2. GUATEMALA Republic of Guatemala A BEAUTY THAT HURTS

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS GUATEMALA LOCATION CULTURE PEOPLE ECONOMICSHISTORY TAKE AN INTEREST IN GUATEMALA ! FURTHER READINGS POLITICS CURRENT INTERNAL SITUATION CURRENT EXTERNAL SITUATION

4. LOCATION  Guatemala is located in Central America.  Area 108,889 Km.  Highest Point; 4,220m Volcan Tajamulco.  Lowest Point; Sea Level.

5. GEOGRAPHY  66% of the country is mountainous  62% is covered by forests.  Four topographical regions  Eighteen short rivers  Four major lakes

6. THE PEOPLE n Population: 10,510,000 n Density: 97/km2 n Capital: Guatemala n Urban 39% n Ethnic Groups: Ladinos 56%, Amerindian 44%

7. THE PEOPLE n Languages: Spanish, Amerindian n Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, tribal religionist n 67 female, 62 male Literacy: 55%

8. THE CULTURE n Arte4 Maya Tz’utuhil Museaum and Gallery

9. HISTORICAL Highlights n Mayan Civilization n The Fishing and Farming Villiages n Pedro de Alvarado came to conquer Guatemala 1523 n Independence from Spain came in 1821

10. HISTORICAL Highlights n A succession of military presidents n Protest and repression became more violent n Civil war broke out n New government January 2000!

11. The POLITICS n Government: Republic n Parties: Christian Democratic, Democratic Party of National Cooperation, National Centrist Union, Revolutionary, others n Suffrage: Universal, over 18. n Membership: OAS, UN. n Subdivisions: 22 Departments.

12. The ECONOMICS n GDP: $12, 600,000,000 n Per capita: $1,342 n Monetary Unit: Quetzal(Q) n Public Debt; USD 2, 301,000,000

13. The ECONOMICS n Imports: USD $2,647,629,800 n Exports: USD 1,502,610,4000 n Trade Partners: Exports: U.S., El. Salvador, Germany, Japan n Exports: Coffee, sugar, bananas, beef. n Imports:Fuel, machinery, grain, fertilizer, transportation equipment

14. CURRENT SITUATION INTERNAL RELATIONS  THE PEOPLE  ECONOMY AND THE LAND  HISTORY AND POLITICS

15. CURRENT SITUATION INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS n SITUATIONAL UPDATE! n VISIT FROM THE CANADIAN FOREIGN AID MINISTER ! n SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS!!

16. URGENT ACTION SOLIDARITY WORK WITH GUATEMALA n Canada Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network n Project Accompaniment n Amnesty International n United Nation Human Rights Commission n Arch Bishops Office for Human Rights n Canada World Youth n Peace Brigades

17. TAKE AN INTEREST IN GUATEMALA! n LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES n http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/ca /guatemala/ n 100 TIPS n http://www.1000traveltips.org/ guatemal.htm

18. FURTHER READINGS n I, Rigoberta Menchu is the autobiography of Guatemala's Indian Nobel Peace Prize winner - a very moving story of Mayan life and government repression. n Time and the Highland Maya by Barbara Tedlock is an anthropological study of the Quiché Indians of Momostenango. n Unfinished Conquest: The Guatemalan Tragedy by Victor Perera looks at the history of the Maya and their situation in modern Guatemala. n The Central America Fact Book by Tom Barry & Deb Preusch examines the economic, political and military role of the USA in Central America. n Birds of Guatemala by Hugh C Land is a field guide to - surprisingly enough - the birds of Guatemala. n lamor of Innocence: Central American Short Stories, edited by Barbara Paschke & David Volpendesta, contains 31 short stories by writers from the region.