Guatemala

Guatemala

POPULATION 13,314,079
ROMAN CATHOLIC 51 percent
MAYA SPIRITUALITY 24 percent
EVANGELICAL 24 percent
OTHER 1 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Republic of Guatemala, bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean (between Mexico and El Salvador) and to the east by the Caribbean Sea (between Belize and Honduras), is the most populous and religiously diverse country in Central America. Guatemala's several mountain ranges have historically made transportation and communications somewhat difficult. Mestizos (usually called Ladinos), people of mixed Spanish and native origin, have dominated the country politically since the Spanish invasion in 1524 C.E. The Spanish imposed Catholicism on the majority Maya population, who now speak 21 distinct languages and comprise 55 to 60 percent of the population. Other groups include the Garifuna on the Caribbean coast, the small Xinca population in the eastern lowlands, and several immigrant populations, of whom the Germans (who began arriving in the 1830s) are the most notable.

A 36-year civil war ended in 1996, when the Guatemalan government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) signed a peace accord. The Maya were historically discriminated against and excluded from power, and ethnic tensions continue to shape social relations. During the 1980s and 1990s Maya groups began to assert the right to practice their religious traditions openly; the Maya Movement seeks to make connections between the various Maya groups in the country.

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