About the CBI

October 2005
Background Note: Guatemala

Flag of Guatemala is three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side),
white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the
coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a
scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the
original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of
crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath.

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Guatemala

Geography
Area: 108,890 sq. km. (42,042 sq. mi.); about the size of Tennessee.
Cities: Capital--Guatemala City (metro area pop. 2.5 million).
Other major cities--Quetzaltenango, Escuintla.
Terrain: Mountainous, with fertile coastal plain.
Climate: Temperate in highlands; tropical on coasts.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Guatemalan(s).
Population (2005 est.): 12.7 million.
Annual population growth rate (2005 est.): 2.5%.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Spanish-Indian), indigenous.
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan.
Languages: Spanish, 24 indigenous languages (principally Kiche, Kaqchikel,
Q'eqchi, and Mam).
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--41%. Literacy--70.6%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--36.9/1,000. Life expectancy--65.19 yrs.
Work force salaried breakdown: Services--40%; industry and commerce--37%;
agriculture--15%; construction, mining, utilities--4%. Fifty percent of the
population engages in some form of agriculture, often at the subsistence
level outside the monetized economy.

Government
Type: Constitutional democratic republic.
Constitution: May 1985; amended November 1993.
Independence: September 15, 1821.
Branches: Executive--president (4-year term). Legislative--unicameral
158-member Congress (4-year term). Judicial--13-member Supreme Court of
Justice (5-year term).
Subdivisions: 22 departments (appointed governors); 331 municipalities with
elected mayors and city councils.
Major political parties: Gran Alianza Nacional (GANA--a coalition of three
parties), Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), National Advancement Party
(PAN), National Union for Hope (UNE), New Nation Alliance (ANN), Unionists
(Unionistas), Patriot Party (PP)
Suffrage: Universal for adults 18 and over who are not serving on active duty
with the armed forces or police. A variety of procedural obstacles have
historically reduced participation by poor, rural, and indigenous people.

Economy
GDP (2004 est.): $27.2 billion.
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 2.7%.
Per capita GDP (2004 est.): $2,200.
Natural resources: Oil, timber, nickel.
Agriculture (23% of GDP): Products--coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamom,
vegetables, flowers and plants, timber, rice, rubber.
Manufacturing (13% of GDP): Types--prepared food, clothing and textiles,
construction materials, tires, pharmaceuticals.
Trade (2004): Exports--$2.9 billion: coffee, bananas, sugar, crude oil,
chemical products, clothing and textiles, vegetables. Major markets--U.S.
28.9%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 42.4%, Mexico 4.8%. Imports
--$7.8 billion: machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemical products,
vehicles and transport materials, plastic materials and products. Major
suppliers--U.S. 39.6%, CACM 12.3%, Mexico 8.3%, Japan 3.8%, Germany 2.4%.

PEOPLE
More than half of Guatemalans are descendants of indigenous Mayan peoples.
Westernized Mayans and mestizos (mixed European and indigenous ancestry) are
known as Ladinos. Most of Guatemala's population is rural, though
urbanization is accelerating. The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism,
into which many indigenous Guatemalans have incorporated traditional forms of
worship. Protestantism and traditional Mayan religions are practiced by an
estimated 40% and 1% of the population, respectively. Though the official
language is Spanish, it is not universally understood among the indigenous
population. The peace accords signed in December 1996 provide for the
translation of some official documents and voting materials into several
indigenous languages.

HISTORY
The Mayan civilization flourished throughout much of Guatemala and the
surrounding region long before the Spanish arrived, but it was already in
decline when the Mayans were defeated by Pedro de Alvarado in 1523-24. The
first colonial capital, Ciudad Vieja, was ruined by floods and an earthquake
in 1542. Survivors founded Antigua, the second capital, in 1543. Antigua was
destroyed by two earthquakes in 1773. The remnants of its Spanish colonial
architecture have been preserved as a national monument. The third capital,
Guatemala City, was founded in 1776.

Guatemala gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821; it briefly
became part of the Mexican Empire, and then for a period belonged to a
federation called the United Provinces of Central America. From the mid-19th
century until the mid-1980s, the country passed through a series of
dictatorships, insurgencies (particularly beginning in the 1960s), coups, and
stretches of military rule with only occasional periods of representative
government.

1944 to 1986
In 1944, Gen. Jorge Ubico's dictatorship was overthrown by the "October
Revolutionaries," a group of dissident military officers, students, and
liberal professionals. A civilian President, Juan Jose Arevalo, was elected
in 1945 and held the presidency until 1951. Social reforms initiated by
Arevalo were continued by his successor, Col. Jacobo Arbenz. Arbenz permitted
the communist Guatemalan Labor Party to gain legal status in 1952. The army
refused to defend the Arbenz government when a U.S.-backed group led by Col.
Carlos Castillo Armas invaded the country from Honduras in 1954 and quickly
took over the government. Gen. Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes took power in 1958
following the murder of Colonel Castillo Armas.

In response to the increasingly autocratic rule of Ydigoras Fuentes, a group
of junior military officers revolted in 1960. When they failed, several went
into hiding and established close ties with Cuba. This group became the
nucleus of the forces that were in armed insurrection against the government
for the next 36 years. Four principal left-wing guerrilla groups--the
Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), the Revolutionary Organization of Armed
People (ORPA), the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR), and the Guatemalan Labor Party
(PGT)--conducted economic sabotage and targeted government installations and
members of government security forces in armed attacks. These organizations
combined to form the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) in 1982.

Shortly after President Julio Cesar Mendez Montenegro took office in 1966,
the army launched a major counterinsurgency campaign that largely broke up
the guerrilla movement in the countryside. The guerrillas then concentrated
their attacks in Guatemala City, where they assassinated many leading
figures, including U.S. Ambassador John Gordon Mein in 1968. Between 1966 and
1982, there was a series of military or military-dominated governments.

On March 23, 1982, army troops commanded by junior officers staged a coup to
prevent the assumption of power by Gen. Angel Anibal Guevara, the hand-picked
candidate of outgoing President and Gen. Romeo Lucas Garcia. They denounced
Guevara's electoral victory as fraudulent. The coup leaders asked retired
Gen. Efrain Rios Montt to negotiate the departure of Lucas and Guevara.

Rios Montt was at this time a lay pastor in the evangelical protestant
"Church of the Word." He formed a three-member military junta that annulled
the 1965 constitution, dissolved Congress, suspended political parties, and
canceled the electoral law. After a few months, Rios Montt dismissed his
junta colleagues and assumed the de facto title of "President of the
Republic."

Guerrilla forces and their leftist allies denounced Rios Montt. Rios Montt
sought to defeat the guerrillas with military actions and economic reforms;
in his words, "rifles and beans." The government began to form local civilian
defense patrols (PACs). Participation was in theory voluntary, but in
reality, many Guatemalans, especially in the heavily indigenous northwest,
had no choice but to join either the PACs or the guerrillas. Rios Montt's
conscript army and PACs recaptured essentially all guerrilla
territory--guerrilla activity lessened and was largely limited to hit-and-run
operations. However, Rios Montt won this partial victory at an enormous cost
in civilian deaths, in what was probably the most violent period of the
36-year internal conflict, resulting in about 200,000 deaths of mostly
unarmed indigenous civilians.

On August 8, 1983, Rios Montt was deposed by his own Minister of Defense,
Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores, who succeeded him as de facto President
of Guatemala. Rios Montt survived to found a political party (the Guatemalan
Republic Front) and to be elected President of Congress in 1995 and 2000.
Awareness in the United States of the conflict in Guatemala, and its ethnic
dimension, increased with the 1983 publication of the book I, Rigoberta
Menchu, An Indian Woman in Guatemala.

General Mejia allowed a managed return to democracy in Guatemala, starting
with a July 1, 1984 election for a Constituent Assembly to draft a democratic
constitution. On May 30, 1985, after 9 months of debate, the Constituent
Assembly finished drafting a new constitution, which took effect immediately.
Vinicio Cerezo, a civilian politician and the presidential candidate of the
Christian Democracy Party, won the first election held under the new
constitution with almost 70% of the vote, and took office on January 14,
1986.

1986 to 2003
Upon its inauguration in January 1986, President Cerezo's civilian government
announced that its top priorities would be to end the political violence and
establish the rule of law. Reforms included new laws of habeas corpus and
amparo (court-ordered protection), the creation of a legislative human rights
committee, and the establishment in 1987 of the Office of Human Rights
Ombudsman. Cerezo survived coup attempts in 1988 and 1989, and the final 2
years of Cerezo's government were also marked by a failing economy, strikes,
protest marches, and allegations of widespread corruption.

Presidential and congressional elections were held on November 11, 1990.
After a runoff ballot, Jorge Serrano was inaugurated on January 14, 1991,
thus completing the first transition from one democratically elected civilian
government to another.

The Serrano administration's record was mixed. It had some success in
consolidating civilian control over the army, replacing a number of senior
officers and persuading the military to participate in peace talks with the
URNG. Serrano took the politically unpopular step of recognizing the
sovereignty of Belize. The Serrano government reversed the economic slide it
inherited, reducing inflation and boosting real growth.

On May 25, 1993, Serrano illegally dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court
and tried to restrict civil freedoms, allegedly to fight corruption. The
"autogolpe" (or self-initiated coup) failed due to unified, strong protests
by most elements of Guatemalan society, international pressure, and the
army's enforcement of the decisions of the Court of Constitutionality, which
ruled against the attempted takeover. Serrano fled the country.

On June 5, 1993, the Congress, pursuant to the 1985 constitution, elected the
Human Rights Ombudsman, Ramiro De Leon Carpio, to complete Serrano's
presidential term. De Leon, not a member of any political party and lacking a
political base but with strong popular support, launched an ambitious
anticorruption campaign to "purify" Congress and the Supreme Court, demanding
the resignations of all members of the two bodies.

Despite considerable congressional resistance, presidential and popular
pressure led to a November 1993 agreement brokered by the Catholic Church
between the administration and Congress. This package of constitutional
reforms was approved by popular referendum on January 30, 1994. In August
1994, a new Congress was elected to complete the unexpired term.

Under De Leon, the peace process, now brokered by the United Nations, took on
new life. The government and the URNG signed agreements on human rights
(March 1994), resettlement of displaced persons (June 1994), historical
clarification (June 1994), and indigenous rights (March 1995). They also made
significant progress on a socioeconomic and agrarian agreement. National
elections for president, the Congress, and municipal offices were held in
November 1995. With almost 20 parties competing in the first round, the
presidential election came down to a January 7, 1996 runoff in which National
Advancement Party (PAN) candidate Alvaro Arzu defeated Alfonso Portillo of
the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) by just over 2% of the vote. Under the
Arzu administration, peace negotiations were concluded, and the government
signed peace accords ending the 36-year internal conflict in December 1996.
The human rights situation also improved during Arzu's tenure, and steps were
taken to reduce the influence of the military in national affairs.

In a December 1999 presidential runoff, Alfonso Portillo (FRG) won 68% of the
vote to 32% for Oscar Berger (PAN). Portillo's impressive electoral triumph,
with two-thirds of the vote in the second round, gave him a claim to a
mandate from the people to carry out his reform program.

Progress in carrying out Portillo's reform agenda was slow at best, with the
notable exception of a series of reforms sponsored by the World Bank to
modernize bank regulation and criminalize money laundering. The United States
determined in April 2003 that Guatemala had failed to demonstrably adhere to
its international counternarcotics commitments during the previous year.

A high crime rate and a serious and worsening public corruption problem were
cause for concern for the Government of Guatemala. These problems, in
addition to issues related to the often violent harassment and intimidation
by unknown assailants of human rights activists, judicial workers,
journalists, and witnesses in human rights trials, led the government to
begin serious attempts in 2001 to open a national dialogue to discuss the
considerable challenges facing the country.

National elections were held on November 9, 2003. Oscar Berger Perdomo of the
Grand National Alliance (GANA) party won the election, receiving 54.1% of the
vote. His opponent, Alvarado Colom Caballeros of the Nation Unity for Hope
(UNE) party received 45.9% of the vote. The new government assumed office on
January 14, 2004.

GOVERNMENT
Guatemala's 1985 constitution provides for a separation of powers among the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The 1993
constitutional reforms included an increase in the number of Supreme Court
justices from 9 to 13. The reforms reduced the terms of office for president,
vice president, and congressional representatives from 5 years to 4 years,
and for Supreme Court justices from 6 years to 5 years; they increased the
terms of mayors and city councils from 2-1/2 years to 4 years.

The president and vice president are directly elected through universal
suffrage and limited to one term. A vice president can run for president
after 4 years out of office. Supreme Court justices are elected by the
Congress from a list submitted by the bar association, law school deans, a
university rector, and appellate judges. The Supreme Court and local courts
handle civil and criminal cases. There also is a separate Constitutional
Court.

Guatemala has 22 administrative subdivisions (departments) administered by
governors appointed by the president. Guatemala City and 331 other
municipalities are governed by popularly elected mayors or councils.

Principal Government Officials
President--Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo
Vice President--Eduardo STEIN Barillas
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Jorge BRIZ Abularach
Minister of Finance--María Antonieta del Cid de BONILLA
Ambassador to the U.S.--Jose Guillermo CASTILLO
Ambassador to the UN--Jorge SKINNER-KLEE
Ambassador to the OAS--Francisco VILLAGRÁN de León

The Guatemalan embassy is located at 2220 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(tel. 202-745-4952; email: INFO@Guatemala-Embassy.org). Consulates are in
Washington, New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Denver, and Los
Angeles, and honorary consuls in Montgomery, San Diego, Ft. Lauderdale,
Atlanta, Leavenworth, Lafayette, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, San Juan, Providence, Memphis, San Antonio, and Seattle. See the
State Department Web page: http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco/

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Portillo's 1999 landslide victory combined with an FRG majority in Congress
suggested possibilities for rapid legislative action. However, under the
Guatemalan constitution of 1985, passage of many kinds of legislation
requires a two-thirds vote. Passage of such legislation was not possible,
therefore, with FRG votes alone.

The government increased several tax rates in 2001 in an attempt to meet the
target of increasing its tax burden (at about 10.7% of GDP, currently the
lowest in the region) to 12% of GDP. However, protestors took to the streets
massively when the government sought further increases in August 2001,
declaring their opposition to any new taxes until the Portillo administration
provided better accountability for the taxes it already received.

Violent harassment of human rights workers presented a serious challenge in
2002 and 2003. Common crime, aggravated by a legacy of violence and vigilante
justice, presented another serious challenge. Impunity remained a major
problem, primarily because democratic institutions, including those
responsible for the administration of justice, have developed only a limited
capacity to cope with this legacy. Guatemala's judiciary is independent;
however, it suffered during 2003 from inefficiency, corruption, and
intimidation.

In early 2003, the government accepted the Human Rights Ombudsman's proposal
for a U.N.-led commission to investigate possible links between illegal
clandestine groups or security forces and attacks on human rights defenders
and organized crime. By the end of 2003, the agreement was scheduled to be
submitted to the Congress for ratification in January 2004. The UN
Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) ceased its 10-year project of
monitoring peace accord implementation and human rights problems in November
2004 with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan declaring Guatemala had made
"enormous progress in managing the country's problems through dialogue and
institutions". The United Nations and Guatemala agreed to open an Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights and form a special body to investigate
clandestine groups. That operation began in January 2005.

ECONOMY
After the signing of the final peace accord in December 1996, Guatemala was
well-positioned for rapid economic growth over the next several years, until
a financial crisis in 1998 disrupted the course of improvement. The
subsequent collapse of coffee prices left what was once the country's leading
export sector in depression and had a severe impact on rural incomes. Foreign
investment inflows have been weak, with the exception of the privatization of
utilities. Potential investors, both foreign and domestic, cite corruption,
lack of physical security, a climate of confrontation between the government
and private sector, and unreliable mechanisms for contract enforcement as the
principal barriers to new business. On a more positive note, Guatemala's
macroeconomic management was sound under the Portillo administration, and its
foreign debt levels are modest. The country subscribed to a standby agreement
with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2002, which it extended in June
2003.

Guatemala's economy is dominated by the private sector, which generates about
85% of GDP. Agriculture contributes 23% of GDP and accounts for 75% of
exports. Most manufacturing is light assembly and food processing, geared to
the domestic, U.S., and Central American markets. Over the past several
years, tourism and exports of textiles, apparel, and nontraditional
agricultural products such as winter vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers have
boomed, while more traditional exports such as sugar, bananas, and coffee
continue to represent a large share of the export market.

The United States is the country's largest trading partner, providing 39.6%
of Guatemala's imports and receiving 28.9% of its exports. The government 's
involvement is small, with its business activities limited to public
utilities--some of which have been privatized--ports and airports, and
several development-oriented financial institutions.

Guatemala ratified the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement, commonly
known as CAFTA, on March 10, 2005. Priorities within CAFTA include
eliminating customs tariffs on as many categories of goods as possible;
opening services sectors; and creating clear and readily enforceable rules in
areas such as investment, government procurement, intellectual property
protection, customs procedures, electronic commerce, the use of sanitary and
phyto-sanitary measures to protect public health, and resolution of business
disputes. Import tariffs have already been lowered together with Guatemala's
partners in the Central American Common Market, with most now under 15%.

Other priorities include increasing transparency and accountability in
Guatemala's public finances, broadening the tax base, and completing
implementation of financial sector reforms. These measures attempt to ensure
that Guatemala can comply with the standards of the international Financial
Action Task Force for detecting and preventing money laundering.

The United States, along with other donor countries--especially France,
Italy, Spain, Germany, and Japan--and the international financial
institutions, have increased development project financing since the signing
of the peace accords. However, donor support remains contingent upon
Guatemalan Government reforms and counterpart financing.

The distribution of income and wealth remains highly skewed. The wealthiest
10% of the population receives almost one-half of all income; the top 20%
receives two-thirds of all income. As a result, about 80% of the population
lives in poverty, and two-thirds of that number--or 7.6 million people--live
in extreme poverty. Guatemala's social development indicators, such as infant
mortality and illiteracy, are among the worst in the hemisphere. Chronic
malnutrition among the rural poor worsened with the onset of the crisis in
coffee prices, and the United States has provided disaster assistance and
food aid in response.

NATIONAL SECURITY
Guatemala is a signatory to the Rio Pact and is a member of the Central
American Defense Council (CONDECA). The president is commander in chief. The
Defense Minister is responsible for policy. Day-to-day operations are the
responsibility of the military chief of staff and the national defense staff.

An agreement signed in September 1996, which is one of the substantive peace
accords, mandated that the mission of the armed forces change to focus
exclusively on external threats. However, both former President Arzu and his
successor President Portillo used a constitutional clause to order the army
to temporarily support the police in response to a nationwide wave of violent
crime.

The accord calls for a one-third reduction in the army's authorized strength
and budget--already achieved--and for a constitutional amendment to permit
the appointment of a civilian Minister of Defense. A constitutional amendment
to this end was defeated as part of a May 1999 plebiscite, but discussions on
how to achieve this objective continue between the executive and legislative
branches.

The army has gone beyond its accord-mandated target of reducing its strength
to 28,000 troops, and numbered 15,500 troops as of June 2004. Not only was
this the most profound transformation of any Central American military in the
last 50 years, it also illustrates the effective control the civilian
government has over the military. President Berger has tasked the Defense
Ministry with increasing the professional skills of all soldiers. The
military is equipped with armaments and materiel from the United States,
Israel, Serbia and Montenegro, Taiwan, Argentina, Spain, and France. As part
of the army downsizing, the operational structure of 19 military zones and
three strategic brigades were recast as several military zones are eliminated
and their area of operations absorbed by others. The air force operates three
air bases; the navy has two port bases. Additionally, recent steps have been
taken to redefine the military's mission--the military doctrine has been
rewritten, and there has been an increase in cooperation with civil society
to help bring about this reform.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Guatemala's major diplomatic interests are regional security and,
increasingly, regional development and economic integration. Guatemala
participates in several regional groups, particularly those related to trade
and the environment.

The Council of Central American Ministers of Trade meets on a regular basis
to work on regional approaches to trade issues. The council signed a Trade
and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the U.S. in 1998, and was part
of the negotiations that led to the creation of CAFTA. Guatemala joined
Honduras and El Salvador in signing a free trade agreement with Mexico in
2000, which went into effect the following year. Guatemala also originated
the idea for, and is the seat of, the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).

President Bill Clinton and the Central American presidents signed the
CONCAUSA (Conjunto Centroamerica-USA) agreement at the Summit of the Americas
in December 1994. CONCAUSA is a cooperative plan of action to promote clean,
efficient energy use; conserve the region's biodiversity; strengthen legal
and institutional frameworks and compliance mechanisms; and improve and
harmonize environmental protection standards.

Guatemala has a long-standing claim to a large portion of Belize; the
territorial dispute caused problems with the United Kingdom and later with
Belize following its 1981 independence from the U.K. In December 1989,
Guatemala sponsored Belize for permanent observer status in the Organization
of American States (OAS). In September 1991, Guatemala recognized Belize's
independence and established diplomatic ties, while acknowledging that the
boundaries remained in dispute. In anticipation of an effort to bring the
border dispute to an end in early 1996, the Guatemalan Congress ratified two
long-pending international agreements governing frontier issues and maritime
rights. In 2001, Guatemala and Belize agreed to a facilitation process led by
the OAS to determine the land and maritime borders separating the two
countries. National elections in Guatemala put a temporary halt to progress,
but discussions will resume at a bilateral meeting on the margins of the
Summit of the Americas in early November 2005 and a Foreign Minister-level
meeting November 14-15, 2005 in San Pedro, Belize.

U.S.-GUATEMALAN RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and Guatemala traditionally have been
close, although at times strained by human rights and civil/military issues.
U.S. policy objectives in Guatemala include:

* Supporting the institutionalization of democracy and implementation of
the peace accords;
* Ratification of a free trade agreement, together with the other Central
American countries;
* Encouraging respect for human rights and the rule of law, and
implementation of the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Groups
and Clandestine Security Organizations in Guatemala (CICIACS);
* Supporting broad-based economic growth and sustainable development and
maintaining mutually beneficial trade and commercial relations;
* Cooperating to combat money laundering, corruption, narcotics
trafficking, alien-smuggling, and other transnational crime; and
* Supporting Central American integration through support for resolution of
border/territorial disputes.

The United States, as a member of "the Friends of Guatemala," along with
Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Norway, and Venezuela, played an important role in
the UN-moderated peace accords, providing public and behind-the-scenes
support. The U.S. strongly supports the six substantive and three procedural
accords, which, along with the signing of the December 29, 1996 final accord,
form the blueprint for profound political, economic, and social change. To
that end, the U.S. Government has committed nearly $400 million to support
peace implementation since 1997.

Although almost all of the 230,000 U.S. tourists who visit Guatemala annually
do so without incident, in recent years the number of violent crime reported
by U.S. citizens has steadily increased. Increases in the number of Americans
reported as victims of violent crime may be the result of any combination of
factors: increased numbers of Americans traveling to Guatemala; increased
accuracy in the Embassy's reporting of crime; more Americans traveling to
higher risk areas of Guatemala; or more crime.

Most U.S. assistance to Guatemala is provided through the U.S. Agency for
International Development's (USAID) offices for Guatemala and Central
American Programs (USAID/G-CAP). USAID's programs support U.S. foreign policy
objectives by promoting reforms in democratic governance, economic growth,
and the social sectors, with special emphasis on the rural indigenous poor
whose lives have been most seriously affected by the internal civil conflict.
In addition to earning low incomes, these populations have limited economic
opportunities for economic advancement, lack access to social services, and
have limited access to, or influence over, the policymaking processes.
Totaling $45 million annually, USAID programs pursue six objectives. These
are:

* Supporting the implementation of the 1996 peace accords;
* Aiding the improvement of the legal system and assisting citizens in its
use;
* Increasing educational access and quality for all Guatemalans;
* Improving the health of Guatemalan women, children, and rural families;
* Increasing the earning capacity of poor rural families; and
* Expanding natural resources management and conservation of biodiversity.

USAID's largest program is the support of the peace accords. The accords
require major investments in health, education, and other basic services to
reach the rural indigenous poor and require the full participation of the
indigenous people in local and national decision-making. They also call for a
profound restructuring of the state, affecting some of its most fundamental
institutions--the military, the national police, and the system of
justice--in order to end impunity and confirm the rule of law. Finally, they
require basic changes in tax collection and expenditure and improved
financial management.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--James Derham
Deputy Chief of Mission--Bruce Wharton
Political Counselor--Alex Featherstone
Economic Counselor--Oliver Griffith
Management Officer--Scott Heckman
Defense Attache--Col. Richard Nazario
Military Assistance Group--Col. Mark Wilkins
Consul General--John Lowell
Regional Security Officer--John Eustace
Public Affairs Officer--David J. Young
Drug Enforcement Administration--Michael O'Brien
Agricultural Attache--Steve Huete
Commercial Attache--Mitch Larson
USAID/G-CAP Director--Glenn Anders

The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala is located at Avenida la Reforma 7-01, Zone 10,
Guatemala City (tel. [502] 2326-4000; fax [502] 2334-8477).

Other Contact Information
U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Trade Information Center
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 800-USA-TRADE
Internet: http://www.ita.doc.gov

American Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala
5a avenida 5-55 zona 14 Europlaza, Torre I Nivel 5
01014 Guatemala City, Guatemala
Tel: (502) 2333-3899
Fax: (502) 2368-3536
E-Mail: trade@amchamguate.com

Caribbean/Latin American Action (C/LAA)
1818 N Street, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel.: 202-466-7464
Fax: 202-822-0075