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Guatemala: Central America
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After the signing of the final peace accord in December 1996, Guatemala was well-positioned for rapid economic growth over the next several years, until a financial crisis in 1998 disrupted the course of improvement. The subsequent collapse of coffee prices left what was once the country's leading export sector in depression and had a severe impact on rural incomes. On a more positive note, Guatemala's macroeconomic management is sound and its foreign debt levels are modest. The Berger administration (2004-2007) made promotion of foreign investment and competitiveness a priority and implemented a series of reforms to improve transparency, combat corruption, and spur economic growth. As a result of the reforms and implementation of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows increased from $353 million in 2006 to $535 million in 2007.
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Guatemala is the northernmost country in Central America. It borders with Mexico to the north and west and with Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador to the south and east. Guatemala borders the Pacific Ocean in the southwest and the Caribbean Sea in the east. Its surface area is about 42040 square miles. It has nearly 11 million inhabitants and 55% of the population are descendants of the Mayas. Many Maya ruins can be found in Guatemala - including those at Tikal and Huehuetenango (among others) - and are popular tourist attractions.
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Unlike many Latin American countries, Guatemala has a large indigenous population. Close to half the people are descendants of the Maya, the Indians whose advanced civilization once dominated the region (see Maya Civilization). Mestizos, people of mixed European and Native American ancestry, make up the other half. Mestizos in Guatemala are known as ladinos.
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Despite the short duration and negligible results of its first intrusion in Guatemala, the CIA found renewed support for their aggressive course of action in Latin America with the Eisenhower administration. Touting his New Look Doctrine, Eisenhower, hoping to differentiate his foreign policy from the plan to contain communism promoted by Truman, sought to defend American interests abroad with an increase in funds for nuclear weapons and covert operations. Convinced that Arbenz threatened U.S. national security because of his alleged Communist sympathies, Eisenhower approved the first-ever clandestine military action in Latin America. Codenamed PBSUCCESS, the program aimed at not only deposing Arbenz in favor of a U.S.-selected leader, but ... looked to send a clear warning to the Soviets that the American government would not tolerate the spread of communism in the Western Hemisphere.
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The first evidence of human settlers in Guatemala goes back to 10,000 BC, although there is some evidence that puts this date at 18,000 BC, such as obsidian arrow heads found in various parts of the country. There is archaeological proof that early Guatemalan settlers were hunters and gatherers, but pollen samples from Petén and the Pacific coast indicate that maize cultivation was developed by 3500 BC. Archaic sites have been documented in Quiché in the Highlands and Sipacate, Escuintla on the central Pacific coast (6500 BC).
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Guatemala is located in Central America. It has an area of 108,890 square kilometers (42,043 square miles), slightly smaller than the state of Tennessee. Because of its consistently temperate climate, Guatemala has been called the "Land of Eternal Spring." Crops such as coffee, sugar, bananas, and cocoa are grown both for consumption in Guatemala and for export. Guatemala, with parts of Mexico and Honduras, occupies the Yucatán peninsula, where the lowland forest of Petén, once the home of the Mayas, is found. Guatemala's main environmental problems are caused by deforestation—more than 50 percent of the nation's forests have been destroyed since 1890.
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