Título II · Capítulo II Sección Séptima. Salud, seguridad y asistencia social

The enjoyment of health is a fundamental right of the human being, without any discrimination.

The State shall safeguard the health and social assistance of all inhabitants. It shall develop, through its institutions, actions of prevention, promotion, recovery, rehabilitation, coordination and the pertinent complementary actions in order to secure for them the most complete physical, mental and social well-being.

The health of the inhabitants of the Nation is a public good. All persons and institutions are obligated to ensure its conservation and restoration.

The State shall control the quality of food, pharmaceutical, chemical products and of all those that may affect the health and well-being of the inhabitants. It shall ensure the establishment and programming of primary health care, and the improvement of the basic environmental sanitation conditions of the least protected communities.

The State, the municipalities and the inhabitants of the national territory are obligated to foster social, economic and technological development that prevents pollution of the environment and maintains ecological balance. All necessary norms shall be issued to guarantee that the utilization and exploitation of fauna, flora, land and water are carried out rationally, avoiding their depredation.

The communities have the right and the duty to participate actively in the planning, execution and evaluation of health programs.

The State shall ensure that the food and nutrition of the population meet the minimum health requirements. The specialized institutions of the State shall coordinate their actions among themselves or with international organizations dedicated to health, in order to achieve an effective national food system.

The State recognizes and guarantees the right to social security for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Nation. Its regime is established as a public function, in national, unitary and obligatory form.

The State, the employers and the workers covered by the regime, with the sole exception of what is prescribed by Article 88 of this Constitution, have the obligation to contribute to financing said regime and the right to participate in its direction, seeking its progressive improvement.

The application of the social security regime corresponds to the Guatemalan Social Security Institute, which is an autonomous entity with juridical personality, patrimony and its own functions; it enjoys total exemption from taxes, contributions and municipal levies, established or to be established. The Guatemalan Social Security Institute shall participate with the health institutions in a coordinated manner.

The Executive Branch shall annually allocate in the Budget of Income and Expenditures of the State a specific item to cover the quota corresponding to the State as such and as employer, which may not be transferred or cancelled during the fiscal year and shall be fixed in accordance with the technical actuarial studies of the Institute.

Against the decisions issued in this matter, administrative remedies and the contentious-administrative remedy shall lie in accordance with the law. When it concerns benefits that the regime must grant, the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals shall have jurisdiction.