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 […]
What If Approving a Deficit Were a Crime?
In 1993, Guatemala effectively closed the door to financing government spending through monetary issuance, helping usher in decades of greater price stability. This essay asks whether the country should take the next step: prohibit deficit budgets by law and impose consequences on officials who authorize spending without identifying the resources to finance it.
Ferguson’s Law Arrives in Guatemala
Guatemala’s 2027 budget reveals a critical fiscal milestone: interest payments on public debt now exceed spending on health, security and infrastructure. This essay applies Ferguson’s Law to examine what that means for the country’s future.
When a Country Spends in Emergencies… as It Does in Normal Times
Diego turned eighteen just a few weeks ago. Next year he will vote for the first time and, like thousands of young Guatemalans, he still doesn’t know where he will study, which company will give him his first job, or how much he will earn five years from now. What he hasn’t yet imagined is […]