Guatemala

                   Guatemala is a small country south of Mexico that is rich in culture and natural beauty. I am half Guatemalan and have traveled to Guatemala twice. Although I have experienced many of what Guatemala has to offer I still feel that there is more that I need to see and learn from Guatemala. Enjoy the blog :)

Population and Settlement

 Population

source: http://watercharity.org/images/ostrow/chuaparal.jpg

Guatemala is a small country with a population of roughly 14 million people as of 2011. The ehtnicity of Guatemala is made of Meztizo which is a mixture of spanish and native people races, along with mayan. The Meztizo account for 60% of the population. Life expectancy is 71.17 years. about 50% of the population lives in urban areas. The largest city in Guatemala is Guatemala city it has a population of roughly 1 million inhabitants. Guatemala consists of three major regions, the highlands which have the highest population densities, the tropical area along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and the tropical jungle located in the
 northern lowlands know as Petén [1].

Guatemala has the highest rate of growth in all of Latin America with a rate of  2.5%, although in the past 20 years the rate of fertility has declined substantially from 5.6 chlidren per woman in 1986 to an average 3.6 reported in 2008/2008. if the current rate of fertility remains unchanged the population is projected to double in 26 years. Women in Guatemala have indicated that they would like to have fewer than 3 children. the reduction in fertility rates can be attributed to an increase in family planning, where 44% of women use a modern family planning method such as female sterilization and injectable contraceptives. On the other hand 31% of married women would to postpone or avoid pregnancy but have not employed an effective contraceptive method.[2]. The figure below displays the age and sex structure for 2010 as well as the projected structure for 2050

Source: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision (2011).

Emmigration

During the forty years of turmoil resulting from social unrest and civil war which lasted from 1956-1996 large numbers of people emigrated to Mexico and the United States which has been estimated to have resulted in 1 million people either dead, dissapeared, or emigrated. Some of the people who emigrated have returned from UN refugee camps set up in Mexico, as well as those who emigrated to the United States[3]. My mother told  me how when she was a small girl the dictator that was in power at the time, Efrain Rios Montt would televise the execution of people. You would see the person blindfolded in front of a firing squad, then they would pan the camera away and shoot the person, then you would hear when they gave the deathblow to the head. Below is an image of Guatemalan women holding portraits of loved ones lost during the turmoil.

Source:  http://www.cja.org/article.php?id=361

[1] http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0107596.html
[2]http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2011/world-population-data-sheet/guatemala.aspx
[3] http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Guatemala.html

Environmental Geography

 Climate

The temperatures vary by altitude in Guatemala with yearly temperatures along the coast ranging from 77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. In the central highlands the temperature averages at 68 degrees Fahrenheit while in the higher mountains the temperatures average at 56 degrees Fahrenheit. The rainy season spans from May to October inland and into December for the coast. The dry season spans from November to January and because of Guatemala's temperate climate it has come to be know as the "Land of Eternal Spring". Below is a bar graph indicating yearly rainfall figures for Guatemala [1].

source: http://orphanshopeproject.org/images/Guateclimate.JPG

Deforestation

Guatemala houses a very diverse forest system which is home to 1246 species of amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals along with 8681 species of plants of which 13.5 percent are endemic, meaning that they are only found in Guatemala. Current forrest cover of the country stands between 25% and 33%, between 1990 and 2005 the country lost 17% of its forest cover. Guatemala's rural population is one of the poorest in Central America, therefore most of the people rely heavily on natural resources as there are not many work opportunities. National parks have also  fallen prey to illegal logging which has affected the Mayan Biosphere Reserve along with the Laguna del Tigre national park. Environmental groups are trying to develop community conservation projects that employ harvesting techniques that have less impact on the forests. Along with logging gold mining, construction of roads, and the clearing of land for grazing are also factors that attribute to deforestation. Deforestation has affected Guatemala with soil erosion which reduces agricultural efficiency along with making the hills more susceptible to landslides. In 2005 mudlsides which resulted from tropical storm Stan killed more than 1500 people [2]. Below is a video of a landslide that occurred in Guatemala 2009

Air Pollution

Guatemala city is heavily polluted by old school buses which were brought over from the United States, Guatemala's residents rely heavily on the buses for public transportation. Recently there has been an effort by the city to remove the old buses and introduce new ones. Smoke from trash burning in the dump as well as from factories also contribute to the thick haze present above Guatemala city. Below is an image of a bus in Guatemala city and the black smoke that it is expelling.

 source: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/53/148997041_ebc1b895b8_z.jpg

In other other parts of the country the smoke in ash from the occasional eruption of volcano can make the air somewhat hazy, but the worst pollution occurs during the dry season when there is agricultural burning and forest fires. Half of the energy consumption comes from burning firewood [3]. I remember while I was visiting Guatemala everywhere you went it smelled like something was burning whether it was trash or agricultural related fires, the air always smelled a little smoky.

[1] http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Guatemala-CLIMATE.html
[2] http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20guatemala.htm
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/guatemala/background/the-land/environmental-issues/air-quality

Cultural Coherence and Diversity

Ethnic Relations

 Rigoberta Menchu

source: http://cdn1.beeffco.com/files/poll-images/normal/rigoberta-menchu_2094.jpg

Guatemala with other Central American colonies declared their independence on September 15 1821, until 1839 it belonged to Mexico and then to the United Provinces of Central America, but it was not until 1945 that a constitution was adopted which guaranteed civil and political rights for all citizens including women and native Central Americans. However the native people continued to be exploited and treated unfairly until recently when international opinion forced the elites to change their way of thinking. This change was also helped along with the selection of Rigoberta Menchu for the Nobel Peace Prize .

Language

Indigenous languages of Guatemala tree

source: http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/original700/guatemala-religion-2010-6-29-18-39-7.jpg

Spanish is the official language of Guatemala, after the civil war ended in December 1996, 22 indigenous languages most of them dialects related to the Mayan language have been recognized. Many natives expecially women and those that live in the highlands do not speak Spanish , but many native families are beginning to abandon their own languages to ensure that their children learn Spanish which they see as essential to function in the world, Even more so when the many dialects are not ineligible with each other, the need for a common language is increasingly important. 

Religion

 

source: http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/original700/guatemala-religion-2010-6-29-18-39-7.jpg

 Catholicism which was brought over by the Spanish and then modified by the Mayan people was widespread throughout Guatemala until the early part of the 20th century when Protestantism began attracting the Mestizo elite and Maya people. It is estimated that around 40% of the populations follows the protestant church. Many Maya have beliefs that mix both Christian religion with indigenous beliefs and practices which have been inherited from ancestors.  Indigenous people still perform rituals for good harvest, easy child birth, and healing of illnesses. Many indigenous people believe in the spirits of nature which reside in caves, mountains and bodies of water and will perform rituals on site. The catholic church is more tolerant of indigenous beliefs than the protestant church which is very strict about non christian beliefs including Catholicism[1].

[1] http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Guatemala.html

Geopolitical Framework

Conquest of Guatemala 

http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/1009/storymap.html

 Lienzo de Quauhquechollan a map of Guatemala dated from 1530 to 1540 which tells the story of the conquest of Guatemala by the Spaniards as seen by the Quauhquecholteca people, who allied themselves with the Spaniards for the opportunity to over power their enemies and gain more power and eventually conquer Guatemala [1].

After the Spanish conquistadors arrived to the New World, they began sending expeditions to Guatemala in 1519. Hernan Cortes who was the leader of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, permitted Captains Gonzalo Alvarado and brother Pedro Alvarado to start an expedition into Guatemala to conquer it. During the time that Guatemala was colonized it was an audiencia and a captaincy general of Spain ans was apart of New Spain which is now Mexico. On September 15, 1821 the captaincy general of Guatemala which also included Chiapas, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, claimed their independence from Spain which was then dissolved within 2 years. The provinces of Guatemala came together to form the United Provinces of Central America which was then dissolved in the civil war from 1838 to 1840. Rafael Carrera was essential in leading the revolt against the government and breaking apart the union. During this time the highlands had declared independence from Guatemala but was regained by Rafael Carrera who controlled Guatemalan politics until 1865. Carrera was supported by the conservatives, large land owners and the church. Guatemala's so called "Liberal Revolution" came in 1871 and was led by a Justo Rufino Barrios who wanted to modernize the country, improve trading, try new crops for the country and start manufacturing plants, during this time is when coffee became a big cash crop for Guatemala. Barrios wanted to unify central america once more, so he went to war but was unsuccessful eventually meeting his end to Salvadorean forces 1885.

Cycle of Dictatorship Rule

https://team8-3.pbworks.com/w/page/20049719/Guatemala

from 1898 to 1920 Guatemala was under the rule of dictator Manuel Estrada Cabrera whose presidency was influenced by the United Fruit Company. During the time that Cabrera was in power the United Fruit Company gained alot of influence in the country. On July 4 1944 the  dictator at the time by the name of Jorge Ubico Castenada resigned from office due to large amount of protests from the public. General Juan Federico Ponce replaced Castenada but he too was ousted by a coup d'etat which was led Major Francisco Javier Arana and Captain Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. The country was then led by a military junta which consisted of Arana, Arbenz and Jorge Toriello Garrido. under the Junta Guatemala had its first free election which was won by Juam Jose Arevalo Bermejo who was a teacher and a writer who had been living in exile in Argentina. Bermejo had socialist ideas that were not appreciated by landowners and the upper class who claimed his ideas were communist. Arbenz was then ousted in a coup that was planned and executed by the CIA. After Arbenz implemented his land reform the CIA intervened fearing that his actions would Guatemela a communist stronghold. It has also been reported that the CIA intervened in order to protect the interests of the United Fruit Company which owned land in Guatemala. Continuing over the years the same pattern can be seen of dictators coming into power and then being ousted and then being replaced by another dictator. General Rios Montt was in power after 1982. He was responsible for the disappearance of many people. on January 12 2012 Efrain Rios Montt was in court for genocide charges, during his hearing the government presented a large amount of evidence for deaths rapes and the displacement of 30,000 Guatemalan citizens during the time he was in power from 1982 to 1983.[2]

Genocide in Guatemala

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB297/

 Starting in 1982 and ending around 1983 during the reign of Efrain Rios Montt there were more than 200,000 Mayan people that were murdered by the Guatemalan government. The killing was carried out by squads called the killing machines, people also dissppeared. The government had concerns that the indigenous Mayan people would start a revolt against the government and take over the country. Around 626 villages were attacked. A 1999 United Nations sponsorred report said: "The Army's perception of Mayan communities as natural allies of the guerrillas contributed to increasing and aggravating the human rights violations perpetrated against them, demonstrating an aggressive racist component of extreme cruelty that led to extermination en masse of defenseless Mayan communities, including children, women and the elderly, through methods whose cruelty has outraged the moral conscience of the civilized world." men , women and children were tortured and executed. Women and children were raped.

Trade Agreements

http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/features/saii/features/2009/09/28/feature-08

in an attempt to jump start the economy, Guatemala with El Salvador and Honduras signed a free trade agreement with Mexico in June 2000. In 2005 Guatemala confirmed a free trade agreement with the United states known as the Central American Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA. [3]



[1] http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/1009/storymap.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala#History 
[3] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107596.html?pageno=4
[4] https://team8-3.pbworks.com/w/page/20049719/Guatemala

Economic and Social Development

Trade

http://www.bergoniaphotography.com/2011/11/20/chicago-food-and-portrait-photographer-linda-bergonia-meets-chef-willy-barreno-of-guatemalas-red-restaurant/

 

 

 

  over the past year Guatemalas exports of textiles, clothes and agricultural products such as winter vegetables, fruit and flowers have come into great demand. Other exports such sugar, bananas and coffee have continued to contribute to a large part of the goods exported by guatemala. over the span of the last twenty years the percentage of goods and services that have been exported has changed. In 1990 it was 21% and in the year 2000 it was 20% it increased again in 2010 to 26%. In contrast the level of imports has been increasing in 1990 the percentage of imported good was 25% and in 2000 it increased to 29% and then in 2010 it increased to 36%. The United States is Guatemalas largest trading partner, it supplies 36% of Guatemalas imports while receiving 40% of its imports  [1]

Economic Recovery



Guatemala recorded rates of growth that were not the greatest in the span of 2001 to 2004 when growth started to increase as can be seen in table 1. From 2001 to 2003 the growth of the economy slowed down to a rate that is below the growth rate of the population. Investors confidence has been regained by the introduction of the free trade agreement with the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic, as well as improved macroeconomic management as well as an increase in competitiveness and the diversification of exports. [2]

Employment

http://www.tajagroproducts.com/countries/Guatemala.html

During a span of 4 years from 2004 to 2008 the amount of people unemployed in the informal sector increased while the amount of people unemployed int eh formal sector decreased. Unemployment as a percentage of the labor force stayed at 3.4%. Agriculture is still the largest employer, which provides 39% of total jobs, next is the service sector which provides 38% and then industry which accounts for 20%. [2]

Foreign Investors

Foreign investment has grown with the introduction of the new trade agreements, although the government is still having problems agreeing on reforms that would increase investment as well as address the needs of the people. The concerns investors have are with security, quality of the labor force, shortages, unsatisfactory human development conditions and weak infrastructure. According to a World Bank study on business friendliness Guatemala ranked 112 out of 181 countries. It had problems with getting businesses open and handling construction permits. [2]

Inequality

 Guatemala is under a category of a country with a medium human development, and it has a rank of 118 out 177 countries and a human development index of .689. Guatemala has the second highest inequality rate in all of Latin America with Panama having the highest. Guatemala has a very high Gini coefficient of 55.1 and 64% of the total income for the country resides in the hands of 20% of the population. [2]

Poverty

Extreme Poverty in Guatemala decreased during the 90's but increased once again after the year 2000 primarily due to the coffee crisis and the drought. The rate of exteme poverty reached 21.5 percent in 2004 and fell again in 2005. Numbers from 2006 reveal that more than half of the population lives in poverty while 15.2 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. Rural areas report the highest rates of poverty with a rate of 72% and 24.4% for extreme poverty. The lack of work opportunities has led to the migration from rural to urban areas which puts greater pressure on basic services which in turn increases poverty in urban areas. The ethnic inequality is evident when you take into account that 74.8 of those living in poverty are indigenous. [2]

 Malnutrition in Children

The child malnutrition rate is 49%  for children that are between 2 and 60 months of age, compared with central americas average of 22%. During 1998 through 2002 certain parts of Guatemala reported improvements in nutrition. The inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous are more evident when the comparing the malnutrition rates which are at 70% and 36% respectively. [2]

Education



The attendance for primary school has increased from 72% in 1991 to 84% in 2000 and then rose to 96% in 2007. Although the rate of illiteracy in adults has increased from 64.2% in 1995 to 69.1% in 2005. The average amount of schooling for adults aboe the age of 14 which is 4.3 years is the second lowest in Latin America. Large gaps in education continue with the lowest greater incidences occurring in indigenous children and poor people, with greater incidences occurring in rural areas. [2] 
   

     






[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Guatemala
[2] http://www.oecd.org/countries/guatemala/46820221.pdf