Education
The government runs a number of public elementary and secondary-level schools. These schools are free, though the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and transportation makes them less accessible to the poorer segments of society and significant numbers of poor children do not attend school. Many middle and upper-class children go to private schools.
The country also has one public university (USAC or Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala), and nine private ones. USAC was one of the first universities in America. It was officially declared a university on January 31, 1676 by royal command of King Charles II of Spain.
Only 69.1% of the population aged 15 and over are literate, the lowest literacy rate in Central America. Although it has the lowest literacy rate, Guatemala is expected to change this within the next 20 years. Schools such as Saint Joseph’s College of Maine travel to villages such as Nueva de Concepcion to teach English and construct clinics in the village.
Medical Anthropology and Pluralism
In the 1950s, medical anthropologists such as Richard N. Adams, Benjamin D. Paul, and Lois Paul wrote monographs dedicated to the Maya medical beliefs and practices. Richard N. Adams, albeit secondary to his work, described the chasm between Maya medical beliefs and practices and Western science, and showed why Mayans rejected projects applied by the Institute of Nutrition for Central America and Panama (INCAP).
His work is seen as setting the stage for four decades for medical anthropology in Guatemala by diagnosing the communication breakdown caused by “ignorance of local beliefs and practices.” Many of those once affiliated with INCAP have since published works on various topics of interest to medical anthropology in Guatemala.
In the 20th century, several things came to undermine the indigenous way of practicing medicine.
First, the religious persecution first administered by Catholic Action, then Protestant evangelical religions, and finally by Catholic Charismatic resulted in the prohibition of their members from consulting traditional healers. Second, certain elements of Guatemalan society systematically killed the upper rank of the Maya priests. Third, starting in the 1980s, the Guatemalan national health care system, based heavily on Western medicine, began to suppress traditional healers by banning them from practicing.
While the health care system made efforts to train local midwives, some persons accused those programs of not giving culturally appropriate, high-quality services.
The disparity between Western biomedicine and traditional care has created tensions, i.e., NGO programs primarily focus today on those with higher education levels & those who speak Spanish & and rivalries hamper communication between Western-trained health care providers and traditional practitioners. Additionally, the medical professionals of Western biomedicine neglect the social experience of the patients, as well as the social construction of disease.
Studies conducted in Mexico, Guatemala, and other rural areas support the position that many Western biomedical practitioners shun remote areas either because they cannot earn enough money there or because they discriminate against ethnic minorities.
Today, patients must choose between the two systems based on the complex conditions surrounding the ailment and decide which medical system most likely will provide a cure for their ailment.
Laureates
Rigoberta Menchú won the Nobel Peace prize in 1992 for her very important work in favor of the Mayan people, and the Mayan refugees in Mexico and the US.
Miguel Ángel Asturias won the Nobel prize in Literature in 1967 for his novel El Señor Presidente, which was controversial during Guatemala’s civil war. The novel portrayed the horrors endured by Guatemalans during their military-controlled governments.
Journalism
In Guatemala there are six national newspapers, five national television channels, two news programs, and many local radio news programs.
Among the most known news programs in radio there are Patrullaje Informativo, Radio Sonora and radio periódico “El Independiente” from Nuevo Mundo Radio.
The newspapers are: Siglo.21, Prensa Libre, Al Día, La Hora, and Nuestro Diario. The news programs on TV are Noti7 and Telecentro Trece.