Προφίλ συναλλασσόμενης χώρας Γουατεμάλα

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power

President is both the chief of State and head of government. He holds the executive powers which include implementing the law and running the day-to-day affairs. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President. The president is elected by popular vote for a term of four years.

Legislative Power

The Guatemalan legislative power is unicameral. Parliament, known as the Congress of the Republic, has 158 members who are elected by popular vote for a term of four years. The country's constitution provides for the separation of executive, legislative, and judiciary powers. The president cannot dissolve the parliament however, he has the power to veto acts of parliament which in turn can be overridden by a legislative supermajority.

Main political parties

Guatemala has a multi-party system, with 2 or 3 strong parties. The main political parties are follows:
- UNE: (National Unity for Hope) - a left-wing, nationalist gathering of political parties. It is currently the majority party; and has 30% of the parliamentary seats. It is the actual president's party.

- GANA: (Grand National Alliance) - which currently has 23% of the parliamentary seats.
- PP: (Patriotic party - nationalist party), it has 19% of the parliamentary seats.
- Then the FRG (Guatemalan Republican Front) (9%), conservative, whose electorate base is found in the rural population and the PU ( Union Party), 5%. There are a myriad of other parties which collectively account for the remaining 14% of the seats.

Current political leaders

President: Otto PEREZ Molina (since January 14th, 2012) - Patriot Party
Vice President: Rafael ESPADA (since January 14th, 2008)

Next election dates

Presidential: August 2011
Parliamentary:August 2011

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: A vaccination certificate for yellow fever is required for all visitors who have been in a risk zone country for more than a year. It is recommended to have had a certain number of vaccinations before going: Hepatitis A and B, diptheria, tetanus, polio and typhoid.
The country is in "group 1" with regard to malaria: a chloroquine based anti-malarial treatment is recommended.
Protect oneself against traveller's diarrhoea (Turista).
The high risk foods are cooked meals that are consumed cold; seafood, meat, uncooked or badly cooked fish and raw vegetable including fruits that are not peeled by oneself. Water should be boiled or drunk from sealed bottles; tap water should not be drunk only purified or bottled water.
In rural areas, always check inside shoes before putting them on.
Vaccination against rabies is not compulsory but if bitten by a rodent or a hot-blooded animal, then immediately consult at the nearest hospital to get vaccinated.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Tourist website (French and Spanish only)
Website on health
For further information on safety conditions
Contact your Embassy: Embassy of Greece in Guatemala
Avenida La Reforma 13-70, Zona 9, Edif Real Reforma
Guatemala CA 01009, Guatemala
Phone: (00502) 3321050
Fax : (00502) 3311860, 3315608
wkalts@duwest.com

Emergency numbers

Health emergency	(502) 230 62 86-88
Police emergency	(502) 220 01 68, 220 55 98
Fire and Ambulace service	122, 123

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Guatemala (GMT-6)
Summer time period: No time adjustments due to Guatemala's geographical location (near the Equator).

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: Hot and humid climate all year round and cool in altitude. Rainy season is from May to October and dry season is from November to April.

For further information: Yahoo Weather

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

To find an accommodation: INGUAT: Guatemala tourism portal (Spanish only)
To find an apartment: List of agencies for all types of hire

Classifieds adverts (Spanish only)
No agent real estate rentals
To find a job: Job offer classifieds
Job offer classifieds (Spanish only)
Tecoloco

Communications

Telephone codes: To make a call from Guatemala to Greece: dial 00 (or +) 30
To make a call to in Guatemala from Greece: dial 00 (or +) +502
Mobile telephone standards: The majority of mobile telephones work with a rechargable card which can be bought at specialised sale outlets or newspaper stands.The country uses the CDMA system: Code Division Multiple Access. Contact your operator to find out whether you can use your mobile telephone in this country.
Internet suffix: .gt

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General Information