Complete Thesis_double spaced abstract.pdf

military-civilian contractors working on the project caused the dam project to overrun estimated
costs by millions of dollars. President Cerezo maintained the development poles and the use of
PACs to keep the rural populace repressed during his administration.
There were other strategies attempted by President Cerezo, he transferred the IIC to
civilian control and in 1988 he promoted the National Reorganization Plan. This plan called for
an increase in taxes on commercial and industrial energy use by 40% and an increase in the
minimum wage. The introduction of the National Reorganization Plan led to a coup attempt of
President Cerezo in May of 1988. The business community refused to acquiesce to these types of
reforms. President Cerezo’s response to the coup attempt was to reprioritizes funds meant for
“modernization projects” to the counterinsurgency efforts (REMHI, 1999, 258). Additionally, the
administration’s discretionary funds were then channeled into purchasing military equipment
during the late 1980s.
At the end of President Cerezo’s term Guatemala’s economy was a jumble of growth,
decline, promising starts and corresponding setbacks. There was a slight increase in total exports,
mostly due to growth in sugar, cattle, and textile industries. Coffee prices had dropped
considerably in 1990, but then the government devalues the quetzal giving the coffee exporters a
chance to recuperate their profits. However, in 1990 “70% of the coffee farms produce less than
14% of the coffee, while 4% of the farms produce 68% of the total,” the devaluing of the quetzal
was a benefit felt mostly by the elite owned coffee plantations (Central America Report, 1990,
293). The devaluing of the quetzal impacted small farmers and peasants by making the purchase
of necessary light equipment and food stuffs that was imported more expensive. The United
States continued to purchase approximately 30% of all Guatemalan exports and supplies 38% of
all of Guatemala’s imports (SALA, v. 35, 777-778). However, while the percentage of exports
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