Problems of Economic and Social Change in Guatemala

Abstract

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.