Guatemala 2009

After our trip to Guatemala it is evident that Guatemala faces many challenges in its part to development. Arriving in Guatemala City was quite a shock to me because I had imagined it as a primitive country lacking in infrastructure and modernity. Yet as we were driving from the airport many western chain restaurants popped up such as McDonalds and KFC. And it wasn't that one there was one or two, I counted more than 15 as we drove down the main avenida. This scene accurately portrayed the powerful forces of Globalization and their disastrous repercussions on developing countries. While Guatemala City looked like a Western-style city full of Western businesses and luxuries, the reality is that most people in Guatemala do not have the opportunity to enjoy these amenities. The elite of Guatemala take advantage of the country's profitable resources while the rest of the population can not provide for their families. Furthermore, the elite in Guatemala are encouraged and supported by American businesses interests who make deals with the powerful in Guatemala and suck the resources of then country to their advantage. The elite in Guatemala have more in common with the elite in the United States than their own people. This characterizes the Guatemala government who is not accountable to the people and who works of violence and intimidation to achieve its ends. Violence is one of the most pressing problems that face Guatemala today. Daily newspapers show the horrors that are prevalent on a day to day basis. The violence in Guatemala has become so common that the people are somewhat immune to it and desensitized. While in Guatemala I read newspaper headlines everyday that talked about gangs, narco-trafficking, and murders against innocent civilians. Its apparent that no one is safe from violence in Guatemala, not even if you have nothing to do with organized crime or gangs. Simply walking down the street can make you a target of violence. And yet many people wonder who is to blame for their dire situation? Should the government be tougher on crime? Should more people be put into the already over-crowded prisons? The answer to this question is so much more complex and involves a historical analysis of Guatemala along with the history of U.S. involvement in the country. It can be safely said that Guatemala's situation today can be attributed to the involvement of the U.S. government because of their own political interests. During the era of communism the U.S. interfered in many Latin American countries in order to ensure that communism would not win as an ideology. Yet at the same time they destroyed any chance Guatemala had for a responsive government that was concerned for its citizens. Instead U.S.-backed governments were established that had more concern with profit than the political and economic situation of their country. Without U.S. interference there could have been an opportunity for a government to arise that would promote the rights and liberties of its citizens. But the situation is evident today, citizens in Guatemala have to fend for themselves, the government is not going to take care of them. This is why violence is so prevalent and prevents the country from developing.