Guatemala, Central America
Special Report
A national shame: Malnutrition in Guatemala
From The Economist print edition
Political will is scarcer than food
It is hardly one of Latin America's poorest countries, but according to Unicef almost half of Guatemala's children are chronically malnourished—the sixth-worst performance in the world. In parts of rural Guatemala, where the population is overwhelmingly of Mayan descent, the incidence of child malnutrition reaches 80%. A diet of little more than tortillas does permanent damage.
This chronic problem has become acute. Higher world prices for food have coincided with a recession-induced fall in money sent back from Guatemalans working in the United States (remittances equal 12% of Guatemala's GDP). Drought in eastern Guatemala has made things worse still. Many families can scarcely afford beans, an important source of protein, and must sell eggs from their hens rather than feed them to their children.
The government and aid donors are providing emergency food supplies for 300,000 people scattered in some 700 villages. Up to 400,000 more may need help. In Jocotán, in the east, rehabilitation centres have admitted dozens of children who are so malnourished that their black hair has turned blond, their faces are chubby from fluid build-up as their organs fail, the veins in their legs become a visible black spider-web and their face muscles are too weak to smile.
What makes this even more distressing is that Guatemala is rich enough to prevent it. Other Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, have reduced child hunger. Yet according to Unicef, the incidence of stunting—a common indicator of chronic malnutrition—in Guatemala is twice what it is in Haiti, where income per head is only a quarter as high. Stunting is not genetic: a study by the World Bank found that Mayans in southern Mexico are taller than those over the border. >>> Go to Full Story >>>
Guatemalan Leaders Under Pall in Lawyer's Killing
By MARC LACEY for The New York Times
An average of 16 murder victims turn up in Guatemala every day, some shot, some stabbed, some bludgeoned, and only about 3 percent of the cases are ever solved. Even in the rare instances when a killer is arrested, the suspect frequently turns out to be a hit man hired by some shadowy figure who is never identified and gets away to plot again.
But of the more than 2,500 killings on the books this year, one unsolved case has jolted this country like no other. The recent shooting death of Rodrigo Rosenberg, a prominent lawyer, has incited Guatemalans to pour into the streets by the hundreds of thousands and focused all eyes on a United Nations commission created to prop up Guatemala’s ailing judiciary.
The killing of Mr. Rosenberg, early in the morning on Mother's Day, would have been just one more in a long list of mysterious murders — that is, if Mr. Rosenberg had not foreseen his killing and identified the people he believed were out to get him in a chilling video he prepared days before he died.
"My name is Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, and unfortunately, if you are watching the message, it is because I was assassinated by President Álvaro Colom," he said, going on to also blame the president’s wife, Sandra Torres; the president’s personal secretary, Gustavo Alejos; and various bankers and businessmen. >>> Go to Full Story >>>
