Guatemala has undergone a wide variety of legal orders. There is no exact description about the ancient indigenous legal life but a centralized feudal like legislation can be induced from several sources of information.
The castilian laws were imposed after the first permanent settlement of spanish people was founded. The process of conquest was long and painful for the indigeonous people although the main breakthrough in their ancient culture was accomplished in less than a year by the spanish soldiers and priests.
For most of the almost 300 years of european domination the Kingdom of Guatemala embraced parts of what is today Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Panama was part of the territory of what today is called Colombia. Most of the time the central government of the Kingdom was settled in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemala, today known as Antigua Guatemala. The Kingdom had a minor rank than the Viceroyalty but the post of Capitán General, that is the chief of government, was eagerly pursued by influential noblemen and military at Spain. Some of the men who occupied this post were noblemen and most of them highly educated.
The first Constitution that ruled in the land of Guatemala was issued when the Independence of the Hispanic Americas was at doors. After the Independence in 1821 the former provinces that composed the Kingdom of Guatemala experienced brief times of federalism but the spirit of absolute independence and the desire to be released from the shadow of Guatemala faded the last echoes of integration at about 1876.
By the decade of the 1870's Guatemala experienced a Liberal Revolution, headed by two men, members of well positioned families of spanish ancestry. Among them General Justo Rufino Barrios conducted an administrative and political reformation that wiped out the last strongholds of the Catholic priesthood. This man admitted the first protestant representatives in the country, declaring freedom of cult. He conducted the first administrative organization of the Secretary of Education, later known as Ministry of Education, founded public schools and superior education institutions, this last to be hosted in large buildings embargoed to the Catholic Orders.
General Barrios is called now "The Reformer" but some of his policies carried out severe social disorder and conflict in time, like the "Ley de jornaleros" that introduced compulsory labor for peasants in a time when he managed to support the early industry of coffee. Such a law contributed to keep the indigenous peasant tied to feudal attitudes and conformity and after more than fifty years of abrogation reminds us of its nocive social effects when the highlands peasants leave their homes and force their children to abandon the school in order to go down to the coastal coffee plantations to earn some extra money.
After the Liberal Revolution of the last years of 19th century the main political inheritance was a predominant Liberal Party that gradually became less dynamic and revolutionary from 1898 to 1944, when its last strongman was ousted from a 14 years presidency. This second Liberal epoque, after the first one during the Revolution, consisted of a succession of military presidents, some more progresist than others. Their constant was to keep public administrative business either under the direction of military men or inconditionally adhered civilians, many of them from wealthy families and having the view of keeping the coffee and agropecuarian based industry inherited from the "Reformer".
Therefore the education remained dormant, it was good but did no reach the peasant, who made most of the population and who remained tied to compulsory labor and short expectatives of progress. The unequal social situation was fertile soil for a second military and civilian Revolution in 1944, this time tinted with a moderate socialist ideology. For the first time the promise of education and economic progress was given to the peasant although unfortunate political and ideological compromises made by the governing elite opened the door to a Counter Revolution in 1954, this time leaded by the military and supported by the CIA. The long time effect of this Counter Revolution was socially devastating, the social, labor and educational legislation was dismantled in less than a year. Nevertheless, the impulse of postwar international policy impeded the inmersion in a new age of feudalism. The Cold War took its toll from the early 1960's until 1996, a period in which a leftist guerrilla kept armed confrontation with an each day less preciated National Army.
The almost 200 hundred years of independent life has been an age of oblivion towards the indigeonous and mestizo peasant for most of the educational services are concentrated in the urban areas, mainly Guatemala City and its surrounding area where more than 2 million people reside. From the bulk of population, made up of 50 percent indigenous and 50 percent of mestizo, black and european stock, the indigeonous people take the worst part.
The 23 indigenous and native languages are not yet recognized as official, most of the times the education is served in castilian language for the peasant, keeping the indigenous population from realizing a true cultural identity and intelectual development.
This poor human development keeps the country tied to agricultural and agropecuarian industries, that slowly consume what used to be vast natural hydrologic and forestal resources. The system of feudal property inherited from the spanish occupation and modified in favor of wealthy families during the Independence of 1821 has concentrated the property of vast lands in the hands of less than 2 percent of the population. Such situation is paradoxical in a country were the educational system has not been devised to liberate the poor peasant from his agricultural bonding. Such paradoxical situation had been accomplished after the first Liberal Revolution mainly but absurdly maintained by the postwar international order.
As is usual in most of the American countries the National Constitution acts as the main legal order in Guatemala although international law recognized by the Guatemalan Congress is considered a first hand source to proper interpretation of difficult legal affairs, mainly in the human rights sphere.
The Constitution can be reformed by an Assembly or by the Congress, depending on the nature of the legal precepts to be changed or adjusted. A Constitutional Court is in charge of reccomending the abrogation of issued laws that contradict the spirit and content of the Constitution. The Constitution of Guatemala rules since 1985.
Current laws are of three kinds, "Decretos Legislativos" (Legislative Decrets) issued by the Congress or Legislative Power, "Acuerdos Gubernativos" (Government Covenants) and Decretos Gubernativos" (Government Decrets) issued by the Executive Power. Government Covenants are issued all the time by the Executive Presidency itself or by a Council of Ministers headed by the President. Government Decrets are issued in very special cases such as in a natural disaster and have to be ratified by the Congress in order to have a full fledged vigency. There are also "Acuerdos Legislativos" (Legislative Covenants) and "Puntos Resolutivos" (Legislative Resolutions), this last ones having mainly a moral connotation and containing reccomendations and solicitudes for other State Institutions.
The three Powers of the State, including the Judiciary, many autonomous state institutions and the municipalities have the power to issue current laws. Such laws acquire compulsory status after their publication in the official newspaper most of the times.
Covenants are of inferior rank than Decrets, therefore a Covenant can not abrogue a Decret. There are many practical examples of Covenants contradicting Decrets, such legal instruments can be considered null "ipso jure".
Government Covenants organize procedures or initiate projects while Legislative Decrets are properly called Laws, to be obeyed by all.
Of inferior rank are the "Acuerdos Ministeriales" (Ministerial Covenants), which are issued by the Ministers of State mainly in dealing with a specialized business concerning their scope or field of responsibility.
Minor yet are the "Circulares", "Resoluciones" and other instructions issued by high and middle rank offices. This instruments are to be obeyed by very special or reduced groups of people in order to deal with a specific procedure or administrative problem. Middle and low rank officials issue "Oficios" which ussually contain information of accomplished procedures.
The whole bulk of identified laws are gathered into 8 different time spans. The first one covers the Liberal Party rule from 1898 to 1944. This period begun with an enthusiastic impulse in founding educational institutions all over the country, mainly at the urban and administrative centers of the country. Most of the times only middle class or higher social strata had access to this institutions although they were of public use the social pressures on low social strata impeded them of having opportunity to dedicate to academic advancement. in this time the University of San Carlos, founded in the late 18th century, was under the rule of the Secretary of Education. In the last year of this period General Ubico militarized many of the educational institutions, mainly those dedicated to graduate teachers and agricultural technicians.
The second period covers the last months of 1944, when a Junta Revolucionaria took the government by armed revolution. This Junta conferred autonomy to the University and prepared the path to a modernization of the Ministry of Education.
The third period covers from 1945 to 1963, embracing ten years of Revolutionary and democratic governments and 9 years of Counter Revolutionary "de facto" and democratic governments. Notoriously the Revolutionary period did not issue any new Education Law ruling themselves by the last Educational Law issued by the Liberal succession of military presidents. The Counter Revolution was supported by the CIA and kept an inflexible anticommunist policy lacking confidence on the socially influential magisterial sector. This period has a unique characteristic and that is the introduction of modern administrative planification techniques in all areas of government. The exigence of long and middle term economical planification was a requisite of the new international banks and financiation sources but there was little application of this tendency in educational affairs.
The fourth period covers from 1963 to 1982, embracing several governments, one alone civilian, and characteristically identified by a full application of long and middle term administrative planification of the education.
The fifth period is the transition from the traditionally military governments to the civilian rule after 1985. This time covers two military governments, each of them "de facto". No significant administrative improvements can be recognized in this period.
Te sixth period covers the first civilian government in 20 years, the first one after a compromise to enhance the democratic practice by the military elite. This period is also a transition but of a different kind than the previous one for it embraces the first struggles of a new human rights culture. The new Education Law, which rules to the present day, declares a whole new kind of moral relationships among the educational protagonists, those are the principals, the teachers, the pupils and the parents. In this period a prolongued strike of teachers, boldly detained by the Central Government, contributed to weaken the traditional social influence of educators.
The seventh period covers from 1991 to 1999 and includes a wide variety of efforts to modernize, democratize and widen the scope of national education. The modernization includes many changes in the government structure mainly in the administration of financial resources. The democratization included giving more participation and decision to the parents and local authorities as well as giving attention to the education in the native language of the communities. There was a badly administered effort to tranfer the control of several public schools to private hands but the Constitutional Court declared it inconstitutional. After that most of the efforts were made to organize an Educational Reform that was going to diminish the power and influence of teachers. Such efforts were stopped under the suspiction of turning into private and lucrative a public service. About the widening of the public education the Ministry of Education did not succeed by doing it with its own human resources, therefore a program of "self-administration" was devised creating a fund to be administered by private non-lucrative organizations which in turn would organize people from abandoned and remote communities to construct schools and conduct a basic elementary education for their children. This tendency marked a well structured effort to end a "centralized" education, ruled by and dependent on the Ministry of Education.
The eigth period covers the year 2000, in which a new government and political line rule. No significant change in the spirit of the projects from the previous period was made but an important revision of the administration of public funds by private organization was conducted in the Ministry of Education, resulting in the absorption of this administration by the Ministerial offices which was criticized as a return to the "centralization". There was also a significant reduction in the National Budget proposed by the end of this year, which would affect all the work to be done in short term by the Ministry of Education.
A formal proposal of this project is to keep a "legal watchtower" on the whole Latin America, which would keep up to date the educational evolution not only in Guatemala.
Months and years not thoroughly researched in this work will be as soon as there is time left to me after my daily teaching occupations.
I am a professional researcher in education after conpleting my university degree on Educative Administration at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. I have 12 years of experience as educator. My interest in computerized information comes after completing my instruction as teacher in mathematics and computing science at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
Anyone who can find useful this research project can contact me via e-mail. I am willing to read comments and know this effort can enhance the research projects of professionals that wish a better latinamerican society.