GUATEMALA

A. Read the following sentences. Complete each sentence with one of the words in
the box.

 There is archeological proof that early Guatemalan ________________ were hunters and
________________.
 Guatemala was ________________ by Spanish Pedro de Alvarado in 1524.
 After the ________________ of the Spanish King by Napoleon, Guatemala and others
declared their independence from Spain.
 Guatemala ________________ independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.
 Unfortunately (like many new countries) this new country experienced a lengthy series of
________________, dictatorships, insurgencies, human atrocities, and long
stretches of brutal military rule.
gatherers cabinet landowners parties gained
deputies settlers free trade agreement overthrow coups
regimes conquered leftist leadership battlefield
ran led a coup Death squads crop bans
The flag of Guatemala was officially adopted on August 17, 1871. The blue and
white are the original colors used by the United Provinces of Central America. The
coat of arms (centered on white) was adopted in 1968 and features the quetzal
bird, a symbol of liberty, perched on the Declaration of Independence
The Coat of Arms shows two Bay Laurel branches symbolizing victory. The bird
displayed in the crest is the Quetzal, in our country this bird is a symbol of
liberty.
The scrollcontains the date that all of Central America was declared independent
from Spain. The crossed rifles are a warning that Guatemala will defend itself with
force if necessary. Finally, the swords represent the honor of the people of
Guatemala.

1There is archeological proof that early Guatemalan __settlers_ were hunters and
__gatherers_____.

2 Guatemala was ___conquered__ by Spanish Pedro de Alvarado in 1524.



3After the ___overthrow____ of the Spanish King by Napoleon, Guatemala and others
declared their independence from Spain.

3 Guatemala __gained____ independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.



4 Unfortunately (like many new countries) this new country experienced a lengthy series of
__coups_____, dictatorships, insurgencies, human atrocities, and long
stretches of brutal military rule.
5 Guatemala’s Liberal Revolution came in 1871 under the ___leadership___ of Justo
Rufino Barrios

6 After the revolution, coffee became an important ___crop______ for Guatemala.

 Justo Rufino Barrios died on the ___battlefield______ in 1885 against force in El Salvador.

 Dictator Manuel Estrada Cabrera _____ran______ the country from 1898 to 1920.

 JacoboArbenzGuzmán instituted social and political reforms that strengthened the

peasantry and urban workers at the expense of the military and big
__landowners_____.

 Carlos Castillo Armas ____led a coup_____ in 1954 and Arbenz took refuge in Mexico.
 A series of repressive __cabinet___ followed, and the country was plunged into a
36 years of civil war

 _Death squads_ murdered an estimated of 50,000 leftist and political opponents

during the 70’s.

 In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement with the ___leftist_____ rebels.

 In June 2000, a _free trade agreement_____ was signed with Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

 In July 2003, Efrain Rios Montt was eligible to run for president, although the Political
Constitution __bans______ anyone who seized power in a coup from running for
the presidency.

 The president serves as both thechief ofstate and the head of government and has the
authority to appoint departmental governors and ___gained_____ members.

 The Congress of the Republic comprises 158 __deputies_______, who are elected by
direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms
 It is not uncommon that Congress Members change __regimes_____ during the
legislature term.
B. Fill in the blank spaces with the correct information about Gautemala.
 Chief of the state: ____The president of the goberment ______________
 Government type: _____democratic republic______________________
 Independence: _____ 15 september 1821_______________________________
 Currency: _____Quetzal__________________________
 OfficialLanguage: _____Spanish___________________________
 Ethnicgroups: ____Maya , Xinka, Garifuna and ladinos__________________
 ImportantAgricultural Products_______coffee, sugar, cacao, cardfamomo________
 Legal System ______civil raith __________________________

 HighestCourt: __________justice supreme court________________________________

 MajorLaw: ______the constitution_______________________

C. Look up the following words in a dictionary.

 Comprise to form
 Compulsory forced. Something that must be done
 Council town hall
 Dictatorship political regime seized by force and violence
 Fabled narated
 Insurgency revolution
 Peasantry rural
 Perch pose
 Plunge to dip
 Remnant vestige
 Ruthlessly merciless
 Seize to catch
 Suffrage vote

SPEAKING
D. Discuss this questions:
 What happened with the Maya Civilization? Why did they disappear?
Many historian think that dramatic climate changes made the maya land uninhabitable and huge
drought made people leave the big mayan cities, putting an end to this magnificent civilisation .

Where is Iximche? Where’s Uaxactun? Where’s Zaculeu? Where’s Gumarcaaj?

 Which other Maya cities are in Guatemala?
 Who was Pedro de Alvarado?
 Who was TecunUman?
 Who was Justo Rufino Barrios?
 Why is the Zone 6 IGSS building called Dr. Juan José Arevalo Bermejo?
 Who was the Guatemala’s president when the peace agreement was signed?
 What are the requirements for voting in the elections?
 When is the next presidential election going to be?