Guatemala Central Bank Chief Faces Court Deadline Over Congress Seat
GUATEMALA · CENTRAL BANK
Key Facts
- —The country Guatemala, home to about 18.7 million people, is Central America’s largest economy, and money sent home by emigrants equals about a fifth of it.
- —Why it matters The Bank of Guatemala, known as Banguat, guards the quetzal currency and an inflation target of 4 percent, independent of the government.
- —What changed President Bernardo Arévalo named his finance minister, Jonathan Menkos, as central bank chief, and he was sworn in on 1 October.
- —What happened On Friday 2 October the Constitutional Court gave the government 48 hours to explain why a lawmaker on leave can lead the bank.
- —The challengers Guatemala’s main business federation, an opposition party leader and a group of citizens have filed three legal challenges.
- —What it means for you Nothing changes yet for savers, investors or people sending money home; the bank keeps operating normally.
- —Still open The court has not decided whether to suspend the appointment while it studies the case.
Guatemala’s new central bank chief has been in office for three days, and his right to the job is already in court. The government’s deadline to answer the Constitutional Court runs out on Sunday 4 October.
Jonathan Menkos, an economist who was finance minister until 30 September, still holds a seat in Congress. Business leaders and opposition politicians say that bars him from running the central bank.
What the Court Asked For
The Constitutional Court, Guatemala’s highest court on constitutional questions, admitted the first challenge on Friday 2 October. It ordered the president’s office to send a detailed report within 48 hours, La Hora reported.
That report is a formal step before the court rules on a temporary suspension. Guatemalans call it a provisional amparo, a fast protective order that can freeze a decision while a case is heard.
The court also notified Congress, which had granted Menkos his leave, but set it no deadline. La Hora put the end of the government’s 48 hours at Sunday 4 October.
Who Jonathan Menkos Is
Menkos is no outsider to the institution. He worked in the central bank’s statistics and economic studies departments from 2000 to 2006, according to a profile in La Hora.
He then spent a decade as executive director of the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies, a regional think tank on taxes and budgets. He left in November 2022.
In 2023 he headed the national list of Arévalo’s party, Movimiento Semilla, and won a seat in Congress. Before taking that seat he became finance minister on 19 January 2024, with leave from Congress.
As minister he sat on the Monetary Board, which sets monetary and exchange-rate policy and which he now chairs. He also put a price on the end of the property tax on homes, described in Guatemala Scraps Its Property Tax on Homes (30 August).
Arévalo named him central bank chief on 29 September, for a term running to 30 September 2030. He replaced Álvaro González Ricci, appointed in 2022 by Arévalo’s predecessor, Alejandro Giammattei.
The Three Legal Challenges
The first came from CACIF, the umbrella group of Guatemala’s farm, trade, industry and finance associations. It argues that a leave from Congress only suspends a lawmaker’s seat and does not end it.
CACIF cites two articles of the central bank’s founding law that, it says, bar a sitting member of Congress from leading it. It also points to the constitutional ban on holding two paid public posts at once, Prensa Libre reported.
Allan Rodríguez, head of the opposition Vamos party in Congress, filed a second challenge. He argues that the 2024 leave named only the finance ministry and was never a licence to take any other public post.
A third challenge, filed on Friday afternoon by four citizens surnamed García, goes further. It claims Menkos lacks the proven economic and financial expertise the constitution demands of a central bank chief.
The Government’s Answer
Arévalo says the appointment respects his constitutional powers. At his regular press conference, La Ronda, he said the leave granted by Congress is not tied to the finance ministry, Infobae reported.
The central bank itself has stayed neutral. In a statement on Thursday 1 October, it said everyone has the right to take legal action.
The bank added that it would respect whatever the authorities decide, without giving its own view on the legal questions.
Why It Matters for Central Bank Independence
The legal dispute is mainly about his seat in Congress, not his policies. Yet a finance minister moving straight into the job of central bank chief tests the line between government and bank.
Economists quoted by Prensa Libre said the fight creates uncertainty for investors about the bank’s independence and stability. Others see little short-term risk from the dispute over the central bank chief.
Hugo Maúl of the Center for National Economic Research, a Guatemalan think tank, told La Hora the bank can keep working. If Menkos had to step aside, he said, vice-president José Alfredo Blanco could lead it temporarily.
Former economy minister Rubén Morales told La Hora he expects no immediate effect on how markets judge Guatemala’s risk. A long legal fight without a clear central bank chief would send a bad signal, he added.
What Comes Next
Once the deadline passes, the court can decide whether to suspend Menkos temporarily. CACIF has proposed that the bank’s vice-president take charge in the meantime, Infobae reported.
A temporary decision would not settle the case. The final ruling on whether a lawmaker on leave can serve as central bank chief could take longer.
Congress could also settle the question by clarifying the leave it granted in 2024.
For now the appointment stands and the bank runs as usual. For background on the country’s politics ahead of the 2027 general election, see Guatemala Explained 2026.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
What does Guatemala’s central bank do?
The Bank of Guatemala, or Banguat, sets monetary policy, manages the exchange rate of the quetzal and supervises the payment system. Its president also chairs the Monetary Board, which takes the main policy decisions.
Can a member of Congress run Guatemala’s central bank?
That is the question before the Constitutional Court. Challengers say the bank’s founding law bars it, while the government says the leave Menkos holds from Congress allows it.
Has the court removed the new central bank chief?
No. The court has only asked the government for a report before deciding on a temporary suspension. Menkos was sworn in on 1 October and remains in office.
Does this affect people who send money to Guatemala?
Not for now. The central bank keeps operating, and analysts quoted by La Hora expect no immediate disruption.
Sources: La Hora, 3 October 2026; La Hora, 2 October 2026; La Hora, 3 October 2026; La Hora, 29 September 2026; La Hora, 2 October 2026; Prensa Libre, 2 October 2026; Prensa Libre, 2 October 2026; Infobae, 2 October 2026.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief