I’m leaving Guatemala for the U.S. and am happy to say that not only were many of the papers at the Mont Pelerin Society meeting very stimulating and the new contacts made with libertarians from around the globe very useful, but that Guatemala is nicer and wealthier than it was on my previous visits. There’s clearly been economic growth, even beyond what the official statistics show, as evidenced by the general increase in commercial advertising (not just hand painted signs, but the kind of fancy advertising seen in developed countries), quality stores and restaurants, and generally improved infrastructure. In addition, although substantial poverty remains, I’ve not seen any of the previously common fire-breathers: young men and boys who were so poor that they would take in mouthfuls of gasoline and blow them into flames, with the horrible health hazards one would expect from the ingestion of gasoline, in exchange for a few coins. Their disappearance is definitely a good sign. (Since my remarks are purely anecdotal, I’m careful not to say that there are no fire-breathers anywhere anymore, but at intersections where I recall vividly my horror as they staggered to the cars for money, I saw none this time. And with economic growth, including that not recorded in the official statistics, there are more lucrative ways of earning a “living” than ingesting gasoline for the entertainment of passers by.)
We are always happy to have you among us, Tom. Cheers!
I hope that more people will visit Guatemala — what a beautiful country! And I hope that people from around the world will support the Universidad Francisco Marroquin, which is a very impressive and very important educational and research university in Latin America. More information about UFM can be found (in English) at:
http://www.ufm.edu.gt/atgalance.asp
The full Spanish page (which offers one of the most amazing e-learning programs in the world) is available at:
http://www.ufm.edu.gt/index.asp
(And don’t forget that donations can be made online to support UFM: https://miu.ufm.edu/donaciones/ )
A letter to Tom Palmer about his remarks of Guatemala
Ã?Â??Ã?Â?Ã?Â
Ã?Â??Ã?Â?Ã?Â
I am very happy you liked what you see from Guatemala.Ã?Â??Ã?Â?Ã? Somehow, I was part of that success because I was a volunteer in the MPS Reunion.Ã?Â??Ã?Â?Ã? How nice also it is that you liked going through Guatemala and maybe you took a nice peak of what it see…
Dear Tom: There’s clearly been economic growth but there are many other problems still to be solved.
I happily invite you to come again, in fact I will be honored if you come again and send me an email; because there are many problems in my country that I think where wrongly taken out from what the MPS members could see.
Sometimes, just taking a look to the inside of the shiny bubble we live in is not something good at all. At the end, if you see what is behind a smile of a young indigenous woman in Guatemala who earns less than $2.00 a day I am sure you will completely understand what is it that really makes her feel joy.
Thank you, Guillermo, for your thoughtful and inspiring letter. (I hope that people will click on your name above and read what you have to say about life in Guatemala and how much has to be done there.)
I agree entirely that there is a long, long, long way to go to a society of freedom, equal justice, and prosperity. But some distance in the right direction has been traversed since my last visit. Maybe the fact that I was comparing what I saw on my last visits to what I saw this time led me to comment on the modest progress I saw, rather than on the poverty and political/legal dysfunctionality that remain. And I regret that I spent most of the time in the bubble, as you put it, rather than, as on previous visits, getting to see more of the country and of how the bulk of the people live. When I can make the time to come again, I’ll let you know and I’ll take you up on your offer.
Best regards,
Tom G. Palmer
More than a year and a half has passed since my first time listening to a lecture by Tom Palmer. It was June, 2005 and I was for the first time in a seminar at Cato University.
The weekend-long seminar was about “The History and Philosophy of Liberty and Power” and among the lecturers I had the opportunity of listening to Steve Davis, Tom Palmer, and Jim Powell among other lecturers.
It was on the lecture “Struggle for Constitutionalism” where I first had the chance of listening to one of Tom’s lectures and I remember the notes I took as it was yesterday I was writing them.
Those lectures help me remind what makes us different from our opponents was: “loyalty, commerce, proper discussion and debatable issues”.
Since then, I become and admirer of Cato’s work and I am envious of all of those students that have the chance of taking the metro and attend to their conferences.
I will be honored of paying you back when you come to Guatemala again and I will gladly show you as much of Guatemala as time allows us to do.