Today started with a true Guatemalan breakfast: fried platanos, black beans, tortillas, and salted cheese. Then we jumped right into the classroom session that discussed Guatemalan political and economic polices as a cause of poverty. We discussed the large gap between the wealthy elite and the rest of the population. Then we had a tasty Guatemalan snack with some choco bananas, which is seen below.
Our amazing guest speaker on Guatemalan politics was Paul Joakimnsen. He explained that Guatemala's power is held by 16 families. Those 16 families control basically every major industry in Guatemala ranging from concrete, restaurants, phones, media, beer and even water. With their enormous monopolies on those goods they are able to crush other business due to their powerful influence in Guatemala and surrounding countries. Not only are they able to control the market for goods, they are also able to control the government with their influence. They fill the government and legal system with people that will vote in favor of their businesses and pass laws that improve their businesses. He also went into great detail about the drug cartel in Guatemala and how one of the elite 16 families owns that as well. The drug cartel employs a multitude of private police so few can fight against it. They pay off officials and make deals with indigenous people to turn a blind eye so they can export their drugs to countries like the U.S. Therefore, to see great improvement in Guatemala, change has to start at the top with a change in leadership or the 16 elite families.
When we returned from the botanical garden we were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Hart's friend, a local business owner, Gustavo Chacon. Gustavo owns a uniform business in Guatemala which once employed 20 workers, until high taxes, competition from China, and gang extortion ran him out of business. Well, sort of out of business. He still makes and sells clothes but through contract with former employees who sew in their homes. Gustavo buys and cuts the fabric then pays his past employees to do the sewing with the machines that he sold them. This avoids the gangs and their threats, along with the costs of maintaining a factory. This is the only way he is able to keep his business alive and keep food on the table for his family. Most people in the same position would lose hope but Gustavo still seemed happy when discussing his small business and the obstacles it faces regularly. He is still able to work hard everyday because that is his only option.
Finally, to top off the day we visited the National University campus where Carla, a student and one of our Semilla leaders, showed us around. There are sixteen colleges in Guatemala, but the one visited is the only public one. It has 220,000 students from all over Guatemala, but the largest classroom only has enough desks to hold maybe 40 students. It usually takes students ten years to complete a bachelor's degree because of all of the costs associated with attending college. It only costs thirteen U.S. dollars a year to attend which may seem cheap but it is expensive here, and that doesn't include the cost for transportation, food, housing and books (which are copied books because the real copies are too expensive). Therefore, most students have to put school on pause between semesters to work and provide for their families. We also visited the humanities building, classrooms, and their library. We really got to see how lucky we are at Ohio Dominican to have large classrooms with small class sizes and enough seats in the room to house all of the students enrolled in that class. It allowed us to see how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to attend college because less than 2% of Guatemalans attend college compared to 60% in the U.S.
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