INFRASTRUCTURE
GUATEMALA LIKE A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Location:Guatemala is located in the North part of all the republics that conforms the Central American isthmus. Guatemala limits the north and the west with the Republic of Mexico, the south with the Pacific Ocean and the east with the Atlantic Ocean, Honduras and Belize.
Social classes: In broad strokes they are divided in Discharge, Upper middle, Average, Lower middle and Low.
Economy: The economy of Guatemala is dominated by the privatesector, which generates around 85% of the GIP. Our type of currency is quetzal (Q.), our force of work is agriculture, industry, services, construction and mining.On July of this year theCASTA entered in Guatemala, whichhave created conflicts in our country because many peoplethought that this was going to affect us and that we are not going to obtain the development in our country. Some of the products of exportation in Guatemala are the cotton, sugar, banana trees, and cardamom and already as minimum export is the meat;dying products of the sea, works and work of assemble. In our country the indices of development and well-being at macroeconomic level are translated into developing and well-being of the individuals has not been obtained at level of country.
Road communication: We counted on highways that at the moment have been modified, because it is a country that counts on export and product import, the transport is heavy and due to this and natural factors the highways are worn away and pockets are created which causes that the road communication is seen affects in certain sectors of the country.
Government: Our government is divided in three branches in the Executive authority, the legislative power and the judicial power.Executive Power - President and vice-president, chosen directly for a term of four years, nonreeligible. The president is advised by the Cabinet. The present president of Guatemala is Oscar Berger. Legislative Power - Congress that counts on deputies who can be chosen by direct suffrage, by electoral districts and by national listing, with I also finish of four years.Judicial Power– is made by Supreme Court of Justice. We have also the Court of Constitutionality and the Electoral Supreme Court. Voting’s - Obligatory for of legal age, the optional one for the illiterate ones.
Political division - The country is divided in twenty-two departments each one with a governor named by the president and these in several municipalities.The subject of Government in Guatemala is being affected by the corruption, its greater exhibitors are the police agents, the deputies and possibly presidency and vice-presidency. There also exists that is the authorityabusethat lamentably we lived day to day. A simple example is the police, does not respect traffic lights, extorts and sometimes they have complicity with the delinquents to make misdeeds.
Poverty: Ours population below the poverty limit it is of 75% and the unemployment cup is of the 7.5% evaluation done up to 1.999, this has increased until this date due to the bad organization of government.
Development (companies):Guatemala counts on Great, medium and small companies, often having the privilege the deprived sector of high level. At the moment with the CASTAwill occur to notice the competition that delay is generated the entrance in vigor in the commercial agreement. It is Vista with little preoccupation by the industrialists. The competition level will be equal in the next months. The microindustralists are worried about the competition that they will have for the same reason of being small.
Delinquency:Guatemala crosses at the moment by one of the most difficult periods of its history since we counted on a high level of delinquency and Vandalism that specially reigns in all the country and at level of the capital city and bordering municipalities, is so the power that has managed to reach the delinquency and maras, that the titular authority ordered (PNC) to take care of such situation confesses not to have the capacity necessary to exert some control on such groups of delinquents much less to reduce them. The Guatemalans were present at with horror as every day grows, extends itself and the power of the common delinquency holds fast and maras, the gang members are becoming powerful to ribs of the honest citizen and defenseless, they receive wills not to kill, they intimidate the neighbors that in defense of their life they leave their houses yielding to them but territory, maras they intimidate, they extort, they kidnap, they rob, they violate, they assassinate and as opposed to this desolation, the citizen discovers that this totally unprotected, feels impotent because it does not have the possibility of defending itself or to face these criminal groups.
Transport: In Guatemala we counted on 102.000 cars; 96.800 buses until the year 1999.This value have increased since there are more automobiles and therefore more contamination and the urban and extra urban buses have been such during last the ten years, because single they compose them, give maintenance and re paints to avoid the purchase of more busses. At the present time they are developing a project that is called Trans metro that will help in the clearing of highways and the elimination of old buses. Urban extra -urban buses are the principal transportation inGuatemala. Within the transport it is possible to be included the highways and the railroad, our highways have been damaged.
Natural disasters: The natural disasters in Guatemala have caused more poverty and little development in the last decade due to the global heating our country has been affected whenever there is a hurricane in Mexico, the United States or any near country. Because we are ourselves affected in rains and the wind; by our geographic situation, we have many volcanoes, mountains and rivers, these phenomena collapse mountains and the rivers raise causing disasters in the communities that live in the skirts on mountains and volcanoes or in the borders on the rivers, which is affected in the country.
Culture:Guatemala counts on a great cultural wealth beginning by his main architectonic reclamation that is their Mayan ruins and the colonial buildings, in optimal state of conservation. Another cultural aspect of interest is the exotic thing and varied of the traditional indumentathat elaborates the native population artisan. The design of the tunics, layers and skirts goes back to the precolonial time. Determined details of articles and the designs they on a par identify to the group or the town that takes them, that contains meant manifold magicians or monks. The popular music and dances also play an outstanding role in the religious celebrations of the natives.
The Spanish is the most spoken language in Guatemala, and the Roman Catholicism, the main religion. The Mayans have been able to perpetuate aspects of their traditional religion in their fusion with the Christianity, they have been inserted in the rites and the Roman doctrine. The evangelistas and of Pentecostés elevate every day their number of followers.
The Guatemalan gastronomy is influenced by Mexico’s one; it is not difficult to find more common Mexican plates, like tortillas and the tacos. The meat is the fundamental food; it is taken very done to the grill or fried. The Chinese restaurants abound in all the country. The coffee is of an exceptional quality. The beer is the most consumed drink and the rum and the Quetzalteca (cane brandy) are the favorite spirits of the Guatemalans.
Sources: Wikipedia, El Periódico, My-Guatemala.tripod.com
Summary and Information: Atabel Pineda