Guatemala

Physical. Guatemala is located in Central America, south of Mexico. It covers an area slightly smaller than Tennessee. It has a tropical climate that is hot and humid in the lowlands and cooler in the highlands. Guatemala has a terrain covered with mountains, narrow coastal plains and a rolling limestone plateau. There are 27 volcanoes in the country, 19 of which are live or active. Natural resources include petroleum, nickel, chicle, fish, rare woods, and hydropower.

People. More than 14 million people inhabit Guatemala. Guatemala is one of only a handful of Latin American nations with a significant indigenous population. Ethnically, the country is widely Mestizo (55%: mixed Amerindian-Spanish) and Amerindian (43%). Spanish is the predominant language, spoken by 60% of inhabitants. The majority of Guatemala’s 24 different ethnic-linguistic groups can be traced back to the great Mayan civilizations that existed prior to the Spanish conquest. The most numerous of those are 21 Mayan groups (including the K’iche’, Kaqchikel, Q’eqchi’ and Mam people). The remaining three groups are the Spanish-speaking Mestizos (known as Ladinos in Guatemala) and the Xinka and Garifuna peoples. Meanwhile 23 Amerindian languages are prominent in many areas as well (spoken by 40% of inhabitants) including Quiche, Cakchiquel, and Kekchi. Roman Catholicism comprises the largest religion with Protestant and traditional Mayan minorities.

Government. The country is officially known as the Republic of Guatemala. Beginning in 1960, a civil war erupted with the guerilla movement enlarged by Indians through radical clergy recruitment, the excesses of the armed forces, and the loss of ancestral lands. This 36-year armed conflict came to an end with the signing of Peace Accords on December 29, 1996. The 1985 Constitution calls for election of a one-term president, a unicameral congress, and municipal officers. Popular confidence in the democratic system is very low. Rates of political participation are the lowest in Latin America with an average voter turnout of 29.6% during the 1990’s.

Ethnic relations between the descendants of Maya and whites and Ladinos have contributed to the country’s history of unrest. Policies have kept the indigenous population subordinate through social, political and economic deprivation. Between 1870 and 1920 with the seizure and purchase of lands, native populations were denied sufficient lands to cultivate. In the rural areas, half the people have a diet well below the minimum daily caloric intake established by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Marginal malnutrition is endemic. Two-thirds of the children live in poverty. Infant mortality and malnutrition rates are among the highest in the region.

Economy. Recent statistics show that 75% of the population live in poverty. The most critical areas of poverty are found in the north and northwest where poverty levels reach 93%. Only 3.4 million people in Guatemala are formally employed with another 8 million either working informally or unemployed. Recent privatization of state services and enterprises such as electricity, telecommunications and the postal service have increased unemployment and suspicion. The country’s current economic policies have channeled benefits to the country’s privileged sector. Although the peace accords of 1996 called for distributing land to peasant farmers, more land has in fact been concentrated in fewer hands.  Additionally, there has been a massive exodus of the Guatemalan working population to foreign countries.

Areas of Concern. With 75% of the population in poverty and half the rural population suffering from malnutrition, illiteracy and infant mortality are among the highest in Central American. Broad ranges of atrocities against the Mayans were attributed to the military, but the government has done little to implement the recommendations of the Peace Accords. Violence remains endemic in the country with a death toll of 3,000 in 2005, much of it gang related. Environmental concerns include deforestation, soil erosion and water pollution.

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