Change in Guatemala

The nation of Guatemala has undergone drastic change since the times of its civil war. Democracy has a tighter grip on government and the violence has decreased dramatically. But we still see a number of issues withing the third-world country that need to change. The income distribution is unbalanced, the infrastructure in rural Guatemala is poor, and the racial segregation is quite apparent.

The aboriginal Mayan population primarily lives in poverty, while the Ladinos live comfortably above the poverty line on average. To think that the Mayans are professionally and intellectually inferior is ignorant. These are a historically traditional people that have not had access to modern resources that we have. As a culture, they have fallen behind the times that we live in. It does not mean that they do not have the capacity to become integrated into modern society, but more so that something needs to change. The aboriginal population of Guatemala needs to be given the opportunities, such as training and education, so that they may earn a better living like their Ladino counterparts.

When talking about the infrastructure of rural Guatemala, we deal with dirt roads and poor transportation. While urban areas will always receive more attention and funding, the abysmal infrastructure in rural Guatemala has racial implications. Outside of the highly populated areas is predominantly where the aboriginal Guatemalans reside. Their location in the country is largely based off their financial situation, but it is no reason for the infrastructure being the way that it is. The Mayan population typically has insufficient electricity, water, and transportation which means they cannot do the same things that the majority in Guatemala can. They cannot live in the comforts of a modern infrastructure and instead having to do many things that we take for granted, by hand.

Tying in the two previous topics is the racial segregation in Guatemala, which is the underlying reason for their disparities. Obviously there is a divide between the two populations, one which has put the Mayans into a inferior position. They are essentially treated as second-class citizens who do not need the same treatment because they are not of Spanish decent. As the two populations have a permanent existence in Guatemala, its seems necessary for them to live together and not segregated.

In the U.S. we have seen the effects racism in our history and even recent instances such as hurricane Katrina. However we have not experienced a first hand account of distinctly superior citizen in comparison to an inferior one. While it is difficult to change peoples' ideals, perceptions, and beliefs, people can bring awareness to unequal racial circumstances in hopes to slowly bring change for the better.


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