Guatemala was a Central American country in 1998, located in the southern part of the continent. It had a total area of 108,889 square kilometers and a population of around 10 million people. The population was composed predominantly of Guatemalan nationals, with minority groups also present such as indigenous peoples and Afro-Guatemalans. Spanish was the official language; however, several Mayan languages were also spoken in some areas. The predominant religion in Guatemala was Roman Catholicism, though Protestant denominations were also present. See dentistrymyth for Guatemala in the year of 2015.

The economy of Guatemala in 1998 was largely dependent on its agricultural production and tourism industry, while manufacturing activities provided employment opportunities for many citizens. Education levels were relatively low due to poor investment and limited resources available to citizens within both urban and rural areas. Access to healthcare was poor due to lack of government-funded health centers located throughout the country. Despite these challenges, Guatemala had made considerable progress towards economic development and political reform following its transition from military rule to democracy in 1986.

Yearbook 1998

Guatemala. On the evening of April 26, Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi was murdered on his way home to his home. He was repeatedly struck in the head with a pebble. The murder was a severe blow to the sensitive peace process that has been going on since the peace treaty was signed in 1996. Only two days earlier, Bishop Gerardi had presented a report that charted human rights violations, and suspicions of political motives behind the murder quickly gained momentum. Several suspects were arrested and interrogated, including one of the bishop’s clergy, but no one has been bound by the crime. In October, however, the Central American human rights organization CODEHUCA said it had clear evidence that Bishop Gerardi was murdered by military, including a colonel. The charges were denied by Defense Minister Héctor Mario Barrios Celada. Despite what happened, the UN decided:

According to Countryaah, the capital of Guatemala is Guatemala City. The political parties began their preparations for the 1999 elections. the Liberación Nacional (MLN) and valallians.

The violent forest and grass fires that ravaged Central America also hit Guatemala and reached their peak in May-June. The fires occurred as a result of the most severe drought in 70 years in combination with the weather phenomenon of El Niño. In October, Guatemala, like many of the neighboring countries, was affected by Hurricane Mitch’s progress. At least 100 people were killed and thousands lost their homes.

In January 2017, President Morales’ big brother and close adviser Samuel Morales and one of his sons José Manuel Morales were arrested for corruption and money laundering. Later, the president’s party was also investigated for allegations that it had received illegal contributions from, among other things. drug cartels. In late August, President Morales signed a decree after which lawyer, Colombian Iván Velásquez was declared persona non-grata in Guatemala. Velásquez worked for the International Commission on Impunity in Guatemala, CICIG. The international crisis now took on another aspect when both Foreign Minister Carlos Raúl Morales and his Deputy Minister refused to comply with the President’s decree. They were then removed from their records.

• Abbreviationfinder: What does GTM stand for in geography? Here, this 3 letter acronym refers to the country of Guatemala.

In May 2018, four high-ranking officers previously considered untouchable were convicted of crimes against humanity. These included former dictator and general Benedicto Lucas García, former intelligence chief Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas, former commander Hugo Ramiro Zaldaña Rojas and former commander of MZ17 Francisco Luis Gordillo Martínez. The first three were each sentenced to 58 years in prison. for the abduction, detention, torture and rape of the then 21-year-old student Emma Guadalupe Molina Theissen in 1981. She was taken to the military camp MZ17 in Quetzaltenango, from which she later managed to escape. The day after the military carried out the family’s house in the capital, did not find her but abducted her 14-year-old brother Marco Antonio, who was subsequently killed. The verdict was groundbreaking, because until then it had been almost impossible to prosecute those responsible for 40 years of genocide in the country. It is the economic and military groups in the community that supported the genocide that continue to have power in the country. (Guatemala: ex-military officers convicted of crimes against humanity, Guardian 23/5 2018)

History. – Despite relatively strong economic growth, in the first decade of the 21st century. the main problems that had afflicted the population, the political system and the territory of the G: the very high rate of poverty, violence and endemic corruption persisted.

The liberal-conservative government of the Gran alianza Nacional chaired by President Óscar Berger (2004-08) – elected in 2004 with the support of the Guatemalan business sector and the landed oligarchy on the basis of a program of political and economic reform – closed with a disappointing budget. Despite the construction of important infrastructural works (such as the expansion of the motorway network and the renovation of the La Aurora international airport), during the Berger presidency, Guatemala experienced an overall reduction in public investments, the explosion of public debt and an increase of the already high rates of violence. The poverty rate did not progress substantially, remaining at a very high 53%.

In the 2007 elections, Álvaro Colom, candidate of the social democratic party Unidad nacional de la esperanza (UNE) triumphed, who defeated the conservative candidate Otto Pérez Molina by winning 52.8% of the votes. The Colom government (2008-12) experienced the macroeconomic repercussions of the global financial crisis, a series of serious corruption scandals, and an increase in violence linked to drug trafficking activities. In the 2011 presidential elections, UNE nominated Sandra Torres, Colom’s wife. In March, the couple divorced to circumvent the constitutional rule that prohibited relatives of the outgoing president from running for president or vice president of the country. But the Supreme Court rejected Torres’ candidacy and the UNE, after the deadline, was unable to nominate a new candidate.