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Problems of Economic and Social Change in Guatemala1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

G. E. Britnell
G. E. Britnell*
Affiliation:
University of Saskatchewan
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Extract

It is apparent to the most casual observer that Guatemala possesses natural advantages which, if properly utilized, should make it possible for the Republic to achieve a relatively favourable position among the nations of the Americas both in living standards and in economic stability. Yet development down to the middle of this century has barely scratched the surface of these latent possibilities.

Behind this paradox lies the unusual nature of Guatemala's endowment. Geological history has given this mountainous, tropical country extremely fertile volcanic soils and a range of altitudes which offers a wide variety of climates. Yet, by the same token, the rugged and broken topography has hampered transportation and communication and created such obstacles to all types of development that potentially productive areas still remain virtually inaccessible. These same factors tend to perpetuate the cultural isolation which continues to characterize large segments of the rural population of the Republic.

There are, of course, many other problems besides transportation and communications. For example, the Pacific coastal plain–the most promising agricultural area in Guatemala–will remain largely unproductive until its malaria and other debilitating diseases have been conquered. In a population predominantly rural settlement tends, at present, to be concentrated in the central and western highlands where a large Indian population cultivates marginal land on a subsistence basis, while more productive agricultural areas frequently lack labour.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science/Revue canadienne de economiques et science politique , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , November 1951 , pp. 468 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 1951

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Footnotes

1

This paper was presented to a joint session of the annual meetings of the Canadian Political Science Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology in Montreal, June 8, 1951.

I am particularly indebted to my two economic colleagues on the Survey Mission to Guatemala sponsored by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Government of Guatemala in 1950 for much of the basic data and many of the ideas contained in this paper: to Dr. R. F. Behrendt in connection with the problems of Indian agriculture, a long-run programme for the rural economy, and labour; and to Mr. Georges de Fleurieu in connection with problems of industrial development and the resources available for investment.

References

2 The spirit of the old order is well exemplified in the note sent by a local official to the governor of one of the departments: “I am sending you 25 volunteers to work on the roads. Please send back the ropes.”

3 Every adult male, Ladino or Indian, has a vote although only literate males must vote. Only literate women have the franchise but Spanish chivalry does not compel them to vote.

4 1 quetzal = 1 U.S. dollar.

5 There are now three national labour federations in Guatemala: The Confederacion de Trabajadores de Guatemala, the Federacion Sindical de Guatemala, and the smaller Federacion Central Regional de Trabajadores.

6 Institute de Fomento de la Produccion (INFOP).

7 Adler, J. H., Schlesinger, E. R., and Olson, E. C., Public Finance and Economic Development in Guatemala (New York, 1950).Google Scholar

8 Guatemala's foreign trade is the largest of any of the six Central American countries, ordinarily accounting for a third of the value of their combined exports and a fourth of their total imports.

9 In a quite unusual burst of almost North American enterprise the Guatemalan government confiscated these rich coffee plantations fairly early in World War II and shipped off their former German owners to be interned in the United States at the expense of Uncle Sam.

10 This sum comprises:

11 Mining, particularly of lead and zinc, actually shows more promise of immediate development. It is adequately financed by American interests and has assured markets; its chief handicap to development is the lack of transportation, skilled technicians, and information on mineral resources.

12 Logically, increased hydro-electric power generation should become an important factor in the economic development of Guatemala. The high elevations, narrow valleys, steep drops, and heavy rainfall of the highlands combine to give the country an appreciable hydro-electric potential near most of its active or promising centres of production.

13 The domestic communications services provided by government-owned telephone, telegraph, and radio systems leave much to be desired. Principal defects of these services are obsolete equipment, poor construction, and weak organization.

14 In 1940, 65.4 per cent of the population seven years old and over, was illiterate. Despite the progress made in the last few years primary education, when available, is usually limited to three years.

15 As indicated above, Guatemala still lacks many of the basic conditions in the form of social capital necessary for the successful large-scale business enterprise, e.g., transport facilities, power, health, and education. These deficiencies can be remedied only in time.

16 The writer was unable to confirm the widely held belief among Guatemalans that the motto of the railway is: “Every banana a guest, every passenger a pest.”