Guatemala City - History
After defeat of the Quiche
(Maya) in 1523-24, Spain established a prosperous colony in the area, with its capital (from 1542) at Antigua. After independence (1821) Guatemala became the nucleus of the
Central American Federation and, after dissolution of the federation in 1839, a separate republic. Ruled through the 19th cent. by a series of usually repressive dictators, Guatemala has alternated in the 20th cent. between economic reform and reaction. A conservative coup in 1954 owed its success to U.S. military intervention. From 1970 into the early 1980s, the country was dominated by conservative military elements. A leftist insurgency, begun in the 1960s, persisted into the 1990s, despite army efforts to crush it, but the rebels have had limited success at best. Peace talks, begun in 1991, have proved unsuccessful. In 1985 a civilian, Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo, was elected president, but the military retained considerable influence. He was succeeded (1991) by Jorge Serrano Elias, a right-wing businessman with military ties. Serrano adopted economic reforms, but they resulted in a decline in living standards and led to antigovernment protests. In 1993 he attempted to institute rule by decree but was forced to resign. Ramiro de Leon Carpio, the attorney general for human rights, was elected by the congress to succeed Serrano. Alvaro Arzu, a former mayor of Guatemala City and foreign minister, was elected president in 1996.
Guatemala City, capital of Guatemala, the largest city in Central America, and the political, social, cultural, and economic centre of Guatemala. Lying in a valley of the central highlands at an elevation of 1,493 m (4,897 ft) above sea level, it has a temperate and invigorating mountain climate.
Guatemala City was founded in 1776 to replace Antigua Guatemala, which had been virtually destroyed by an earthquake in 1773, as the capital of the captaincy general of Guatemala. After independence from Spain was declared in 1821, Guatemala City served successively as the capital of the province of Central America under the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide (1822-23), the Central American Federation (1823-33), the state, and, finally, the independent Republic of Guatemala. Distrust of the city in other areas of Central America and the prevalence of open fighting in the city's streets and public buildings was a factor in the demise of the federation and in the failure of subsequent attempts to revive it. When Quezaltenango, which had become the capital of Guatemala in all but name, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1902, many of the leading families moved to Guatemala City.
The modern city was largely rebuilt after the disastrous earthquakes of 1917-18, which shook the city intermittently for six weeks. The characteristic appearance created by low, massive structures has been modified somewhat by the erection of steel and concrete multistoried hotels and office and apartment buildings of modern design. Elegant residential districts have grown up on the borders of the old city, particularly toward the south, and low-cost housing units have been constructed in various parts of the urban area.
In addition to the governmental offices and services concentrated there, Guatemala City handles nearly half of the capital invested in the country and accounts for more than half of the industrial establishments and production of the republic. It is the focus of highway, rail, and air transport and is the commercial and banking centre of the country.
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