Report on Citizenship Law: Guatemala 2. Historical Antecedents The independence of Central America was obtained without war, but it involved the struggle to join the Mexican Empire (1822-1823), the failure of which forced the political elites to try to build an autonomous political project. After several vicissitudes, the federal model was accepted, for which the Constitution of the Republic of Central America was issued in 1824. It established that the territory of the Federation of Central America was made up of five States (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) as well as the conditions for accessing citizenship. The constitutional text confirmed the elimination of slavery, decreed in 1823. It defined as citizens “all the inhabitants of the Republic, natural born or naturalised, when they are married or older than eighteen years old, provided they practice a useful profession or have known means of subsistence”1. On its part, the constitution of the State of Guatemala, issued in 1825, ratified the principle of ius soli as the basis of citizenship because, at the same time, the conception of citizenship defended by the authorities during that decade was also based on a territorial criterion. Some authors have even acknowledged that there was some consensus among the intellectuals of the time on the recognition of a civic citizenship that would gradually integrate all inhabitants2. That is to say, that birth in the territory of the Federation and the State was the criterion with more weight at the time in the definition of citizenship, provided that means of subsistence were guaranteed. This last condition referred to the possible exclusion of those who had relations of dependency with others (peons, peasants or indigenous people) and who did not prove their economic autonomy. The role of territory as the axis of nationality is understandable in cases such as the one being discussed, because it represented the fastest way of integrating a political body that would serve as the supporting base of the State. Both constitutional texts also recognised that those born abroad to Central American (or Guatemalan) parents were considered natural provided that their parents were on an official mission or that their absence from the territory did not exceed five years. These sought to avoid the depopulation of the Federal Republic and the State. It is also the origin of the fact that the current constitutional order of Guatemala maintains the transmission of nationality without having to be born in the territory. That is to say, from the beginning these two elements were the fundamental basis of the definition of nationality of origin3. Regarding foreigners, both texts established the necessary guidelines to be recognised as naturalised. To this end, nature cards were granted for: a) relevant services, b) scientific or artistic knowledge not available in the republic, c) settlement of at least five years, d) residence for three years for those who settled with the whole family, e) those who contracted marriage in the republic and f) those who acquired 1 Constitución Federal de la República de Centro América, 1824, Art. 14. Constitución del Estado de Guatemala, 1825, art. 46. Teresa García Giraldez “Nación cívica, nación étnica en el pensamiento político centroamericano” en Casaús Arzú, Marta y Peláez Almengor, Oscar (Comps) Historia intelectual de Guatemala. Guatemala: CEUR/UAM/AECI, 2001, pp. 51-117. 3 Constitución Federal…, Art. 16. 2 2 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/2 - © 2020 Author