814.00/1185

The Minister in Guatemala (Hanna) to the Secretary of State

No. 551

Sir: I have the honor to report that I have learned recently from a fairly reliable source that a project for amending the Guatemalan [Page 615] Constitution is now under consideration for submission to the Legislative Assembly which will convene in ordinary session on March 1 of this year.

The proposed amendments, according to my informant, will not be of a fundamental character. He was not informed concerning their details, but he said he was positive that no amendment would be proposed to Article 66 which fixes the presidential period at six years and prohibits re-election until twelve years after the termination of a previous term in the Presidency. In any event, it would seem that Article 66 could not be amended in the manner prescribed in Article 99 of the Constitution in time for President Ubico to succeed himself, although it might be amended in conformity with that Article in time for him to be reelected six years after the completion of his present term, that is after one intermediate term.

It is not improbable that public discussion of a project to amend the Constitution will give rise to suspicions and possibly to charges of an ulterior motive. In fact, I have already heard speculations of this character. The procedure fixed in the Constitution for its partial amendment is as follows: the Legislative Assembly must approve the amendments by a vote of at least two-thirds of the total number of deputies; it then calls a general election for a constituent assembly which decides on the amendments. Those who are seeking for ulterior motives may see in the general elections and in the existence of a constituent assembly an opportunity for the expression of the popular will which might be interpreted as an overwhelming demand to prolong the present administration. I have frequently heard that, as might be expected, many persons who form a part of this administration or who profit in other ways through their connections with it, are busily engaged in trying to find some way by which the appearance of legality could be given to a continuance of President Ubico in power after the completion of his present term of office.

Respectfully yours,

Matthew E. Hanna