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CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in Guatemala in the early years of the 21st Century. Some of these
links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated,
misleading or even false. No attempt has been made to validate
their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular
interest to you. You might be
interested in exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and
per-capita GDP, for example. Perhaps
your paper could focus on life expectancy or infant mortality. Other factors of interest might be
unemployment, literacy, access to basic services, etc. On the other hand, you might choose to
include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty such as Human Trafficking,
Street Children,
or even Prostitution. There is a lot to the subject of
Poverty. Scan other countries as well
as this one. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. *** Extreme Weather *** Extreme
Precipitation Events: Guatemala experiences erratic weather patterns,
including heavy rainfall and torrential rains. These extreme precipitation
events can lead to landslides, floods, and damage to infrastructure. Agricultural
Impact: The sub-tropical climate changes have disrupted Guatemala’s
once-fertile agricultural regions. Changing El Niño and La Niña weather
patterns have led to catastrophic crop failures in many rural villages. Farmers
face extreme weather events such as hurricanes, unexpected frost, and
drought. These challenges threaten food security and livelihoods.– adapted from Microsoft BING Copilot *** ARCHIVES *** The World Factbook - Guatemala U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html [accessed 29
December 2020] World Factbook
website has moved to ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guatemala/ [accessed 5 January 2021] The
distribution of income remains highly unequal with the richest 20% of the
population accounting for more than 51% of Guatemala's overall consumption.
More than half of the population is below the national poverty line, and 23%
of the population lives in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups,
which make up more than 40% of the population, averages 79%, with 40% of the
indigenous population living in extreme poverty. Nearly one-half of
Guatemala's children under age five are chronically malnourished, one of the
highest malnutrition rates in the world. GDP -
per capita (PPP): $8,200 (2017
est.) Labor
force - by occupation: agriculture:
31.4% industry:
12.8% services: 55.8% (2017 est.) Unemployment
rate: 2.3% (2017
est.) Population
below poverty line: 59.3% (2014
est.) Maternal
mortality rate: 95 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) Infant mortality
rate: total: 21.8 deaths/1,000 live births Life
expectancy at birth: total population: 72.4 years Drinking
water source: improved: total: 95.2% of
population Physicians
density: 0.36 physicians/1,000 population (2018) Sanitation
facility access: improved: total: 76.7% of
population Electricity
access: electrification - total population: 91.8% (2016) The
Borgen Project - Guatemala borgenproject.org/category/guatemala/ [accessed 4 February 2021] The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the
United States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for
the world’s poor. It is an innovative,
national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign
policy. It believes that leaders of
the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global
poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote,
nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The
Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating
at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living
conditions for those living on less than $1 per day. ~
Saving Lake Atitlán To Reduce Poverty In Guatemala borgenproject.org/saving-lake-atitlan-to-reduce-poverty-in-guatemala/ ~
Modern-Day Maya Artisanal Weaving borgenproject.org/maya-artisanal-weaving/ ~
Indigenous Poverty In Guatemala borgenproject.org/indigenous-poverty/ ~
How Muixil Is Empowering Indigenous Guatemalan
Women borgenproject.org/muixil-empowers-indigenous-guatemalan-women/ ~
Homelessness In Guatemala borgenproject.org/homelessness-guatemala/ ~
The Fight Against Child Poverty In Guatemala borgenproject.org/child-poverty-in-guatemala/ ~
Engineers Without Borders: Building To Save Lives borgenproject.org/engineers-without-borders-building-to-save-lives/ ~
Every Mother Counts: Maternal Health In Guatemala borgenproject.org/maternal-health-in-guatemala/ Uninhabitable:
Central America’s Northern Triangle And Beyond Larry J. Schweiger, Pittsburgh Current, 19 March 2021 www.pittsburghcurrent.com/uninhabitable-central-americas-northern-triangle-and-beyond/ [accessed 20 March 2021] Just as
the Irish did during the potato famine, Central American parents are doing
the hard thing out of fear. Facing systemic corruption, hopelessly struggling
in an increasingly hostile climate with deadly gangs, these parents are
sending offspring on a dangerous journey to America. Homeland Security
Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas summarized
conditions: “Poverty, high levels of violence, and
corruption in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries have propelled
migration to our southwest border for years. The adverse conditions have
continued to deteriorate. Two damaging hurricanes that hit Honduras and swept
through the region made the living conditions there even worse, causing more
children and families to flee.
Guatemalan
authorities crack down on thousands of US-bound migrants fleeing poverty and
violence Reuters - SBS, 17 January 2021 [Long
URL] [accessed 17 January 2021] “We
have nothing to feed to our children, and thousands of us were left sleeping
on the streets,” said Maria Jesus Paz, a mother of four children who said she
lost her home in the hurricanes. “This is why we make this decision, even
though we know that the journey could cost us our lives." “First I
lost my job because of the pandemic, and then I lost my home in the
hurricanes,” said Melvin Paredes, who joined the caravan with his brother.
“The only thing I have left is to fight for my family’s survival.” Action
Against Hunger - Guatemala www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/americas/guatemala [accessed 21 March 2021] Public
safety, migration, drug trafficking, education and poor access to clean water
and basic sanitation are some of the challenges facing Guatemalans, and more
than half of its population lives below the national poverty threshold, being
highly vulnerable to seasonal hunger and food shortages. The
situation in Central America has remained vulnerable to socioeconomic,
environmental, and climate shocks, resulting in greater political insecurity
and instability. Hundreds of thousands of people from the so-called Northern
Triangle (Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) have migrated in recent years. The World Bank in Guatemala www.worldbank.org/en/country/guatemala/overview [accessed 19 April 2021] Guatemala
has experienced continued economic stability, but this has not translated into
growth acceleration to close the income gap with rich countries. In fact,
poverty and inequality in the country are persistently high, with Indigenous
Peoples continuing to be particularly disadvantaged. Looking back a few years … Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Guatemala-ECONOMY.html [accessed 29 December 2020] Since World
War II, the government has encouraged light industrial production (such as
tires, clothing and pharmaceuticals). Nevertheless, in 1995, agricultural
pursuits occupied 58% of the national labor force and accounted for some
two-thirds of Guatemalan foreign exchange earnings. Living standards and
personal income remain low, and no significant domestic market exists, except
for subsistence crops. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT
COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Prof. Martin
Patt, "Poverty - Guatemala",
http://gvnet.com/poverty/Guatemala.htm, [accessed <date>] |
