Guatemalan lawmakers skip Thursday sessions, blocking questioning of development minister

Guatemala’s Congress again failed to advance its questioning of Development Minister Abelardo Pinto after fewer than half of lawmakers attended the Sept. 3 plenary session. The absences have prevented legislators from asking additional questions in a process that has remained stuck for more than four months.

Congress normally holds plenary sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since the second ordinary session of 2026 began, however, most lawmakers have stopped attending the second session of the week. Thursdays are assigned to interpellations, but some legislators reportedly appear only to register their attendance before leaving. Others submit excuses.

The pattern prevented progress during all four Thursdays in August and the first Thursday in September. The current questioning phase concerns follow-up questions from ruling-party lawmaker Victoria Godoy Palala. She last questioned Pinto on July 28.

The interpellation was requested by Teresita De León, deputy leader of the Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, or UNE, caucus. More than 80 lawmakers’ absences have halted legislative work. Several lawmakers acknowledge that the process has been distorted, arguing that the requested information can be found on government websites or discussed through committee summonses.

The missed sessions have not stopped lawmakers from receiving their full salary of 66,300 quetzales, the report says. Pinto has attended Congress every week since Nov. 13, 2025, and has sometimes been unable to enter the chamber because there was no quorum.

The dispute forms part of a broader increase in interpellations during President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration. Lawmakers have questioned the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs, health and social development. UNE has sought hearings for all 14 ministers, while Vamos ranks second in the number of such requests. Analysts and pro-government lawmakers say the measure is being used to pressure ministers and paralyze the government.