Obituaries

Mario Solórzano, 54, founder of the Social Democratic Party of Guatemala, which was a member of the Socialist International, died in Guatemala on 24 September.

He stood for the presidency in 1985 and won a seat as a deputy in the Congress in 1990. He served as minister of labour in the government of President Jorge Serrano Elias when he introduced measures in favour of the indigenous majority in Guatemala. He quit the post at the time of the coup of May 1993 when Serrano suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court.

He went on to take a part in the negotiations which ended with the signatory of a comprehensive peace treaty between the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union in December 1996.

He was married to Braulia, with whom he had three children.