The victims were reportedly killed fifteen days after the Las Dos Erres massacre in the same province. President Ramiro de Leon Upbeat about Economy Guatemala, August 6. President Ramiro de Leon Carpio has announced the beginning of a bright economic future for Guatemala. De Leon notes that tourism is recovering with the modification of a U.S. travel advisory imposed this Spring which warned against travel to Guatemala. The government expects a million tourists to visit the country this year, and half a million have entered the country to date.
Tourism follows coffee as the largest source of revenue for the economy.
Economy Minister Eduardo Gonzalez announced August 2 that inflation is riding at a reasonable 9.7 percent, down from 14 percent at the start of the year. Gonzalez said the reduction in inflation confirms the success of government economic stabilization policies. The stabilization policy should not effect prospects for economic growth which is expected to be 4 percent this year, he added. A recent report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, however, paints a different picture of Guatemala's economy. The report ranks Guatemala as third in Latin America for the number of people living in extreme poverty.