Essay
- Submitted by: sweetstudying
- Views: 410
- Category: History
- Date Submitted: 09/23/2012 12:38 PM
- Pages: 10
- Report this Essay
Dictatorship in Guatemala, genocide of extreme proportions
Guatemala’s Reality
If you read any “Guatemala Facts” under type of Government it will say: Constitutionally democratic. This was far from truth as Guatemala has endured over 3 decades of cruel dictatorships. Guatemala, with about 14 million people, is the most populous country in Central America. It is run by an oligarchy of wealthy landowners and big business interests that reap the country's agricultural and commercial rewards at the expense of the rest of the population. In the dark years of a civil war that Guatemala endured, the country was headed by military dictators and figurehead-presidents—the ultimate control belonged to the Army.
Guatemala has been for the most part a country without social or economic justice, especially for the 8 million indigenous Mayan Indians who make up the majority of the population. There is a marked disparity in income distribution, and poverty is pervasive. From the mid 50’s to early 90’s Guatemalan indigenous people—descendants of the ancient Maya’s live in concentration camp-like conditions, as de facto slaves. They had no access to health care, and no access to safe drinking water. Education in rural areas is non-existent, hence why there’s 40% of illiteracy in the country half of the country's children suffer from malnutrition. Every day in Guatemala, a country in which
everything grows, people go hungry.
The real power in Guatemala is in the hands of the Army, and that power has been used to violently control the people, resulting in the worst human rights record in the world. During more than 30 years of civil war, over 200,000 Guatemalans have been killed or disappeared, tens-of-thousands have been forced to flee to Mexico or other countries, 1 million have been displaced inside the country, and more than 440 Indian villages have been destroyed. 75,000 widows and 250,000 orphans have been produced out of the massacres. And, for more than four...
Guatemala’s Reality
If you read any “Guatemala Facts” under type of Government it will say: Constitutionally democratic. This was far from truth as Guatemala has endured over 3 decades of cruel dictatorships. Guatemala, with about 14 million people, is the most populous country in Central America. It is run by an oligarchy of wealthy landowners and big business interests that reap the country's agricultural and commercial rewards at the expense of the rest of the population. In the dark years of a civil war that Guatemala endured, the country was headed by military dictators and figurehead-presidents—the ultimate control belonged to the Army.
Guatemala has been for the most part a country without social or economic justice, especially for the 8 million indigenous Mayan Indians who make up the majority of the population. There is a marked disparity in income distribution, and poverty is pervasive. From the mid 50’s to early 90’s Guatemalan indigenous people—descendants of the ancient Maya’s live in concentration camp-like conditions, as de facto slaves. They had no access to health care, and no access to safe drinking water. Education in rural areas is non-existent, hence why there’s 40% of illiteracy in the country half of the country's children suffer from malnutrition. Every day in Guatemala, a country in which
everything grows, people go hungry.
The real power in Guatemala is in the hands of the Army, and that power has been used to violently control the people, resulting in the worst human rights record in the world. During more than 30 years of civil war, over 200,000 Guatemalans have been killed or disappeared, tens-of-thousands have been forced to flee to Mexico or other countries, 1 million have been displaced inside the country, and more than 440 Indian villages have been destroyed. 75,000 widows and 250,000 orphans have been produced out of the massacres. And, for more than four...