Does the State Know Who Owns Its Land?
In Costa Rica, Argentina and Chile, monetary and fiscal decisions dramatically reduced the value of people’s savings. Guatemala also experienced a severe currency devaluation before adopting constitutional restrictions on government financing through its central bank. This essay examines why monetary stability should never be taken for granted and what is at stake when the Bank […]
Why Doesn’t the T-Shirt Exporter Pay, While the Coffee Exporter Does?
Anyone in Guatemala who wanted to buy something as simple as imported chocolate, before 1986, had three doors available. The Comisariato Militar, if you had a military ID and knew someone inside: a “passport to paradise” of imported consumer goods. Selectas or Exclusivas, if you had the money of the capital’s upper class. For everyone […]