This thesis seeks to understand the intersection of cultural identity and food security in a country that has had a difficult time feeding its people. The discourse on food in Guatemala, in the realm of development and international studies, maintains a focus on the lack thereof. Moreover, the author examines the food traditions and beliefs people in Guatemala feel are important as well as the obstacles they face in realizing food self-sufficiency. Many Guatemalans have an intimate connection with their land, and unequal land distribution hinders farmers’ abilities to access the foods they most value. In addition to this, the unfolding sustainable development agenda has resulted in biofuel projects that threaten the livelihoods of many rural farmers. Through interviews with chefs, agricultural workers, and agricultural commodity traders, the author pieces together the differing perspectives of various stakeholders to present a complex mosaic of Guatemalan foodways.

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The diploma thesis deals with the causes, progress and consequences of the overthrow of the democratically elected and reform president of Guatemala - Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán in 1954 - the coup d'état of the "National Liberation Army" under the leadership of Carlos Castillo Armas and his "secret" US allies. The main reasons for the overthrow of the Árbenz's regime in Guatemala were the potential threat of "leaking of international communism" in the US sphere of influence, i.e. Western Hemisphere and threat of US economic interests in Guatemala which are interrelated with the agrarian reform declared by president Árbenz. The aim of this diploma thesis is to answer key questions related to the overthrow of president Árbenz in 1954. Keywords: Guatemala, USA, Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, Carlos Castillo Armas, Dwight D. Eisenhower

Few Pleistocene paleontological faunas are published in detail for most of Central America. Probably the richest locality of vertebrates in Central America is at Tomayate, El Salvador, and dates to the early-middle Pleistocene. Literature about late Pleistocene vertebrate species from Guatemala is especially scarce. The purpose of the present paper is to introduce the late Pleistocene mammalian remains from Chivacabé, in the western highlands of Guatemala. The Chivacabé fauna radiocarbon dates to between 15,700 and 12,920 calendar years ago. The specimens recovered from excavations between 1977 and1992 are probably only a small portion of the entire fauna likely to exist under 4 to 5 m of redeposited tephra and valley alluvium. Recovered specimens include at least one individual of Glyptotherium sp., three individuals of Cuvieronius cf. C. hyodon, one individual of Equus sp., and two individuals of Odocoileus cf. O. virginianus. One specimen that originally was thought to represent a deer antler is in fact a hyoid bone of Cuvieronius. Previous reports of 'peccary' and Eremotherium from Chivacabé are not supported by archived fossils. No faunal specimens exhibit supposed human modification marks purported by previous investigators; all aberrations observed on the bones and teeth can be explained by other taphonomic processes. The Chivacabé fauna represents one of the very few late Pleistocene faunas from Guatemala described thus far. A preliminary list of late Pleistocene localities known in Guatemala suggests that detailed studies of these faunas are warranted.

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This work was done to determine the toxicity and bioactivity of four organic insecticides and ultimately find answers about their toxic potential. Thus, farmers will be able to take the necessary precautions when using them. This investigation was performed in the Laboratory of Biology of the Eastern University Center (Chiquimula) at the University of San Carlos, Guatemala. In order to determine the acute toxicity and bioactivity of the organic insecticides ANONAZO, BOX, AJORIN, and NARCISO, five doses were used in albino mice and three concentrations in nauplii of brine shrimp (Artemia salina). The finney basic program was used for calculating the average lethal dose (DL50) and the average lethal concentration (CL50). The results showed that in albino mice, ANONAZO had a DL50=707.10 mg/kg of weight which is classified as slightly toxic according to the Williams table. However, a tendency towards being moderately toxic was also present. CAJA had a DL50=>5000 mg/kg of weight classifying it as practically non-toxic. AJORIN had a DL50=4530 mg/kg of weight corresponding to the slightly toxic classification. In addition, a tendency towards being practically non-toxic was present. NARCISO had a DL50=158.11 mg/kg of weight corresponding to the moderately toxic classification but on the border of highly toxic. In regards to bioactivity in nauplii of brine shrimp: Anonazo, Ajorin, and Narciso had values less than 1000 ppm, which indicates that they have bioactivity. Caja showed no bioactivity.

Completed as a series of article-length manuscripts, this dissertation reflects four interrelated aspects of my research on the topics of citizen participation, political practices of vote buying and approaches to community development in low-income urban areas, in the collection of neighborhoods known as Ciudad Peronia on the edge of Guatemala City. Together, the four articles in this thesis explore varying aspects of the social and political dynamics present in the interrelated processes of community organization and local development in Ciudad Peronia. The essays survey the complex array of contextual features that influence local outcomes, while also highlighting the important decisions of key actors. I highlight the interplay between context and agency, and in doing so, provide insight into the efforts of individuals and groups to construct meaningful citizenship rights, especially to basic living conditions, by means of a diverse array of self-organization initiatives and a variety of engagement strategies with the state. Despite the many obstacles revealed in this research, numerous individuals made a concerted effort to secure dignity and inclusion for themselves and members of their communities. / Ph. D.

A popular belief in the exploding Pentecostal movement in the global South is the idea that if an individual has enough faith, God will bless them with financial prosperity. Although historically Pentecostalism has been identified as a religion of the poor, this study examines recent arguments that the current Pentecostal movement in Guatemala is a religion of the socially mobile middle and elite classes. Data from the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life’s 2006 survey Spirit and Power: Survey of Pentecostals in Guatemala is used to conduct a logistic regression, in order to measure the effects of socioeconomic status on adherence to prosperity belief. Results suggest that, contrary to the current literature on Guatemalan Pentecostalism, prosperity belief is not necessarily concentrated among the upwardly mobile middle and upper classes, but rather is widely diffused across social strata, and in particular, among those that have lower levels of education. These findings have implications for the study of Pentecostalism in Guatemala and in the global South in general.

El cambio climático es uno de los desafíos más grandes de la Tierra en al Antropoceno. A pesar de los esfuerzos internacionales intergubernamentales en base a la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático de estabilizar las concentraciones de los gases de efecto invernadero e impedir interferencias antropógenas peligrosas en el sistema climático, un cuarto de un siglo después de Rio un aumento importante en la temperatura promedia anual es considerado inevitable. Aunque la mitigación del cambio climático históricamente ha dominado el debate científico y político, su éxito moderado ha entregado el papel protagonista a la adaptación a los efectos del cambio climático. El hecho de que la adaptación necesita dirigirse no solamente al sistema ecológico, sino también al sistema social y económico añade otro grado de dificultad al logro del objetivo. Por otro lado dicha condición brinda oportunidades precisas para un desarrollo sostenible e integral propulsado por varias disciplinas. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de los casos no es el reto que condena al fracaso, sino nuestra ignorancia de las reglas de juego: La carencia de líneas base de las condiciones ambientales y socioeconómicas de nuestros complejos sistemas socioecológicos, y el desconocimiento de las interacciones que gobiernan su funcionamiento. Este déficit es aún más eminente en países en desarrollo que no se benefician de una amplia capacidad financiera, humana e institucional, y cuyos poblaciones y ecosistemas cuentan con una elevada vulnerabilidad ante el cambio climático. El presente estudio aporta a la creación de conocimiento del sistema socioecológico del altiplano occidental de Guatemala, en particular su población indígena Maya k’iche’ y su cobertura forestal única en el municipio Totonicapán, con el fin de proporcionar oportunidades de adaptación y de un desarrollo sostenible en el futuro. / Tesis

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