greatreporter.com, December 31st, 2006
Area: 109,117 sq km (42,130 sq mi)
Population (2006 est.): 13,019,000
Capital:
Guatemala City
Head of state and government:
President
Óscar Berger
Perdomo
Guatemalan
Pres.
Óscar Berger
promised to promote more transparency in government and to attack corruption more aggressively, but in April 2006 the U.S. Department of State reported that while
Guatemala
's government "generally respected" human rights laws, the country's "justice system abuses continued, including unlawful killings by police, harsh and dangerous prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention, and failure to ensure due process." Nevertheless, that same month
Guatemala
was elected to a seat on the newly formed UN Human Rights Council, and in October, with staunch
U.S.
backing, it repeatedly defeated
Venezuela
in a contest for a rotating seat on the UN Security Council. There continued to be a low level of citizen participation in the political process, and violent crime and gang violence remained a serious problem. The government assigned 2,400 former soldiers to back up the police.
Berger
's government made greater progress in its reforms of business laws and regulations, and
Guatemala
was ranked eighth in a World Bank survey of 175 countries making reforms in facilitating new business enterprises.
The Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) went into effect in July, but delays in implementation caused temporary declines in textile exports, a situation exacerbated by the
U.S.
's lifting of quotas for Chinese manufactures. There was also a 10% minimum-wage increase in January. CAFTA-DR divided Guatemalans; peasant, labour, and indigenous groups staunchly opposed it, while business, export interests, and the government believed it would attract more foreign investment and promote economic growth. In June
Guatemala
also signed a trade accord with
Belize
in a "first step" toward a free-trade agreement between the two countries.
Guatemala
continued to claim much Belizean territory, including an area where oil was recently discovered.
Despite the embarrassment of the arrest and conviction in the
U.S.
of
Adán
Castillo, the head of Guatemala's drug-enforcement agency
, on drug-trafficking charges, the Guatemalan government cooperated with the
U.S.
's War Against Drugs by destroying dozens of clandestine airstrips in the sparsely populated region of Petén and quashing the cultivation of poppies elsewhere in the country. The
U.S.
increased military aid to
Guatemala
for these operations, notwithstanding the Guatemalan military's notorious reputation for drug trafficking, smuggling, and harsh treatment of the indigenous population.
In October the
U.S.
forgave about 20% of
Guatemala
's
Washington
in return for conservation work in four nature reserves in tropical and subtropical forests and in coastal mangrove areas. Reconstruction in communities damaged by Hurricane Stan (2005) continued. Although major highways reopened, some temporary repairs were still unfinished, and others were washed out during the annual rainy season. In August there was a major eruption of the Pacaya volcano near
Guatemala City
.$108 million debt to
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