Guatemala: Section 1 - Data

摘要

1.After several years of budgetary stagnation, the Guatemalan government has instituted a 20 percent local currency increase to defense expenditures in 2022. Although the government cannot, and does not intend to, sustain this level of annual growth moving forward, this infusion of resources will contribute to the military's ability to fulfill its most pressing acquisition and modernization requirements over the coming fiscal period 2.Years of robust macroeconomic growth and sound fiscal management contributed to Guatemala's relative resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the economy weathering a 2.0 percent contraction for 2020 but subsequently experiencing a healthy recovery over the course of 2021. Although significant structural vulnerabilities and risks remain, Guatemala is poised to return to a positive economic trajectory during the forecast period 3.Entrenched political networks have moved to neuter the prosecutorial power and latitude of Guatemala's anti-corruption institutions over the past three years. The recent dismissal and political persecution of officials formerly associated with the highly successful CICIG anti-corruption body has strained Guatemala's relationship with historically close diplomatic partners, such as the United States 4.The Guatemalan military has begun devoting greater resources toward hardware procurement in recent years, seeking to restore the operational capacity of its sea and air arms, as well as acquire more modern small arms and communications equipment.