1993 Guatemalan constitutional crisis

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1993 Guatemalan constitutional crisis

Part of the Guatemalan Civil War

Serrano (right) addresses a press conference after seizing power in a military-backed surprise coup de force, 25 May 1993
| Date| May 25, 1993 – June 5, 1993

|

Location|

Guatemala

Result|

* President Jorge Serrano Elías resigns; Gustavo Espina becomes interim president
* Espina removed from office by the Congress of Guatemala; replaced by Ramiro de León

Belligerents
Executive branch
*  President of Guatemala
* Council of Ministers|  Congress
Constitutional Court
Supreme Court of Justice
Attorney General of the Nation
Chief Attorney General
Supreme Electoral Tribunal
Guatemalan populace
Supported by:
Organization of American States
United Nations
United States
Commanders and leaders
Jorge Serrano Elías
Gustavo Espina
Aída de Castillo
Roxana Baldetti[1]
Francisco Perdomo
Arturo Alvarado Pérez|  Epaminondas González
Arturo Herbruger Asturias
Ramiro de León Carpio
Jorge García Laguardia
Others:
José Rubén Zamora

The 1993 Guatemala constitutional crisis took place in 1993 when then President Jorge Serrano Elías attempted a self-coup or autogolpe. On Tuesday May 25, 1993, Serrano illegally suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court, imposed censorship, and tried to restrict civil freedom.[2]

The attempted self-coup was similar to the one carried out by Alberto Fujimori, but unlike Fujimori's, had no popular support: Serrano's action met with strong protests by most elements of Guatemalan society,[2] at the forefront of which was the Siglo Veintiuno newspaper under the leadership of José Rubén Zamora.[citation needed] This was combined with international pressure (the Organization of American States condemned the autogolpe[2]) and the army's enforcement of the decisions of the Constitutional Court, which ruled against the attempted takeover.[citation needed]

In the face of this pressure, Serrano resigned as president and fled the country. He was replaced on an interim basis by his vice president, Gustavo Espina.[2] However, Espina was judged by the Constitutional Court to have been involved in the coup as well, and Congress replaced him with Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de León.[2]

## Self-coup

[edit]

In the early morning hours of Tuesday May 25, 1993, President Jorge Serrano Elías suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Congress, disbanded the Supreme Court, and declared himself dictator for the next two-and-a-half years.[3] He also suspended 59 articles of the Guatemalan Constitution. At the same time, Serrano called on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to convoke elections for a National Constituent Assembly in 60 days.[4]

Serrano had severely overestimated his support from the military and underestimated the international diplomatic reaction to his coup. Furthermore, his move had the unintended effect of catalyzing opposition not only to his leadership but to the whole structure of backroom military power that he had hoped would support him, bringing together an unlikely coalition of progressive business interests, human rights groups, and Maya activists that would play an important role in the 1996 Peace Accord negotiations.[5]

In one last bid to stay in office, Serrano tried to recall the Congress which he had dissolved in May. Few responded and Serrano was forced to step down. He subsequently fled to El Salvador under military protection on June 2. Serrano’s departure provoked another crisis when on June 2 another of his supporters, Vice-President Gustavo Espina Salguero, proclaimed himself President. Espina was prevented from taking office on the evening of June 2 when only 44 deputies attended Congress to approve his swearing-in. On June 4, the Court of Constitutionality ruled that Espina was not eligible for the presidency due to his support for Serrano’s coup. The Court ordered the Congress to reconvene and elect a new President within 24 hours.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Primeros años de Roxana Baldetti en la política – Prensa Libre".
2. ^ a b c d e Barry S. Levitt (2006), "A Desultory Defense of Democracy: OAS Resolution 1080 and the Inter-American Democratic Charter, Latin American Politics and Society, Volume 48, Issue 3, September 2006, Pages: 93–123. pp104-5
3. ^ Dosal, Paul J. Power in transition: the rise of Guatemala’s industrial oligarchy, 1871-1994. Westport: Praeger. 1995. Pp. 1.
4. ^ McCleary, Rachel M. Dictating democracy: Guatemala and the end of violent revolution. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 1999. Pp. 105-148.
5. ^ Fischer, Edward F. Cultural logics and global economies: Maya identity in thought and practice. Austin: University of Texas Press, Austin. 2001. Pp. 78-79.
6. ^ Keesing’s record of world events June 1993. Pp. 39503.

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Coups, self-coups, and attempted coups since 1991

* List of coups and coup attempts
* by country
* since 2010

1990s|

* Mali (1991)c
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* Venezuela (1992)
* February
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* Peru (1992)
* April‡c
* November
* Sierra Leone (1992)c
* Algeria (1992)c
* Sudan (1992)
* Guatemala (1993)‡
* Azerbaijan (1993)c
* Russia (1993)‡c
* Libya (1993)
* Burundi (1993)
* Lithuania (1993)
* Nigeria (1993)c
* Bophuthatswana (1994)c
* Gambia (1994)c
* Lesotho (1994)‡c
* Liberia (1994)
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* Zambia (1997)
* Guinea-Bissau (1998)
* Niger (1999)c
* Pakistan (1999)c
* Côte d'Ivoire (1999)c

2000s|

* Ecuador (2000)c
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* Solomon Islands (2000) c
* Côte d'Ivoire (2001)
* Burundi (2001)
* Haiti (2001)
* Central African Republic (2001)
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* Burkina Faso (2003)
* Central African Republic (2003)c
* Mauritania (2003)
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* Chad (2004)
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* Haiti (2004)c
* Equatorial Guinea (2004)
* Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004)
* Peru (2005)
* Nepal (2005)‡c
* Togo (2005)c
* Mauritania (2005)c
* Chad (2006)
* Thailand (2006)c
* Madagascar (2006)
* Fiji (2006)c
* Philippines (2007)
* Sudan (2008)
* Mauritania (2008)c
* Guinea (2008)c
* Madagascar (2009)c
* Honduras (2009)c

2010s|

* Niger (2010)c
* Madagascar (2010)
* Niger (2011)
* Guinea-Bissau (2011)
* Bangladesh (2011)
* Mali (2012)
* Marchc
* April
* Guinea-Bissau (2012)c
* Sudan (2012)
* Eritrea (2013)
* Central African Republic (2013)c
* Chad (2013)
* Egypt (2013)c
* Libya (2013)
* Libya (2014)
* Thailand (2014)c
* Gambia (2014)
* Yemen (2014–15)c
* Burundi (2015)
* Burkina Faso (2015)
* Turkey (2016)
* Burkina Faso (2016)
* Libya (2016)
* Zimbabwe (2017)c
* Yemen (2018)c
* Gabon (2019)
* Sudan (2019)c
* Ethiopia (2019)

2020s|

* Mali (2020)c
* Central African Republic (2021)
* Myanmar (2021)c
* Niger (2021)
* Mali (2021)c
* Guinea (2021)c
* Tunisia (2021)‡c
* Sudan (2021)
* September
* Octoberc
* Burkina Faso (2022)
* Januaryc
* Septemberc
* Guinea-Bissau (2022)
* São Tomé and Príncipe (2022)
* Peru (2022)‡
* Gambia (2022)
* Sudan (2023)
* Niger (2023)c
* Gabon (2023)c
* Burkina Faso (2023)
* Sierra Leone (2023)
* Guinea-Bissau (2023)
* Democratic Republic of the Congo (2024)
* Bolivia (2024)

* ‡ Self-coup or its attempt
* [no symbol] Coup attempt
* c Successful coup or self-coup
See also:  Plots and conspiracies

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Coups, self-coups, and attempted coups in the Americas since 1900

1900s|

* Colombia (1900)c
* Paraguay (1902)c
* Haiti (1902)c
* Paraguay (1904)c
* Brazil (1904)
* Paraguay (1905)c
* Paraguay (1908)c
* Venezuela (1908)c
* Haiti (1908)c
* Peru (1909)

1910s|

* Paraguay (1911)c
* Haiti (1911)c
* Mexico (1911)c
* Paraguay (1912)
* Januaryc
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* Marchc
* Mexico (1913)c
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* Haiti (Nov 1914)c
* Haiti (1915)c
* Costa Rica (1917)c
* Peru (1919)c

1920s|

* Bolivia (1920)c
* Mexico (1920)c
* Brazil (1922)
* Chile (1924)c
* Chile (1925)c
* Ecuador (1925)c

1930s|

* Bolivia (1930)c
* Peru (1930)c
* Argentina (1930)c
* Brazil (1930)c
* Panama (1931)c
* El Salvador (1931)c
* Chile (1931)
* Julyc
* September
* December
* Chile (1932)
* Junec
* Septemberc
* Uruguay (1933)‡
* Cuba (1933)c
* Bolivia (1934)c
* Ecuador (1935)c
* Paraguay (1936)c
* Nicaragua (1936)c
* Bolivia (1936)c
* Ecuador (1936)
* Bolivia (1937)c
* Brazil (1937)c‡
* Paraguay (1937)c
* Brazil (1938)
* Chile (1938)
* Chile (1939)

1940s|

* Paraguay (1940)‡
* Panama (1941)c
* Uruguay (1942)‡
* Argentina (1943)c
* Bolivia (1943)c
* El Salvador (1944)
* April
* Mayc
* Octoberc
* Brazil (1945)c
* Venezuela (1945)c
* Bolivia (1946)c
* Haiti (1946)c
* Ecuador (1947)c
* Nicaragua (1947)c
* Peru (1948)c
* Venezuela (1948)c
* El Salvador (1948)c
* Paraguay (1948)c
* Paraguay (1949)
* Januaryc
* Februaryc
* Colombia (1949)c‡
* Bolivia (1949)
* Paraguay (Sep 1949)c

1950s|

* Haiti (1950)c
* Argentina (1951)
* Panama (1951)c
* Bolivia (1951)‡
* Cuba (1952)c
* Bolivia (1952)c
* Colombia (1953)c
* Paraguay (1954)c
* Guatemala (1954)c
* Argentina (1955)c
* Brazil (1955)
* Brazil (1956)
* Honduras (1956)c
* Colombia (1957)c
* Guatemala (1957)c
* Haiti (1958)
* Venezuela (1958)c
* Bolivia (1958)
* Bolivia (1959)
* Brazil (1959)
* Cuba (1959)c

1960s|

* El Salvador (1960)c
* El Salvador (1961)c
* Ecuador (1961)c
* Argentina (1962)c
* Peru (1962)c
* Guatemala (1963)c
* Ecuador (1963)c
* Dominican Republic (1963)c
* Honduras (1963)c
* Bolivia (1964)c
* Brazil (1964)c
* Argentina (1966)c
* Panama (1968)c
* Peru (1968)c
* Bolivia (1969)c

1970s|

* Haiti (1970)
* Bolivia (1970)c
* Bolivia (1971)
* January
* Augustc
* Honduras (1972)c
* Ecuador (1972)c
* El Salvador (1972)
* Uruguay (1973)c‡
* Chile (Jun 1973)
* Chile (Sep 1973)c
* Bolivia (1974)‡
* Peru (1975)
* February
* Augustc
* Honduras (1975)c
* Ecuador (1975)
* Argentina (1976)c
* Ecuador (1976)c
* Honduras (1978)c
* Bolivia (1978)
* Julyc
* Novemberc
* Grenada (1979)c
* El Salvador (1979)c
* Bolivia (1979)c

1980s|

* Suriname (1980)c
* Bolivia (1980)c
* Dominica (1981)
* Guatemala (1982)c
* Guatemala (1983)c
* Grenada (1983)c
* Bolivia (1984)
* Haiti (Jun 1988)c
* Haiti (Sep 1988)c
* Panama (Mar 1988)
* Haiti (1989)
* Panama (1989)
* Paraguay (1989)c

1990s|

* Trinidad and Tobago (1990)
* Suriname (1990)c
* Haiti (1991)c
* Venezuela (1992)
* February
* November
* Peru (1992)
* April‡
* November
* Guatemala (1993)‡
* Paraguay (1996)

2000s|

* Ecuador (2000)c
* Paraguay (2000)
* Peru (2000)
* Haiti (2001)
* Venezuela (2002)
* Haiti (2004)c
* Peru (2005)
* Honduras (2009)c

2020s|

* Peru (2022)‡
* Bolivia (2024)

* c successful coup
* ‡ self-coup
* no sign for attempted coup

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