority of votes is
declared elected (generally by Congress). In the last election, which has
held in March 1978, about 70% of the registered voters did not go to the
polls. The number of void or blank ballots was so great that the Government
failed to give precise figures. All this means that those who were said to
have obtained a relative majority must have obtained the vote of a tiny part
of the registered electorate.” |