the politically unpopular step of recognizing the sovereignty of Belize. The Serrano administration reversed the economic slide it inherited, reducing inflation and boosting real growth. On May 25, 1993, Serrano sparked the 1993 Guatemalan constitutional crisis when he illegally suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court, imposed censorship and tried to restrict civil freedoms, allegedly to fight corruption. The attempted self-coup was similar to the one carried out by Peru's Alberto Fujimori. However, Serrano's action met with strong protests by most elements of Guatemalan society, at the forefront of which was the Siglo Veintiuno newspaper under the leadership of José Rubén Zamora. This was combined with international pressure, and the army's enforcement of the decisions of the Constitutional Court, which ruled against the attempted takeover. In the face of this pressure, Serrano resigned as president on June 1 and fled the country. He was replaced on an interim basis by his vice president, Gustavo Adolfo Espina Salguero. However, Espina was involved in Serrano's self-coup as well, and Congress replaced him with Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de León Carpio. Post-presidency Serrano now resides in Panama with his wife Magda Bianchi de Serrano. He has a set of twin sons and a son named Juan Pablo Serrano, as well as two daughters. He has three sisters, one of whom is Olga Stella Serrano de Salazar, who currently resides in Guatemala City with her husband, Rafael Salazar Farfan. Guatemala has made numerous unsuccessful attempts to have him extradited on charges of corruption. Jorge Serrano is involved in real estate as a developer and investor in Panama and the U.S. state of Florida. References External links Presidents of Guatemala 1945 births Living people People from Guatemala City Guatemalan people of Lebanese descent Guatemalan Protestants Stanford University alumni Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni 20th-century Guatemalan people Guatemalan expatriates in Panama Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic