Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
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Guatemala
The NIMD programme in Guatemala supports multiparty efforts to improve the functioning of political parties and institutions.
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Programme news
At a glance ...
Political parties in parliament
• Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE)
• Gran Alianza Nacional (GANA)
• Partido Patriota (PP)
• Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG)
• Partido Unionista (PU)
• Centro de Acción Social (CASA)
• Unión del Cambio Nacional (UCN)
• Encuentro por Guatemala (EG)
• Partido de Avanzada Nacional (PAN)
• Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG)
• Unión Democrática (UD)
Key achievements in 2011
•The political tensions made it hard to promote the legislative agenda on political system reform; therefore NIMD opted to put even more emphasis on capacity building of the technical unit of Congress, training of newly elected MPs and the strengthening of the Institute for Legislative Studies. This way, NIMD contributed to strengthening existing organizations and managed to improve knowledge and skills of staff thus contributing to enhanced law making skills and better understanding of the political and economic situation of the country.
• In light of the elections, a broad campaign was launched to promote political participation of youngster in politics by the Youth commission of the multiparty Forum of Political Parties.
• After years of promoting dialogue between business sector and unions, and later also with participation of cooperatives, this group agreed on a draft law to establish a Social Economic Council, that was approved in first reading by Congress. (Final law to establish CES approved in January 2012).
• Besides the change in leadership in the country, NIMD also witnessed a change in leadership in the management of the NIMD office. The former director retired and after a careful selection procedure, Alvaro Diaz was appointed as the new director.
Key achievements in 2010
• The political work took place in a climate that became increasingly tense due to the upcoming elections in September 2011. The existing legislative alliance was constantly changing and parties’ focus was on defining possible alliances in light of the upcoming elections.
• Instability was increased by the uncertainty on who will be the presidential candidates, as various candidates presented by the parties face legal or constitutional limitations. The government is fiercely criticized because of its inability to ensure long lasting policies and guarantee their implementation. On the other side it is hampered by the fact that 90% of the budget is spent on fixed commitments and just a limited amount of money is available for the implementation of new or additional policies. This has made it very difficult for the government to make democracy work for the benefit of the poor. It also puts a heavy strain on politicians to come up with policy proposals that take account of the costs involved.
• The influence of illegal organizations or “parallel forces” on the political and public domain remained high, although most of it hidden.
• With support from CICIG, more information is now available on criminal networks, how they operate, and which people are involved. This has already led to the arrest of a number of former politicians and high ranking police officials.
• Regarding judicial power, the selection procedures for the most important posts have been made more transparent and recruitment is taking place based on previously developed criteria.
Key national partners
• Political parties (see annex)
• Permanent Forum of Political Parties (FPPP)
• Multiparty Institute for Political Studies (IMEP), within FPPP
• Congress
• National Electoral Council
• Acción Ciudadana (civic action NGO)
• Network of Organizations of Indigenous People (ENPI)
• Rafael Landívar University
• Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (ASIES, Research Institute and Social Studies)
• Instituto de Gestión Políticas (INGEP, Institute of Political Policy)
• Fortalecimiento de Organizaciones Sociales en Tema de Seguridad (FOSS, civil society group on security)
• Asociación para el Desarollo Legislativo y la Democracia (LEGIS, Association for Legislation and Democracy)
• Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLASCO)
• Fundación Mirna Mack (human rights organisation)
• Asociación Instituto de Promoção de Paz (PROPAZ, peace building organisation)
• Employers’ organizations
• Trade unions
Key international partners
• Royal Netherlands Embassy
• Radio Netherlands World Service (RNW)
• Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG)
• Embassy of Spain
• Embassy of Sweden
• Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)
• Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI), Italy
• National Democratic Institute (NDI), United States of America
• Organization of American States (OAS)
• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
• United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO)
• United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
