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106-631: The municipality is divided into zones with residential neighborhoods, villages, settlements and the municipal capital. Due to its close proximity to Guatemala City , several villages were turned into residential neighborhoods. From the residential neighborhoods is excluded "La Florida", which separated from Mixco to join Guatemala City in 1958. Deportivo Mixco football club play in the Guatemalan second division . They have been playing their home games at different locations and plan to build

212-572: A central government established usually through coercion (on the model of the Roman Empire ). An empire often includes self-governing regions, but these will possess autonomy only at the sufferance of the central government. On the other hand, a political entity that is an empire in name, may comprise several partly autonomous kingdoms organised together in a federation, with the empire being ruled over by an emperor or senior king ( great king , high king , king of kings ...). One example of this

318-592: A hippodrome and many new public buildings were constructed in the period. This was highlighted by the design and construction of the monumental National Palace (built 1939–1943, as an official residence and offices for the President of the Republic, renovated 2010 and now known as the National Palace of Culture, and used as a national museum). Although slums that had formed with the major displacement of

424-484: A humid subtropical climate ( Cwa ), due to its relatively high altitude which moderate the average temperatures. Guatemala City is generally very warm, almost springlike, throughout the course of the year. It occasionally gets hot during the dry season, but not as hot and humid as in Central American cities at sea level. The hottest month is April. The rainy season extends from May to October, coinciding with

530-445: A sewer eroding the loose volcanic ash , limestone , and other pyroclastic deposits that underlie Guatemala City. As a result, one thousand people were evacuated from the area. This piping feature has since been mitigated by City Hall by providing proper maintenance to the sewerage collection system, and plans to develop the site have been proposed. However, critics believe municipal authorities have neglected needed maintenance on

636-505: A stronger central government than the US in the wake of the Civil War of the latter, use the term "Confederation" to refer to the formation or joining, not the structure, of Canada. Legal reforms, court rulings, and political compromises have decentralized Canada in practice since its formation in 1867. An empire is a multi-ethnic state, multinational state , or a group of nations with

742-701: A Brazilian firm. A light rail line known as Metro Riel is proposed. Guatemala City is home to ten universities, among them the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, the University of San Carlos of Guatemala . Founded in 1676, the Universidad de San Carlos is older than all North American universities except for Harvard University . The other nine institutions of higher education to be found in Guatemala City include

848-450: A broad definition of a basic federalism , there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution. The federal government is the government at the level of the sovereign state. Usual responsibilities of this level of government are maintaining national security and exercising international diplomacy, including

954-490: A central authority theoretically can include: the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringes on the constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty. The governmental or constitutional structure found in

1060-543: A decade before Guatemala's repeated disaster and tragedy. Today, the national capital of Guatemala City is the political, cultural, religious and economic center of the Republic of Guatemala and exerts a wider significant financial, commercial / business influence plus as a cultural center for the Central America region and beyond, throughout Latin America . Guatemala City ( Spanish : Ciudad de Guatemala )

1166-426: A federation is Malaysia , in which Sarawak and Sabah agreed to form the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia . A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between several separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation-state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former

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1272-492: A federation is considered to be federalist , or to be an example of federalism . It can be considered in comparison with the unitary state . France and Japan , for example, have been unitary for many centuries. The Austrian Empire was a unitary state with crown lands , after the transformation into the Austria-Hungary monarchy the remaining crown lands of so-called Cisleithania became federated as Länder of

1378-638: A federation only after the fall of the monarchy , and Venezuela became a federation after the Federal War . Australia and Canada are also federations. Germany is another nation-state that has switched between confederal, federal and unitary rules, since the German Confederation was founded in 1815. The North German Confederation , the succeeding German Empire and the Weimar Republic were federations. Founded in 1922,

1484-475: A federation to be brought into being by agreement between a number of formally independent states, in a unitary state self-governing regions are often created through a process of devolution, where a formerly centralized state agrees to grant autonomy to a region that was previously entirely subordinate. Thus, federations are often established voluntarily from "below" whereas devolution grants self-government from "above". A confederation , in modern political terms,

1590-521: A federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by the component states nor the federal political body without constitutional amendment. Sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. Overriding powers of

1696-430: A more modern architectural landscape appearance with structures constructed on a more logical pattern of wider street grids and lay-out for the national capital. These substantial improvements were inspired by the historical experience and monumental architecture of post- 18th century designs of trained architects in other famous national capital cities of the world, notably Paris, France and Washington, D.C. . Along with

1802-467: A substantial devastating earthquake in the nearby city and then Imperial Spanish colonial second capital city of La Antigua on the 29 July 1773, with aftershocks continuing through the rest of that year to December . Because of the massive devastation of this "Santa Marta Earthquake of 1773" , and the limited resources and technology of that late 18th century period, the Spanish colonial capital of

1908-418: A very large, deep circular hole with vertical walls opened in northeastern Guatemala City ( 14°39′1.40″N 90°29′25″W  /  14.6503889°N 90.49028°W  / 14.6503889; -90.49028 ), killing five people. This sinkhole, which is classified by geologists as either a " piping feature " or " piping pseudokarst ", was 100 metres (330 ft) deep, and apparently was created by fluid from

2014-525: Is 82% in the morning and 58% in the evening; and its average dew point is 16 °C (60.8 °F). Four stratovolcanoes are visible from the city, two of them active. The nearest and most active is Pacaya , which at times erupts a considerable amount of ash. These volcanoes lie to the south of the Valle de la Ermita, providing a natural barrier between Guatemala City and the Pacific lowlands that define

2120-578: Is a short street between 6a and 7a. Some "avenidas" or "Calles" have a name in addition to their number, if it is very wide; for example, Avenida la Reforma is an avenue which separates Zone 9 and 10, and Calle Montúfar is Calle 12 in Zone 9. Calle 1 Avenida 1 Zona 1 is the center of every city in Guatemala. Zone One is the Historic Center (Centro Histórico), lying in the very heart of the city,

2226-424: Is also headquarters to numerous regional private banks, among them CitiBank, Banco Agromercantil, Banco Promerica, Banco Industrial, Banco GyT Continental, Banco de Antigua, Banco Reformador, Banrural, Grupo Financiero de Occidente, BAC Credomatic, and Banco Internacional. By far the richest and most powerful regional economy within Guatemala, Guatemala City is the largest market for goods and services, which provides

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2332-416: Is also worth mentioning, that due to the airport being in the south of the city, height limits based on aeronautical considerations have been applied to the construction code. This limits the maximum height for a building, at 60 metres (200 feet) in Zone 10, up to 95 metres (312 feet) in Zone 1. Despite its location in the tropics , Guatemala City has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen Aw ) bordering on

2438-588: Is an important challenge. The inability to meet this challenge may lead to the secession of parts of a federation or to civil war, as occurred in the United States (southern states sought to protect the institution of slavery while northern states opposed it, with a catalysis occurring in the then– Kansas Territory ), in Nigeria and in Switzerland . In the case of Malaysia , Singapore was expelled from

2544-423: Is divided into 22 zones in accordance with the urban layout plan designed by Raúl Aguilar Batres . Each zone has its own streets and avenues, facilitating navigation within the city. Zones are numbered 1 through 25. However, numbers 20, 22 and 23 have not been designated to zones, thus these zones do not exist within the city proper. Traditional buses are now required to discharge passengers at transfer stations at

2650-651: Is divided into three traditional chiefdoms: Uvea , Sigave , and Alo . The chiefdoms are allowed to have their own legal system which have to be implemented along with French legal system . Under the terms of the Fomboni Accords, signed in December 2001 by the leaders of all three islands, the official name of the country was changed to the Union of the Comoros ; the new state was to be highly decentralised and

2756-450: Is dominated by entertainment from the United States, domestic programming is dominated by shows from Mexico. Due to its small and relatively income-restricted domestic market, Guatemala City produces very little in the way of its own programming outside of local news and sports. Guatemala City, as the capital, is home to Guatemala's central bank, from which Guatemala's monetary and fiscal policies are formulated and promulgated. Guatemala City

2862-406: Is home to many sports clubs. Football is the most popular sport, with CSD Municipal , Aurora F.C. , and Comunicaciones being the main clubs. Federation List of forms of government A federation (also called a federal state ) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government ( federalism ). In

2968-605: Is known colloquially by Guatemalans as La Capital or Guate. Its formal name is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Assumption). The latter name is derived from the fact that it was a new Guatemala after the old one ( La Antigua ) was ruined by an earthquake. Also, Assumption is in honor of the Virgin of the Assumption , whose festivity is 15 August, the city's feast day . Human settlement on

3074-521: Is located in the mountainous regions of the country, between the Pacific coastal plain to the south and the northern lowlands of the Peten region. The city's metropolitan area has recently grown very rapidly and has absorbed most of the neighboring municipalities of Villa Nueva, San Miguel Petapa, Mixco , San Juan Sacatepequez, San José Pinula, Santa Catarina Pinula, Fraijanes, San Pedro Ayampuc, Amatitlán , Villa Canales, Palencia, and Chinautla, forming what

3180-621: Is necessarily the case (such as Saint Kitts and Nevis or the Federated States of Micronesia ). About 40% of world population live in a federation. Several ancient chiefdoms and kingdoms, such as the 4th-century-BCE League of Corinth , Noricum in Central Europe , and the Iroquois Confederacy in pre-Columbian North America , could be described as federations or confederations . The Old Swiss Confederacy

3286-569: Is now known as the Guatemala City Metropolitan Area . The city is subdivided into 22 zones ("Zonas") designed by the urban engineering of Raúl Aguilar Batres , each one with its own streets ("Calles"), avenues ("Avenidas") and, sometimes, "Diagonal" Streets, making it pretty easy to find addresses in the city. Zones are numbered 1–25, with Zones 20, 22 and 23 not existing as they would have fallen in two other municipalities' territory. Addresses are assigned according to

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3392-407: Is sometimes one with only a single, centralized, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked. While it is common for

3498-542: Is suggested as one possible de facto federation as it grants more self-government to its autonomous communities than are retained by the constituent entities of most federations. For the Spanish parliament to revoke the autonomy of regions such as Galicia , Catalonia or the Basque Country would be a political near-impossibility, though nothing bars it legally. The Spanish parliament has, however, suspended

3604-454: Is therefore not a de jure federation, although some academic observers conclude that after 50 years of institutional evolution since the Treaties of Rome it is becoming one. The European Union possesses attributes of a federal state. However, its central government is far weaker than that of most federations and the individual members are sovereign states under international law, so it

3710-473: Is usually characterized as an unprecedented form of supra-national union. The EU has responsibility for important areas such as trade, monetary union, agriculture, and fisheries. Nonetheless, EU member states retain the right to act independently in matters of foreign policy and defense, and also enjoy a near-monopoly over other major policy areas such as criminal justice and taxation. Since the Treaty of Lisbon ,

3816-558: Is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union . While the word confederation was officially used when the Canadian federal system was established in 1867, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In

3922-797: The British Empire . In some recent cases, federations have been instituted as a measure to handle ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Iraq since 2005 as well as Somalia since 2012 . With the United States Constitution having become effective on 4 March 1789, the United States is the oldest surviving federation, while the newest federation is Nepal , after its constitution went into effect on 20 September 2015. The component states are in some sense sovereign, insofar as certain powers are reserved to them that may not be exercised by

4028-773: The Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom is very similar to a federate relation: the Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defense – although the UK Parliament does have overall power to legislate for the dependencies. However,

4134-568: The Guatemalan Revolution of 1944 , a democratic pivotal event in the nation's history that is still celebrated annually 80 years later in the country, alongside the earlier September 15 Independence Day of Central America from 1821. In the subsequent 1930s decade with the worldwide Great Depression affecting many nations' economies and commerce / trade during the Ubico dictatorship era, however using public works projects such as

4240-571: The National Museum of Guatemalan Art . A half-century later, after the ratification / enactment of the Act of Independence of Central America declaration, the city became the capital of the independent newly organized United Provinces of Central America in September 1821 . The subsequent decades in the 19th century saw the construction of some significant structures in the town, such as

4346-620: The Pre-Columbian American civilizations in Mesoamerica . Kaminaljuyu then mysteriously collapsed around A.D. 300 for as yet unknown historical causes. A series of devastating earthquakes in 1773 had left the old second Royal Spanish colonial / provincial capital city of La Antigua Guatemala , and surrounding area in ruins and unusable to the Imperial Spanish colonial authorities. During this period of

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4452-456: The Republic of Austria through the implementation of its constitution . Germany , with its 16 states, or Länder , and Nigeria , with its 36 states and federal capital territory , are examples of federations. Federations are often multi-ethnic and cover a large area of territory (such as Russia , the United States , Canada , India , Brazil , Pakistan or Australia ), but neither

4558-522: The Soviet Union was formally a federation of Soviet republics , autonomous republics and other federal subjects, though in practice highly centralized under the government of the Soviet Union . The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system. India , Pakistan , Nigeria and Malaysia (then Federation of Malaya ) became federations on or shortly before becoming independent from

4664-563: The "F" word in the EU context should feel free to refer to it as a quasi-federal or federal-like system. Nevertheless, for the purposes of the analysis here, the EU has the necessary attributes of a federal system. It is striking that while many scholars of the EU continue to resist analyzing it as a federation, most contemporary students of federalism view the EU as a federal system. ( See, for instance, Bednar, Filippov et al., McKay, Kelemen, Defigueido and Weingast ) A more nuanced view has been given by

4770-476: The "federal nature of Spain's government (a trend that almost no one denies)." Each autonomous community is governed by a Statute of Autonomy ( Estatuto de Autonomía ) under the Spanish Constitution of 1978 . Although South Africa bears some elements of a federal system, such as the allocation of certain powers to provinces, some nevertheless argue that it is functionally a unitary state. On

4876-677: The 1970s. Moreover, although nominally called a federal state, the country's structure already has a number of confederational traits . At present, there is a growing movement to transform the existing federal state into a looser confederation with two or three constitutive states and/or two special regions. A confederation is most likely to feature three differences when contrasted with a federation: (1) No real direct powers: many confederal decisions are externalized by member-state legislation; (2) Decisions on day-to-day-matters are not taken by simple majority but by special majorities or even by consensus or unanimity (veto for every member); (3) Changes of

4982-608: The 1976, on the Motagua Fault , a left-lateral strike-slip fault that forms the boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate . The 1976 event registered 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale . Smaller, less severe tremors are frequently felt in Guatemala City and environs. Torrential downpours, similar to the more famous monsoons, occur frequently in the Valle de la Ermita during

5088-803: The German Constitutional Court. Here the EU is defined as 'an association of sovereign national states ( Staatenverbund )'. With this view, the European Union resembles more of a confederation . Constitutionally, the power vested in the special administrative regions of the People's Republic is granted from the Central People's Government , through a decision by the National People's Congress . However, there have been certain largely informal grants of power to

5194-639: The INTECAP, Royal Towers, Towers Geminis, Industrial Bank towers, Holiday Inn Hotel, Premier of the Americas, among many others to be used for offices, apartments, etc. Also included are projects such as Zona Pradera and Interamerica's World Financial Center. One of the most outstanding mayors was the engineer Martin Prado Vélez, who took over in 1949, and ruled the city during the reformist Presidents Juan José Arévalo and Jacobo Arbenz Guzman , although he

5300-642: The Member States' right to leave the Union is codified, and the Union operates with more qualified majority voting (rather than unanimity) in many areas. By the signature of this Treaty, the participating Parties give proof of their determination to create the first supranational institution and that thus they are laying the true foundation of an organized Europe. This Europe remains open to all nations. We profoundly hope that other nations will join us in our common endeavor. Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism. Those uncomfortable using

5406-1068: The Tenth Amendment contained in the Bill of Rights and the Eleventh Amendment. However, later amendments, particularly the Fourteenth Amendment, gave the federal government considerable authority over states. Federal government within this structure are the government ministries and departments and agencies to which the ministers of government are assigned. There are 26 federations in the world, with 6 each in Asia and Europe , 5 in Africa , 4 in North America , 3 in South America and 2 in Oceania . Some of

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5512-723: The United Kingdom, because, in a devolved state, the central government can revoke the independence of the subunits (the Scottish Parliament , the Welsh Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the case of the United Kingdom) without changing the constitution. In some cases, such as the autonomous communities of Spain , devolution has led to federation in all but name, or "federation without federalism". The relation between

5618-1015: The Universidad Mariano Gálvez, the Universidad Panamericana, the Universidad Mesoamericana, the Universidad Rafael Landivar, the Universidad Francisco Marroquín , the Universidad del Valle , the Universidad del Istmo , Universidad Galileo , Universidad da Vinci, and the Universidad Rural. Whereas these nine named universities are private, the Universidad de San Carlos remains the only public institution of higher learning. Guatemala City possesses several sportsgrounds and

5724-428: The autonomy of Catalonia in response to the Catalan declaration of independence , in the lead-up to the 2017 Catalan election . Additionally, some autonomies such as Navarre or the Basque Country have full control over taxation and spending, transferring a payment to the central government for the common services (military, foreign relations, macroeconomic policy). For example, scholar Enrique Guillén López discusses

5830-415: The autonomy of a self-governing region, it may be politically difficult for it to do so in practice. The self-governing regions of some unitary states also often enjoy greater autonomy than those of some federations. For these reasons, it is sometimes argued that some modern unitary states are de facto federations. De facto federations, or quasi-federations, are often termed " regional states ". Spain

5936-419: The beginning of the next 19th century , in September 1821 , Guatemala City was the scene of the famous Act of Independence of Central America , the adopted legislative document of the declaration of independence of the region from the Kingdom of Spain on the far off continent of Europe , across the Atlantic Ocean , and its worldwide Spanish Empire and especially in the Americas ( Western Hemisphere ). It

6042-429: The capital had been moved away to the current city in Emmita Valley . The old monumental palace served then as the headquarters for the colonial government regional jurisdiction of the Captaincy General of Guatemala , from its organization in 1542 to independence in 1821. Today it serves as the site for several current national government offices, national police, several tourism agencies along with galleries / exhibits of

6148-409: The case of Switzerland , while the country is still known officially as the Swiss Confederation, this is now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848. In Belgium, however, the opposite movement is underway. Belgium was founded as a centralized state, after the French model, but has gradually been reformed into a federal state by consecutive constitutional reforms since

6254-471: The central government. However, a federation is more than a mere loose alliance of independent states. The component states of a federation usually possess no powers in relation to foreign policy and so enjoy no independent status under international law . However, German Länder have that power, which is beginning to be exercised on a European level. Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others. An example of such

6360-417: The central union government would devolve most powers to the new island governments, each led by a president. Certain forms of political and constitutional dispute are common to federations. One issue is that the exact division of power and responsibility between federal and regional governments is often a source of controversy. Often, as is the case with the United States , such conflicts are resolved through

6466-515: The city and region's population after the 1917 - 1918 series of earthquakes , continued to grow and spread around the edges of the capital city with the lack of civilized normal basic amenities and public services / utilities, such as fresh water piping, sewer drainage systems / filtration plants, electric power lines with paved / lighted streets and highways, etc. Guatemala City continues to be subject to an unusual amount of natural and climate-related disasters, (especially recurring earthquakes) with

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6572-520: The city is home to many art galleries, theaters, sports venues and museums (including some fine collections of Pre-Columbian art) and provides a growing number of cultural offerings. Guatemala City not only possesses a history and culture unique to the Central American region, it also furnishes all the modern amenities of a world class city, ranging from an IMAX Theater to the Ícaro film festival ( Festival Ícaro ), where independent films produced in Guatemala and Central America are debuted. Guatemala City

6678-414: The city's aging sewerage system, and have speculated that more dangerous piping features are likely to develop unless action is taken. 3 years later the 2010 Guatemala City sinkhole arose. It is estimated that the population of Guatemala City urban area is about 3 million. The growth of the city's population has been robust, abetted by the mass migration of Guatemalans from the rural hinterlands to

6784-408: The city's edge to board the Transmetro. This is being implemented as new Transmetro lines become established. In conjunction with the new mass transit implementation in the city, there is also a prepaid bus card system called Transurbano that is being implemented in the metro area to limit cash handling for the transportation system. A new fleet of buses tailored for this system has been purchased from

6890-552: The city, and a sudden and prolonged surge in crime have become perennial problems. The infrastructure, although continuing to grow and improve in some areas, is lagging in relation to the increasing population of rural migrants, who tend to be poorer. Guatemala City is headquarters to many communications and telecom companies, among them Tigo, Claro-Telgua, and Movistar-Telefónica. These companies also offer cable television, internet services and telephone access. Due to Guatemala City's large and concentrated consumer base in comparison to

6996-429: The constitution, usually a treaty, require unanimity. Over time these terms acquired distinct connotations leading to the present difference in definition. An example of this is the United States under the Articles of Confederation . The Articles established a national government under what today would be defined as a federal system (albeit with a comparatively weaker federal government). However, Canadians, designed with

7102-461: The entire jurisdiction is relatively homogeneous, and each constituent state resembles a miniature version of the whole; this is known as 'congruent federalism'. On the other hand, incongruent federalism exists where different states or regions possess distinct ethnic groups. The ability of a federal government to create national institutions that can mediate differences that arise because of linguistic, ethnic, religious, or other regional differences

7208-426: The federal and the unitary state during its history. Some present-day states of the Brazilian federation retain borders set during the Portuguese colonization (before the very existence of the Brazilian state), whereas the latest state, Tocantins , was created by the 1988 Constitution for chiefly administrative reasons. Seven of the top eight largest countries by area are governed as federations. A unitary state

7314-542: The federation because of rising racial tension. In some cases, internal conflict may lead a federation to collapse entirely, as occurred the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland , the Gran Colombia , the United Provinces of Central America , and the West Indies Federation . The federal government is the common government of a national or supranational federation. A federal government may have distinct powers at various levels authorized or delegated to it by its member states. The structure of federal governments varies. Based on

7420-446: The final distinct group of Guatemala City inhabitants, representing a very small minority among the city's denizens. Due to mass migration from impoverished rural districts wracked with political instability, Guatemala City's population has exploded since the 1970s, severely straining the existing bureaucratic and physical infrastructure of the city. As a result, chronic traffic congestion, shortages of safe potable water in some areas of

7526-517: The greatest number of investment opportunities for public and private investors in all of Guatemala. Financing for these investments is provided by the regional private banks, as well as through foreign direct investment mostly coming from the United States. Guatemala City's ample consumer base and service sector is represented by the large department store chains present in the city, among them Siman, Hiper Paiz & Paiz ( Walmart ), Price Smart, ClubCo, Cemaco, Sears , and Office Depot . Guatemala City

7632-663: The initiator of the European Community system, wrote that a transnational Community like the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community lay midway between an association of States where they retained complete independence and a federation leading to a fusion of States in a super-state . The Founding Fathers of the European Union wrote the Europe Declaration (Charter of the Community) at

7738-793: The islands are neither an incorporated part of the United Kingdom nor are they considered to be independent or associated states. The islands do not have a monarch, per se ; rather in the Isle of Man the British Monarch is, ex officio , Lord of Mann , and in the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, the British Monarch rules as the Duke of Normandy . Dependent territories , such as the British overseas territories , are vested with varying degrees of power; some enjoy considerable independence from

7844-403: The judicial system, which delimits the powers of federal and local governments. The relationship between federal and local courts varies from nation to nation and can be a controversial and complex issue in itself. Another common issue in federal systems is the conflict between regional and national interests, or between the interests and aspirations of different ethnic groups. In some federations

7950-606: The larger federation of the former Federal Republic of Central America, with Guatemala City proclaimed as its continued national capital city. Guatemala City and surrounding region was almost completely destroyed a century later by a second massive damaging series of earthquakes to hit the region in the modern era of the early 20th century with the 1917–1918 Guatemala earthquakes , which like in 1773, lasted for several Following months of continued aftershocks. Reconstructions in subsequent decades following these 1917-18 massive continued tremors / earthquakes which have now resulted in

8056-451: The largest and most vibrant regional economy in Guatemala. Among inhabitants of Guatemala City, those of Spanish and Mestizo descent are the most numerous. Guatemala City also has sizable indigenous populations, divided among the 23 distinct Mayan groups present in Guatemala. The numerous Mayan languages are now spoken in certain quarters of Guatemala City, making the city a linguistically rich area. Foreigners and foreign immigrants comprise

8162-458: The late 18th century after the move three years later in 1776 to the current site of modern Guatemala City, that the central plaza in the new town, with its premier landmark neo-classical style architecture of the immense Metropolitan Cathedral (officially named: Catedral Primada Metropolitana de Santiago), built 1782–1815, completed / dedicated 1871. Its the center of the country's Roman Catholic Church and its Archdiocese of Guatemala and

8268-552: The latest being the two disasters that struck simultaneously in May 2010: the eruption of the Pacaya volcano and, two days later, the torrential downpours from Tropical Storm Agatha of 2010 . Guatemala City serves as the economic, governmental, and cultural epicenter of the nation of Guatemala. The city also functions as Guatemala's main transportation hub, hosting an international airport, La Aurora International Airport , and serving as

8374-772: The location of many important historic buildings, including the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura (National Palace of Culture), the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Congress, the Casa Presidencial (Presidential House), the National Library, and Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Plaza, old Central Park). Efforts to revitalize this important part of the city have been undertaken by the municipal government. Besides

8480-446: The monumental Carrera Theater in the 1850s , and the modern-day historic executive residence of the Casa Presidencial de Guatemala|Casa Presidencial de Guatemala (Presidential Palace of Guatemala) in the 1890s for the former and still occupied by the current President of the Republic . At this time, the capital city was expanding around the 30 de Junio Boulevard and elsewhere, unfortunately displacing native / indigenous peoples in

8586-475: The most populous urban metropolitan area in the region of Central America . The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nestled in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita (English: Hermitage Valley ). Guatemala City is the site of the native Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu , founded around 3,500 years ago around 1500 B.C. in Pre-Columbian America / Mesoamerica . Following

8692-473: The new Estadio de La Tierra de Campeones. Mixco has a subtropical highland climate ( Köppen : Cwb ). Guatemala City Guatemala City ( Spanish : Ciudad de Guatemala , also known nationally colloquially by the nickname as Guate ), is the national capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala . It is also a municipality capital of the Guatemala Department and

8798-401: The origination or end points for most of Guatemala's major highways. The city, with its robust economy, attracts hundreds of thousands of rural migrants from Guatemala's interior hinterlands and serves as the main entry point for most foreign immigrants seeking to settle in Guatemala. In addition to a wide variety of restaurants, hotels, shops, and a modern BRT transport system ( Transmetro ),

8904-447: The other hand, if federation is defined as the constitutional entrenchment of the powers of subcentral units (provinces, etc.) that is not unilaterally changeable or revocable by the central authority, South Africa does qualify, formally, as a federal state. The European Union (EU) is a sui generis political union or confederation (the assemblage of societies or an association of two or more states into one state). Robert Schuman ,

9010-731: The parks, the city offers a portfolio of entertainment in the region, focused on the so-called Zona Viva and the Calzada Roosevelt, as well as four degrees North. Casino activity is considerable, with several located in different parts of the Zona Viva. The area around the East market is being redeveloped. Within the financial district are the tallest buildings in the country, including: Club Premier , Tinttorento, Atlantis building, Atrium , Tikal Futura , Building of Finances, Towers Building Batteries, Torres Botticelli, Tadeus, building of

9116-548: The present site of Guatemala City began with the native indigenous Maya people, who built a large ceremonial center at Kaminaljuyu . This large Maya settlement, the biggest outside the Maya lowlands in the Yucatán Peninsula , of southeast Mexico , rose to prominence around 2,300 years ago, about 300 B.C. due to an increase in mining and trading of obsidian , a valuable commodity of volcanic glass ( Igneous rock ) for

9222-418: The previous nearby Royal Spanish and colonial / provincial capital city of La Antigua Guatemala (now a historic site with preserved ruins). A decade later, under former military General, then elected 21st President (later unfortunately becoming an authoritarian dictator ) of Jorge Ubico (1878–1946, ruled 1931–1944). General / President Ubico after clinging to power for 13 years, was later overthrown in

9328-571: The provinces, to handle economic affairs and implement national policies, resulting in a system some have termed federalism " with Chinese characteristics ". Constitutionally a unitary state , the political system in Myanmar bears many elements of federalism. Each administrative division has its own cabinets and chief ministers, making it more like a federation rather than a unitary state. The French overseas collectivity Wallis and Futuna maintains some quasi-federation attributes. The territory

9434-594: The rainy season, leading to flash floods that sometimes inundate the city. Due to these heavy rainfalls, some of the slums perched on the steep edges of the canyons that criss-cross the Valle de la Ermita are washed away and buried under mudslides, as in October 2005. Tropical waves, tropical storms and hurricanes sometimes strike the Guatemalan highlands, which also bring torrential rains to the Guatemala City region and trigger these deadly mudslides. In February 2007,

9540-484: The region was moved from the ruined settlement of La Antigua three years later in 1776 to the current site and gradually rebuilt new town with the beginnings of modern Guatemala City and was made the third Royal capital of the surrounding Captaincy General of Guatemala of the larger Viceroyalty of New Spain of the then 275 year old Spanish Empire in the twin continents of the Americas ( Western Hemisphere ). In

9646-492: The rest of the country, these telecom and communications companies provide most of their services and offerings within the confines of the city. There are also seven local television channels, in addition to numerous international channels. The international channels range from children's programming, like Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel , to more adult offerings, such as E! and HBO . While international programming

9752-491: The right to sign binding treaties. Basically, a modern federal government, within the limits defined by its constitution, has the power to make laws for the whole country, unlike local governments. As originally written, the United States Constitution was created to limit the federal government from exerting power over the states by enumerating only specific powers. It was further limited by the addition of

9858-471: The seat (chair) for the serving current Archbishop of Guatemala . Also erected in that post-1773 Santa Marta Earthquake was the massive regional colonial Royal Spanish government's Palace of the Captain-General , were constructed in the old second capital of the 1700s , now semi-ruined town Antigua Guatemala and preserved historic site, which later was partially repaired and maintained, even though

9964-463: The settlements on the peripheries of the growing city. The early 20th century series of earthquakes during the years of 1917 - 1918 destroyed many historic structures from the era of the late 18th and following 19th centuries of the first period of Guatemala City capital history, erected during the 144 years since the previous devastating tremors in the infamous Santa Marta Earthquake of 1773 , (referred to previously further above), which destroyed

10070-574: The southern regions of Guatemala. Agua , Fuego , Pacaya , and Acatenango comprise a line of 33 stratovolcanoes that stretches across the breadth of Guatemala, from the Salvadorian border to the Mexican border. Lying on the Ring of Fire , the Guatemalan highlands and the Valle de la Ermita are frequently shaken by large earthquakes. The last large tremor to hit the Guatemala City region occurred in

10176-410: The sovereign state, which only takes care of their foreign relations and defense. However, they are neither considered to be part of it nor recognized as sovereign or associated states. The distinction between a federation and a unitary state is often quite ambiguous. A unitary state may closely resemble a federation in structure and, while a central government may possess the theoretical right to revoke

10282-517: The street or avenue number, followed by a dash and the number of metres it is away from the intersection. For example, the INGUAT Office on "7a Av. 1-17, Zona 4" is a building which is located on Avenida 7, 17 meters away from the intersection with Calle 1, toward Calle 2 in zone 4. 7a Av. 1–17, Zona 4; and 7a Av. 1–17, Zona 10, are two radically different addresses. Short streets/avenues do not get new sequenced number, for example, 6A Calle

10388-607: The time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 18 April 1951 saying that Europe should be organized on a transnational foundation. They envisaged a structure quite different from a federation called the European Political Community . The EU is a three-pillar structure of the original supranational European Economic Community and the nuclear energy cooperation and non-proliferation treaty, Euratom , plus two largely intergovernmental pillars dealing with External Affairs and Justice and Home Affairs. The EU

10494-402: The tropical storm and hurricane season in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, while the dry season extends from November to April. The city can at times be windy, which also leads to lower ambient temperatures . The city's average annual temperature ranges are 22–28 °C (71.6–82.4 °F) during the day and 12–17 °C (53.6–62.6 °F) at night; its average relative humidity

10600-590: The use of the beginnings of more earthquake-resistant scientific construction materials, methods and techniques of building new structures and buildings similar to that which was also previously learned a thousand miles further north along the same geological faults / strata of the Pacific Ocean coastline in the United States after their famous but equally devastating Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of April 1906 , in San Francisco, California ,

10706-669: The widening of the colonial city, its order in the cardinal points and the generation of a ring road with the first cloverleaf interchange in the city. In an attempt to control the rapid growth of the city, the municipal government (Municipalidad de Guatemala), headed by longtime Mayor Álvaro Arzú , has implemented a plan to focus growth along important arterial roads and apply Transit-oriented development (TOD) characteristics. This plan, denominated POT (Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial), aims to allow taller building structures of mixed uses to be built next to large arterial roads, and gradually decline in height and density moving away from such. It

10812-848: Was an early example of formal non-unitary statehood. Several colonies and dominions in the New World consisted of autonomous provinces, transformed into federal states upon independence such as the United States , and various countries in Latin America (see Spanish American wars of independence ). Some of the New World federations failed; the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states less than 20 years after its founding. Others, such as Argentina , have shifted between federal, confederal , and unitary systems, before settling into federalism. Brazil became

10918-520: Was not a member of the ruling party at the time and was elected due his well-known capabilities. Of cobanero origin, married with Marta Cobos, he studied at the University of San Carlos ; under his tenure, among other modernist works of the city, infrastructure projects included El Incienso bridge, the construction of the Roosevelt Avenue, the main road axis from East to West of the city, the town hall building, and numerous road works which meant

11024-743: Was ratified and enacted on the 15th September 1821 , (now celebrated annually as the Dias Patrios (Guatemalan Independence Day) ). After this long-awaited historical event, the city then became the federation capital for the next several decades of the newly established and independent local government of the United Provinces of Central America (later reorganized / renamed as the Federal Republic of Central America , 1821–1847). A quarter-century (26 years) later in August 1847 , Guatemala declared itself an independent republic , separate from

11130-499: Was the German Empire (1871–1918). A federacy is a unitary state that incorporates one or more self-governing autonomous areas . It is distinguished from a federation in that the constitutional structure of the state is still unitary, but incorporates federalist principles. Some federacies, notably Åland , were established through international treaty . A federation differs from a devolved state , such as Indonesia and

11236-510: Was the case with the United States and Switzerland. However, as the histories of countries and nations vary, the federalist system of a state can be quite different from these models. Australia, for instance, is unique in that it came into existence as a nation by the democratic vote of the citizens of each state, who voted "yes" in referendums to adopt the Australian Constitution . Brazil, on the other hand, has experienced both

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