Congress of the Republic of Guatemala

The Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Guatemala. The Guatemalan Congress is made up of 160 deputies who are elected by direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms. The electoral system is closed party list proportional representation. 31 of the deputies are elected on a nationwide list, whilst the remaining 127 deputies are elected in 22 multi-member constituencies. Each of Guatemala's 22 departments serves as a district, with the exception of the department of Guatemala containing the capital, which on account of its size is divided into two (distrito central and distrito Guatemala). Departments are allocated seats based on their population size and they are shown in the table below.

History
Guatemala had a bicameral legislature in the 1845 constitution. It was replaced with the unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Cámara de Representantes), which was in turn reformulated as the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) in 1879, then the Congress of the Republic in 1945.

Political culture
It is not uncommon for deputies to change parties during the legislature's term or to secede from a party and create a new party or congressional block.

Building
The Congress of the Republic Guatemala is located in the Legislative Palace in Guatemala city.

During the protests against the budget for 2021 on 21 November 2020, protestors entered the building and set parts of it on fire.