Is Guatemala Capitalist

Answer 1

Guatemala at this point is definitely not socialistic due to a lack of an effective national taxation system. While the government can put strict controls on some aspects of life most businesses can continue day to day without any guards against expansion or takeover. There are no rules against monopolization and unless corruption takes a factor (which it often does) the business will grow or shrink as the economy and population see fit. This leads to the gross underpayment of indigenous workers and lack of serious fiscal responsibility toward services provided by the Guatemalan government. In public schools students are required to purchase and bring all their materials including books and uniforms or they are not allowed to attend school causing most indigenous families not to have educations above elementary level. One of the few aspects of Guatemala that could be considered partially socialistic is the health care system in which the government provides public health posts for consultations by Guatemalan health promoters. These "Puestos de Salud" usually have empty medicine cabinets and almost never have a qualified medical provider available and only speak one of the 22 languages spoken in Guatemala. While private hospitals still serve the richer patients public health centers usually divvy out improper dosages and medications and tend to lead to the rise of medical vendors selling "miracle cures" on the bus. This shows that while the medical system may be considered outwardly socialistic it is a complete failure due to the capitalistic nature of the country.