Guatemala 2009

Now that I have presented at Globilization Gone Wild and been back in the mainstream long enough to see people's perceptions of the trip, the more I seem discouraged of how we can help. I told myself before we left that I would be happy with educating one person and changing their mind on what is occurring in Guatemala. However, seeing the same people return on multiple nights of GGW, it makes me wonder if we actually told anyone anything they didn't know.

In the age old tale of U.S. economic self interest in Latin America meets new liberal Latin American president meets CIA sponsored coup, the history of Guatemala does not differ. In the late 19th and early 20th century Central and Latin America were characterized by liberal economic policies which allowed for much foreign investment, especially that of the United States. These nations were also characterized by military dictatorships that supported these economic policies in an attempt to befriend the U.S. government. When U.S. investors deeply invested in the United Fruit Company, the U.S.