Roads to Poverty

Abstract

This article examines socioeconomic and land use changes associated with the ongoing, rapid economic integration of Petén, Guatemala, which has resulted mainly through road improvements. The study is based primarily on fieldwork conducted by the author before (1998) and after (2005) access roads were paved, greatly reducing travel times to and from the region. Petén's farmers now must compete with larger, more efficient, and often subsidized producers elsewhere in the country and beyond, whereas large-scale commercial farmers and ranchers are flocking to the region because of its improved access and other factors. Household survey data from one agriculturally important area indicate that most households have become poorer and their farming systems less diverse and that the concentration of land and wealth is intensifying. Results suggest that infrastructure aimed at enhancing economic integration can marginalize the majority in a previously remote region, particularly when little is done to support residents' ability to compete economically.