Military Reform – 1999

Written by

« Back to Provision

Military Reform – 1999

1999

Intermediate Implementation Intermediate implementation

On 30 August 1999, the budget of the armed forces reached the benchmark of a 33% reduction in military spending as a proportion of GDP. However, by the end of the year, the size of the military budget relative to GDP came out at 0.68%, which slightly exceeded the stipulated amount of 0.66% of GDP.1

The referendum for the full package of constitutional amendments occurred on 16 May 1999. With low turnout, voters denied the proposed amendments, which included military reforms under the heading of executive agency. While this vote prevented the complete fulfillment of many components of the peace agreements, the parties to the agreements for their part showed good faith by drafting, submitting and approving the reforms. Government and civil society leaders also began working on alternative paths to enact structural reforms.2

In October 1999, the President’s office submitted a bill to reform the Arms and Munitions Act and implement the related stipulations in the Agreement on the Strengthening of Civilian Power and on the Role of the Armed Forces in a Democratic Society. No further progress was made on it, however.3

Ministry of Defense leaders worked on comprehensive reforms in the design of military education. At the end of 1999, the President of the Republic ceremoniously delivered to MINUGUA a copy of the new Handbook of Military Doctrine of the Armed Forces of Guatemala. MINUGUA and the Follow-up Commission convinced the government that the handbook needed to be treated as a draft proposal subject to scrutiny from verification bodies and civil society.4

As of 1999, the military strength of Guatemala was 30,000 personnel.5

  1. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/54/526), November 11, 1999; “Verification Report: Status of the Commitments of the Peace Agreements Relating to the Armed Forces.”
  2. Ibid.
  3. “Verification Report: Status of the Commitments of the Peace Agreements Relating to the Armed Forces.”
  4. Ibid.
  5. D. Scott Bennett and Allan Stam, “EUGene: A Conceptual Manual.”