ABSTRACT
With a significant Indigenous population, Guatemala is the largest and most populous country in Central America. After emerging from a brutal thirty-six-year conflict in 1996 which cost the lives of over 200,000 Guatemalans, the country has struggled to establish strong democratic political institutions, achieve sustained and equitable economic growth, and provide security for its people from everyday violence. What optimism accompanied the resignation of a corrupt president in 2015, has all but disappeared. Seeking refuge in the United States, hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans have abandoned the country. There is little indication that the Giammattei administration will make significant progress against the challenges posed by racism, poverty and inequality, climate change, corruption, and the coronavirus during his remaining two years in office.
