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National Change Union

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National Change Union
Unión del Cambio Nacional
LeaderMario Estrada
Secretary-GeneralMario Estrada
Founded20 November 2006
Dissolved16 December 2021[1][2]
IdeologyNational liberalism[citation needed]
Political positionRight-wing[3][4] to far-right[5]
Regional affiliationCenter-Democratic Integration Group

The National Change Union (Template:Lang-es) was a national liberal[citation needed] political party in Guatemala.

History

In the legislative elections held on 9 September 2007, the party secured 4.06% of the votes in the race for national-list deputies and held four seats in the 2008-12 Congressional Term. In the presidential election of the same day, its candidate Mario Estrada won 3.16% of the popular vote.

For the 2011 elections the party again nominated Mario Estrada as their presidential candidate, who this time received about 8.7% of the vote. The party was also able to increase its level of support at the simultaneous parliamentary elections, receiving about 9.5% of the national vote. After the elections the party largely supported the government of President Molina, thereby electing Sofía Jeaneth Hernández Herrer, whose parliamentary immunity was later lifted in 2017 due to accusations of influence peddling, as first Vice-President of Congress.[6][7]

Ideology

In US embassy cables describing the ideology of political parties in Guatemala, the UCN was described as "a small party based in eastern Guatemala reportedly tied to narcotraffickers" or simply as "narco".[8]

In April 2019, Mario Estrada was arrested. He is accused by the American authorities of having made a deal with the Sinaloa cartel - from which he allegedly obtained between 10 and 12 million dollars for his election campaign - and of having ordered the murder of rival candidates.[9]

Election results

Congress of the Republic

Election Votes % Seats +/– Status
2007 128,109 4.06 (#9)
5 / 158
Increase 5 Opposition
2011 418,175 9.54 (#3)
14 / 158
Increase 9 External support
2015 403,086 8.84 (#9)
11 / 158
Decrease 3 External support
2019 218,914 5.44 (#3)
12 / 160
Increase 1 External support

President of the Republic of Guatemala

Election Candidates First round Second round Status
President Vice President Votes % Votes %
2007 Mario Estrada Mario Torres Marroquín 103,695 3.16 (#6) - - Lost
2011 Mario Estrada Mauricio Urruela 387,001 8.69 (#4) - - Lost
2015 Mario Estrada Roberto Díaz-Durán 163,974 3.41 (#9) - - Lost
2019 Mario Estrada[a][10] - - - - - Disqualified

Notes

  1. ^ Candidature revoked by the Constitutional Court of Guatemala, as he was accused of drug-trafficking and conspriring with the Sinaloa cartel.

References

  1. ^ "TSE ratifica la cancelación de la UCN y notifica al partido". El Periódico (in Spanish). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ "TSE notifica cancelación del cuestionado partido UCN". La Hora (in Spanish). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ https://porquienvoto.org.gt/descargas/informe_partidos_politicos.pdf Page 70
  4. ^ Casalprim, Eva (July 2015). "Guatemala: Political parties" (PDF). European Parliament. European Parliamentary Research Service. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  5. ^ "En desafío a las sentencias judiciales, los líderes del Congreso guatemaltecos impulsan un proyecto de ley de amnistía". Washington Office on Latin America (in Spanish). October 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Sofía Jeaneth Hernández Herrer". Congreso Visible (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  7. ^ Beltrán, Adriana (10 July 2020). "Behind the Fight to Hijack Guatemala's Justice System". Washington Office on Latin America. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  8. ^ Graham, Ronan (1 September 2011). "Guatemala Political Party Branded 'Narco' by US: WikiLeaks" (PDF). InSight Crime. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  9. ^ https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/guatemala/guatemala-un-candidat-la-presidentielle-arrete-pour-complot-avec-un-cartel-6313938 [bare URL]
  10. ^ Beltrán, Adriana; Hite, Adeline (12 June 2019). "Corruption in the Guatemalan Political System and the 2019 Elections". Washington Office on Latin America. Retrieved 6 October 2022.