News •
Many have long believed that Guatemala lacks the traditional mineral resources (coal, iron, and other metals) to establish an industrial economy. Nevertheless, the extraction of petroleum in the Petén since the early 1980s has alleviated some of Guatemala’s power needs and provided additional exports, though the reserves in that region are becoming increasingly depleted. At the beginning of the 21st century, Guatemala had proven deposits of a number of minerals, including nickel, which had once been an export product, but mining in the country was focused on antimony, iron ore, lead, and gold. An increasing number of open-pit mines to extract gold and silver deposits have been established in the western and northeastern regions of the country. The creation of these mines has sparked criticism and protests from neighbouring Indigenous communities and international human rights groups, in some cases necessitating military intervention.
The primary sources of energy are petroleum, hydroelectricity, and fuelwood. Fossil fuels and hydroelectricity both contribute substantially to the country’s electricity requirements. Throughout the more densely populated regions, wooded areas provide firewood and charcoal for cooking, heating, the firing of ceramic ware, and the production of lime. In 1996 Guatemala became part of the System of Electric Interconnection for Central America (Sistema de Interconexion Electrica para America Central; SIEPAC), which connects the region’s power-transmission grids, allowing electricity to be traded between the participating countries. The next year Guatemala began privatizing much of its energy sector.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing grew rapidly between 1960 and 1980 but expanded more slowly thereafter. Guatemala lost markets to Asian manufacturers, particularly in the garment industry. Food processing and beverage production, the processing of tobacco and sugar, publishing, the manufacture of textiles, clothing, cement, tires, construction materials, and pharmaceuticals, and the refining of petroleum are primary industrial activities. Like other Central American countries, Guatemala has encouraged the establishment of maquiladoras, manufacturing plants that primarily assemble garments for export. Most of the workers in these plants are women. Industrial activity is heavily concentrated in the environs of Guatemala City.
Finance
The government-controlled Bank of Guatemala is the note-issuing authority and oversees the country’s banking system. It also handles all international accounts. A number of other public and private banks are in operation, and a stock exchange was established in Guatemala City in 1987. Guatemala’s monetary unit is the quetzal. In 2001 the U.S. dollar was adopted as legal tender along with the quetzal.
Trade
The United States is Guatemala’s primary trading partner in both imports and exports. Other trading partners include Mexico, China, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Canada, and Panama. In 1960 Guatemala joined in the founding of the Central American Common Market (CACM), which fostered trade between Central American countries but was only moderately successful in stimulating intra-isthmian trade. CACM suspended its activities in the mid-1980s but renewed its efforts in the 1990s.
By 1993 El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua had ratified a new Central American Free Trade Zone (later signed by Costa Rica) to reduce intraregional trade tariffs gradually over a period of several years, though implementation was subsequently delayed until the realization of SIEPAC in 1996.
In 2004 Guatemala ratified a new Central America Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Implementation of the agreement divided Guatemalans: peasant, labour, and Indigenous groups staunchly opposed it, while businesses and the government believed it would attract more foreign investment and promote economic growth.
Imports include mineral fuels, electrical machinery, transport equipment, pharmaceutical and other chemical products, textiles, and food. The major exports are chemical products and coffee, followed by sugar, bananas, crude petroleum, and cardamom. The exports of vegetables, fresh fruits, cut flowers, and seafoods are of increasing importance.
Services
The growing service sector is the largest contributor to Guatemala’s GNP. Increasing emphasis is being placed upon tourism as a source of income and employment. Noteworthy archaeological ruins are located at Tikal in the Petén, Zacaleu on the outskirts of Huehuetenango, and Quiriguá in the lower Motagua valley. Flores, located on an island in Lake Petén Itzá, is the point of departure for visits to Tikal National Park, which was designated a World Heritage site in 1979. Antigua Guatemala (also made a World Heritage site in 1979), the old colonial capital, has a wealth of ruins and “earthquake baroque” architecture. It has been revived as a tourist and cultural centre with a thriving industry of language schools, museums, bookstores, craft shops, and facilities for visitors. Volcanic landscapes and mountain valleys provide incomparable settings for villages occupied by colourfully attired Indigenous people. Of particular renown is the marketplace in the town of Chichicastenango. The Caribbean coast, where the surf is gentler than on Guatemala’s Pacific shore, is popular with tourists interested in water sports, and Playa de Escobar, near the port of Puerto Barrios, is a favourite destination.
Labour and taxation
Nearly two-fifths of Guatemala’s labour force is engaged in agriculture, with roughly the same proportion employed in the service sector and about one-fifth working in manufacturing and construction. More women entered the labour force in the 1990s, particularly women from poor households. The high rate of urbanization was one of the factors that led to the increase. Although the number of women in the labour force increased by one-fifth by the end of the 20th century, women still constituted less than one-fourth of the official workforce (this figure does not include unreported activities such as subsistence farming and domestic work).
Labour unions and student and peasant organizations made significant progress in the 1944–54 period, but these gains were largely lost in the subsequent period of rigorous military control. Labour union members have been harassed, intimidated, and killed in significant numbers since 1954. Their situation has slowly improved since the 1990s, but many cases of continued abuse have been documented in the early years of the 21st century.
The government continues to rely primarily upon revenue from customs duties. Other tax sources, such as sales taxes, personal income taxes, and excises on liquor and tobacco supplement customs receipts.
Transportation and telecommunications
A network of highways, concentrated in the southern portion of the country, is the major means of transport. The railroad from central Guatemala to the Caribbean ports used to carry more bananas than people, but it has largely been replaced by truck transport for freight and by bus for passengers. Commercial domestic flights within the country are basically limited to those between Guatemala City and the Petén.
Two primary highways extend east-west across Guatemala. The Inter-American Highway, part of the Pan-American Highway, lies to the north of the southern chain of volcanoes. A Pacific coast highway lies to the south. These routes are linked by a number of roads that pass through the chain. The Pacific coastal plain is served by a number of paved highways that extend south from the primary coast highway. The primary north-south highway extends from San José on the Pacific to Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic, by way of Guatemala City. By far a greater number of passengers are carried by bus rather than by private automobiles.
The primary Pacific coast highway and the north-south interoceanic highway are paralleled by the nationally owned railroad. At Zacapa a rail line branches southeast to El Salvador.
Most of the foreign trade is handled through the Caribbean port of Santo Tomás de Castilla. Pacific port facilities (Puerto Quetzal) are in operation at San José.
La Aurora International Airport, located on the southern outskirts of Guatemala City, serves points throughout the Western Hemisphere and Europe. The privately operated national airline is Aviateca.
Guatemala is Central America’s largest telecommunications market. Because of the country’s inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, especially in rural areas, mobile phones have been the fastest growing sector. The telecommunications industry was liberalized in 1996.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
The constitution adopted in 1986 defines the country as a sovereign democratic republic and divides power among three governmental branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Legislative power is delegated to a unicameral Congress, whose members are elected to five-year terms through direct, popular suffrage. Executive power is vested in the president, who is both the head of government and the head of state, and the vice president, both of whom are also elected to five-year terms by popular vote.
Local government
Guatemala is divided into departamentos (departments), each headed by a governor appointed by the president. The departments in turn are divided into municipios (municipalities), which are governed by councils presided over by mayors, elected directly by popular ballot.
Justice
The Supreme Court, with at least nine justices, has jurisdiction over all the tribunals of the country. The justices are elected by Congress for terms of four years.
Political process
All citizens over age 18 are obliged to register to vote and to participate in elections, however compulsory voting is not enforced and there are no sanctions in Guatemala. Broad guarantees are provided for the organization and functioning of political parties, except for the Communist Party and any other that is deemed to be dedicated to the overthrow of the democratic process. Only authorized political parties may nominate candidates for president, vice president, and Congress. Candidates for mayor and other municipal offices need not be nominated by political parties.
Following the Peace Accords of 1996, various guerrilla groups agreed to lay down their arms and enter the political process. Women also began to increasingly participate in government-sponsored programs. Organized women’s groups began to emerge, and the recognition of women as a driving political force in Guatemalan society owed much to the support of international organizations. Women’s roles in documenting the disappearance and killing of citizens during and after the civil war tended to strengthen their collective voice. Moreover, women who had spent time in refugee camps during Guatemala’s violent periods often returned home with a greater sense of empowerment and self-esteem; many became literate and had the opportunity to share their skills and experiences with other Guatemalan women who had not been in exile. Finally, another likely influence on the emergence of women as a political force was the prominence of Indigenous-rights activist and Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.
There is a constant flux in the formation and demise of political parties. Those displaying the most continuity are the Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario; PR), which has shifted from left to right in political orientation, the centrist Guatemalan Christian Democratic Party (Partido Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca; PDCG), and the right-wing National Liberation Movement (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional; MLN). In the slightly more open political atmosphere of the 1990s, several new parties emerged as contenders: the National Centre Union (Unión Central Nacional; UCN), the Solidarity Action Movement (Movimiento de Acción Solidaria; MAS), the neoliberal National Advancement Party (Partido de Avanzada Nacional; PAN), and the National Alliance (Alianza National; AN). Notable parties that formed in the early 21st century include the National Unity ofr Hope (Unión Nacional de Esperanza; UNE), the Patriotic Party (Partido Patriota; PP), the Grand National Alliance (Gran Alianza Nacional; GANA), and the Centre of Social Action (Centro de Acción Social; CASA), which represents the interests of Indigenous people. Generally, Guatemalan voters still appear to have little faith in government because of its poor record in improving security and its inability to stop violent crime.
Security
Guatemala has an army, navy (including marines), and air force. Male citizens between ages 18 and 50 are liable for conscription, with the military service obligation varying from 12 to 24 months. Although constitutionally outside of politics, the army nevertheless represents a powerful element in political struggles and has often controlled the government.
Health and welfare
The inadequacy of Guatemalan medical and health services, particularly in rural areas, is reflected in the high rates of intestinal diseases and infant mortality. Inadequate sanitation and malnutrition are contributory factors. In larger communities the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance maintains hospitals that provide free care, and there are also numerous private hospitals. During the 1980s, rural health centres staffed by personnel trained in preventive medicine were established in hundreds of localities in an effort to improve the health of rural inhabitants. Though these centres have shown slow but continued improvement in the quality of care, the majority of rural dwellers still lack access to medical services, and about half of them have an inadequate diet.
Since 1946 the Guatemalan Social Security Institute has provided medical insurance for public and private employees. The benefits cover accidents and common illness, as well as maternity care. The institute also maintains several hospitals.
Housing
Rural settlements tend to radiate around the cabeceras (county seats) of the hundreds of municipios (municipalities) into which the country is divided. The living conditions in the vast majority of these settlements contrast sharply with the modern amenities of Guatemala City. Running water and up-to-date sanitary facilities are lacking in most homes. Dwellings tend to be made of adobe, cane, or planks and be roofed with thatch, tiles, shakes, or corrugated metal. Homes commonly have earthen floors.
Education
In theory, education is free, secular, and compulsory through the primary school. Secondary schools train teachers, agricultural experts, industrial technicians, and candidates for universities. An enrollment of about two-thirds of those eligible to attend primary schools declines to less than one-fifth for secondary schools. The adult literacy rate (slightly less than three-fourths) is one of the lowest in Central America. In rural areas, even many of those who have attended primary schools (usually only to the third grade) are functionally illiterate as adults. Impoverishment and a low premium paid upon education contribute to these low literacy levels.
Guatemala’s universities are concentrated in the capital. The largest is the national University of San Carlos, founded in 1676. Other universities of Guatemala include Del Valle (1966), Francisco Marroquín (1971), Galileo (2000), Mariano Gálvez (1966), and Rafael Landívar (1961). There are also specialized schools in art and music.
Cultural life
Cultural milieu
Guatemalan society is marked by pronounced extremes in the conduct of daily life. In Guatemala City, elite families live much as they do in the cosmopolitan centres of developed countries, communicating by e-mail, cell phones, and beepers. On the other hand, within an hour’s drive of the capital are Indigenous people whose patterns of daily life reflect those of past centuries and whose communities continue to be knit together by market life. Sharp contrasts like these pervade Guatemalan culture, whether it be in the language spoken or in matters pertaining to the household, cuisine, attire, or family affairs.
