Some initial impressions of poverty

It's amazing how the quality of life is comprimised in the presence of widespread poverty—across the class spectrum, the most everyday transactions are coloured by the presence of a desperately poor underclass.

Gab's discussion below about the lack of safety on public (or quasi-public) transport is one example. Another is the saturation of guns—any storefront of any import has a guard armed with a shotgun (and I'm talking middle-class supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants here). Almost every rooftop, residential and commercial, is lined with razorwire. Air pollution is terrible, but it's quite clear that most could not afford to follow "clear air" legislation. Can't really send anything substantial through the mail: anything like a package will probably get stolen. Nightlife? We had a friend over the other night who lives a few blocks away—at 7 pm he stood up to go: "I'd better leave, it won't be safe to be out soon." I am told that people generally do not go out at night to restaurants or shows: they tend to visit each other's houses instead.

We are not in a high class neighbourhood, but neither are we in a slum; this is everyday living.

Lemme wrap up with a couple of thoughts:

• In this context, the talk of world "security" these days seems horribly misguided. Guatemalan security forces of all types are absolutely everywhere, and people seem to remain insecure. It seems unlikely that more army, police, or security guards would make the situation better. So far, the critical difference that I have seen between (currently) "safe" Canada and "dangerous" Guatemala is not the number of cops on the street or at the borders, but the degree of income disparity.


• We had a chat with an accountant last night about the NIT tax system, and we told him about our 15% PST/GST tax. "15%" he said "That's good. Here we only have 1% tax—and that just goes to the municipal government."