Preventive Resettlement of Populations at Risk of Disaster - GFDRR

Chapter 6: Guatemala
The First Tz´utujil City
of the Twenty-First Century
By Eduardo Aguirre Cantero
A. Country Context and Disaster
Risk Management
The Republic of Guatemala is located in the northern
part of the Central American Isthmus and covers an
area of 108,889 km². The country is divided into eight
regions and 22 departments (Map 6.1).
for 68 percent of the total and includes four cultures
(Maya, Garifuna, Xinca and Mestizo) and 25 ethnic
groups, with 25 different languages. The remaining population
is mestizo (ladina).
Figure 6.1. Percentage of Rural and Urban Population
100
Map 6.1. Political Division of the Republic of Guatemala
Percentage
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Urban population
Rural population
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
Source: National Statistics Department (DANE)
Over half the population (51 percent) is poor and 11.7
percent live in extreme poverty. 2006). The indigenous
population accounts for a disproportionate share of
those percentages: 74 percent live below the poverty
line, 24 percent in extreme poverty (Hall and Patrinos,
2006).
1. Population, Cultural Diversity
and Exclusion
According to projections by the National Institute of
Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE), Guatemala’s
population is approximately 13 million, with
47 percent living in urban areas and 53 percent in rural
areas (Figure 6.1). The indigenous population accounts
The country experienced three decades of armed strife,
culminating in the signing of Peace Accords between
guerrilla groups and the government on December 26,
1996. The quest for a political solution to the country’s
historical conflicts has generated new opportunities for
dialogue and understanding. Today there is a comprehensive
agenda geared to overcoming the root causes of
conflict and paving the way for a new path to development.
In practice, the combination of high poverty rates,
cultural diversity, and the agenda for development
Chapter 6 The First Tz´utujil City of the Twenty-First Century | Guatemala |
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