Guatemala
A Brief Rundown...
The small Central American country of Guatemala is rich in history. Before the conquistador, Hernán Cortés, conquered the area for the Spanish, present-day Guatemala was inhabited by one of the most advanced tribes in human history, the Mayans. After Spanish influence in the Americas began to fade, Guatemala surged in its independence movement.
After
gaining independence, the country entered a new phase. It was then
given the opportunity for self-government, something that had been
denied them during the rule of the Spanish. During this phase, the
country saw a series of strict rulers who encouraged feudalism, an
economic system consisting of a large peasantry and a small, elite
class of landowners. Nevertheless, Guatemala remained politically
stable.
The first transition from feudalism and dictatorial regimes came in 1951 when, in the country’s second free election ever, the people of Guatemala elected Jacobo Árbenz Guzman. Coincidentally, this newly elected administration overlapped the beginnings of the Cold War, during which the U.S. ardently opposed socialist policy like the proposed land reform of Árbenz Guzman. Before the land reform policy could be completely realized, Árbenz Guzman was ousted from power by a U.S.-sponsored coup.
The state of the country since the coup has not been the same. The country has gone through various internal conflicts, which have been compounded by several natural disasters in the region. Today, Guatemala remains a country of a small aristocracy that controls much of the country’s wealth while the poor struggle to survive.
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