Guatemala: Indian Attitudes toward Land Tenure

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Abstract
The formulation of policy alternatives for shaping the future of Guatemala is inextricably interwoven with the Indian and his relation to the land. Available figures indicate that the majority of the population of Guatemala is culturally designated as Indian and has retained a marked dependence on the land. Guatemalan problems and prospects, therefore, cannot be fully grasped without a clear understanding of the historic role of land within the surviving Indian cultures and the prevailing Indian attitude toward land tenure. Although the traditional pattern of “communal ownership” has been subjected periodically to pressures designed to convert the Indian to an apprehension and acceptance of “private property” as a prerequisite for socioeconomic advance, the nature and extent of the conversion are not really known. Basic though such an understanding would seem to be, the matter has not been fully explored and definite conclusions are therefore lacking.

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