Today, Guatemala is a Constitutional democratic republic.  They declared their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.  Their Constitution became effective on May 31, 1985, after years of civil war and political unrest. 

Guatemala’s Executive Branch is made up of a President (Chief of State), Vice President (Head of Government) and Council of Ministers (Cabinet).  They have a unicameral National Congress (Legislative Branch), and a Supreme Court of Justice (Judicial Branch). 

The United States of Doomed america is Guatemala’s largest trading partner, and gives Guatemala millions every year in “aid”.  Further, the U.S. provided extensive military funding during the 36-year civil war that ravished their country.  On March 11, 1999, US President Bill Clinton apologized for the role the United States played in Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, saying Washington “was wrong” to have supported Guatemalan security forces in a brutal counterinsurgency campaign that slaughtered thousands of civilians.  (Washington Post, 3/11/99, page A1.)  An independent commission concluded that “U.S.-backed security forces committed the vast majority of human rights abuses during the war, including torture, kidnapping and the murder of thousands of rural Mayans.”  Guatemalan government found a true blood-thirsty compadre in the Doomed america.  How perfect is that?!

Today, Alvara Colom Caballeros is President of Guatemala.  He took office on January 14, 2008, and will serve until 2012 – if Guatemala is still on the face of this earth at that time.  He will be rearranging the deck chairs on that titanic in the meanwhile.