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Article: Guatemala's 1952 Agrarian Reform Law: a critical reassessment.
- Article from:
- International Social Science Review
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Pi Gamma Mu. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In November 1950, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman won election to the Guatemalan presidency on a reformist platform advocating agrarian reform. The Guatemala that Arbenz inherited suffered from a seeming economic paradox. Compared to its Central American neighbors, Guatemala was a rich country. It enjoyed Central America's highest gross domestic product, a per capita gross domestic product second only to Costa Rica, and the strongest currency (stable and on par with the U.S. dollar) in the region. Guatemala consistently maintained regional economic dominance in export agriculture, mining and quarrying, and manufacturing. (1)
In spite of its impressive economic indicators, ...