Helping Guatemala's poor

by Lorenda Reddekopp


Poverty is to head the agenda today as leaders from North and South America get together for the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico.

The idea is to try and come up with a strategy to tackle increasing poverty which is deepening inequality in the region. But those who work with the poor in Latin America aren't holding out much hope that this meeting will make a difference.

Marco Antonio Cortes is 25 years old and has been working on this coffee plantation in western Guatemala since he was 15. Marco and his father both work here, to support the 11 people in their family. He makes less than three euros a day, a little more during harvest time.

Turning over coffee beans in his hands to help them dry faster, Mr Cortes says it's never been an easy life, but over the past few years, things have been especially bad.

"We're making less. The wage has gone down. For a hundred pounds of coffee that we harvest, we're making the equivalent of 50 cents less. And that's in one day. Money doesn't go far enough anymore to buy clothing or food."

Little money, little food
Mr Cortes says it means sometimes he goes hungry, relying on water with sugar to give him energy.

At another plantation, about a five-minute drive down a bumpy dirt road, Josefa Sakik holds down the branch of a coffee tree, picks the beans, and drops them into a large basket. Mrs Sakik is 60 years old and has worked on plantations for more than 30 years. In all that time, her wage has increased, but only a fraction. And she says she, too, makes less now than she did a few years ago.

Street market at Quetzaltenango

Three children surround Mrs Sakik, dropping beans into their baskets. She and her husband adopted these children after their parents died. She wanted to help, but Mrs Sakik says it's almost impossible to support them. "I want to register the children in school, but there's not enough money.

Maybe I'll register them, with the little we have I'll buy their supplies, but the money just doesn't go far enough."


Coffee slump
But things could be worse. Many Guatemalan coffee workers have lost their jobs altogether. The Latin American coffee market is in a slump. While wages are low here, coffee is produced even more cheaply in South East Asia. So many countries are importing cheaper, lower-quality coffee from countries like Vietnam.

With the coffee crisis in Latin America, poverty is on the rise. The United Nations has calculated that overall poverty in Guatemala increased slightly from 2000-2002, affecting more than 57 percent of the population. However, the number of those living in extreme poverty increased sharply, to 20 percent in 2002.

It's a similar situation across Latin America, with 220 million people living in poverty. This is one of the main issues politicians will be talking about in Monterrey. At the end of the summit, they're expected to sign a declaration on poverty.

Much talk, no action
Victor Soto works for the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop in Guatemala. He has his doubts that the declaration by the politicians in Monterrey will make a difference for the people it's supposed to help.

"I believe that so far, it's all part of their talk, to try and paint a pretty picture of the processes that are going on. I personally haven't seen any improvement in conditions of the people as a result of all the meetings, deals, and declarations."

And Mr Soto says that while free trade deals aren't on the agenda for the Monterrey Summit, trade will still be behind the discussions. He doesn't believe Canada and the United States will want to help Latin America, especially when that means North Americans will soon be paying more for products like a cup of coffee.