Under Article 268 of Guatemala's Constitution, the main duty of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala is the defense of the constitutional order. The Court is supposed to do this by impartially and its functions are clearly outlined in the Constitution, particularly Article 272. It is supposed to the guardian of rule of law and constitutional order, yet jurists and rule of law activists in Guatemala claim it is operating illegally and Congress must act to restore constitutional order and hold lawbreakers to account.
One of several reasons Guatemalan lawyers are struggling to restore the integrity of this court is foreign meddling including the now, mostly defunct, International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an independent international organization created in 2006 to supposedly help the people of Guatemala deal. CICIG made matters worse, not better.
CICIG undermined Guatemalan sovereignty and rule of law, and in the process, U.S. interests in Guatemala and the region. It was a globalist experiment, backed by the left-leaning policy establishment in Washington, D.C., that went terribly wrong. It is an excellent case study of what not to do when combatting issues such as corruption, impunity, and other important matters every nation in the world must deal with, not just Guatemala. The solution lies in strong national institutions, backed by Guatemalan jurists, not foreigners or NGOs.
In addition to the United Nations-anchored CICIG that deployed foreign lawyers, some allegedly very corrupt ones, foreign NGOs, some based in the United States, Russia, and other meddlers have exploited a really difficult phase in Guatemala's history, its civil war period, and have derailed many anti-impunity and anti-corruption efforts. Meanwhile, these non-Guatemalan actors work against Guatemalan jurists seeking to reform the system by making outrageous claims in studies or media stories such as specious allegation Guatemala's democracy is in peril.
A better way forward is for foreigners to cease meddling in Guatemalan affairs and allow Guatemalan jurists to do their work without foreign interference. Guatemala needs liberty, not globalism.
Further Reading
Law Library of the U.S. Congress, Republic of Guatemala legal sources
Guatemala Constitution (English translation)
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Judicial Crisis: Guatemalan Constitutional Crisis Part 2