Guatemala

Land and Climate

Nestled between Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador, Guatemala is the northernmost country of Central America and one of the most multifaceted in the region. Roughly the size of Tennessee, with a landmass of 41,865 square miles, it encompasses 3 main regions: the cool Western Highlands, Tropical Coastline (along both the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts), and Tropical Jungle in the northern lowlands, known as the Petén. Due to the rich geographical diversity, Guatemala is home to over 8,000 different species of plants in 19 eco-systems. However, because of many developing trends such as migration, peasant farming, illegal logging, and slash and burn agriculture practices, much of Guatemala’s lush landscape has been subject to rapid deforestation. November through April marks the dry season while rain is abundant from May through October.

Population and Language

The Guatemalan population of roughly 15 million can be broadly divided into two categories: Ladino (people with Spanish and Mayan descent who relate more closely with their Spanish heritage) and 28 indigenous groups, or Indígenas, which have descended from the Maya. Many of the indigenous groups live in the western highlands and do not speak Spanish as their first language. Indigenous languages such as Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, and Xinca are spoken in the home and in the community. Much of the indigenous female population does not speak Spanish because it is afforded fewer opportunities to attend school. Also, located on the Caribbean coast is a small black population known as the Garífuna. The Garífuna speak Creole, Spanish, and English.

Guatemala’s history can be divided into three stages: the Mayan civilization, the arrival of the Spanish during the 16th century, and the modern democratic republic. Guatemala’s historical richness is due primarily to the Mayan civilization, which dates to as early as 2500 B.C.E., reaching its peak between 300 and 900 C.E. Dominating the Mesoamerica region for nearly 2,000 years, the Mayan civilization was based on a series of cultural city centers among which a developed group of artisans, architects, merchants, warriors, priest astronomers, medicine men, mathematicians, and farmers flourished. Although some historians argue that the major Mayan cultural centers lasted until roughly the year 1200 C.E., most agree that the major cities wereabandoned around 900 C.E. The decline of the Mayan civilization was well underway before the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado conquered Guatemala, in 1523-1524 C.E.

During the Spanish colonial period, Spain introduced a land distribution system in which colonists received large tracts of land, which were worked on by indigenous people, who became indentured serfs. This created a deeply entrenched system of racial hierarchy in which the colonists of European descent were on top, Ladinos (those of mixed blood) in the middle, and the indigenous populations at the bottom. This colonial system existed until the quest for independence started in the early 19th century. Guatemala achieved independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.

The conservative, large landholders and the Church heavily influenced Guatemalan politics through the first half of the 19 th century. However, Guatemala’s 1871 “Liberal Revolution,” led by Justo Rufino Barrios, looked to modernize the country though improved trade, new crops, education, and manufacturing.Beginning in the early20th century, Guatemala passed through a series of dictatorships. During the regime of Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1898-1930), the dictator gave the U.S. owned United Fruit Company (UFC) a controlling percentage of Guatemala’s fertile land as well as control of Guatemala’s only viable port, Puerto Barrios. Combined with the rights to other markets such as transportation, electricity, and communication, the UFC dominated Guatemala’s economy. The trend of ceding national property rights to foreign interests continued under General Jorge Ubico’s (1930-1944) regime. Disillusioned with its government, the “October Revolutionaries,” a group of students and liberal professionals, overthrew Ubico in 1944 and elected Juan José Arevalo as Guatemala’s first democratically elected president.

Known as the “Ten Years of Spring,” this era was a period of reform and progress for Guatemala. However, the “Ten Years of Spring” was overshadowed by the 36-year civil war that erupted in the early 1960s as a reaction to democratically elected Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán’s Agrarian Land Reform, which looked to redistribute land ownership in Guatemala. The civil war officially ended in 1996 with the signing of the Peace Accords that sought to bring about reconciliation between the warring groups and hold true to the principles of democracy, human rights, and an end to poverty.