Bottlenecks · Nº 14
The Port Is the Tax
Congestion at Puerto Quetzal now functions as a nine percent duty on everything Guatemala sells. Abolishing it requires neither a treaty nor a new tax — only a crane schedule.
By E. Castellanos11 Sep 20262 min
Opinion
Opinion
Essays on the bottlenecks throttling Guatemalan industry, and the numbers behind them.
The Grid
Guatemala Does Not Lack Capital. It Lacks Conductors.
The country generates electricity it cannot move. The bottleneck is not megawatts but wire.
By R. Andrade09 Sep 20261 min
Remesas
Twenty-One Billion Dollars of Homesickness
Remittances now exceed all exports combined. The diaspora is Guatemala's largest industry — and its least examined.
By M. Búcaro07 Sep 20261 min
FX
The Quetzal Is Innocent
Exporters blame the exchange rate for a decade of flat volumes. The evidence points elsewhere.
By M. Búcaro04 Sep 20261 min
Aduanas
A Customs House in Amber
The forms at Santo Tomás have not changed since 1998. Neither has the wait.
By S. Piñol02 Sep 20261 min
Permisos
The Cost of a Signature
A construction licence in the capital takes 214 days. We priced every one of them.
By R. Andrade28 Aug 20261 min