Guatemala faces many challenges -- a 59 percent poverty rate, deadly drug trafficking, the lowest literacy rate in Central America, and topographic realities where only five percent of the soil can support permanent crops, yet agriculture accounts for half the jobs.  On top of that, its low-growth economy and violent, largely unchecked drug trade have convinced a generation of Guatemalans to look elsewhere for peace and prosperity. Today, nearly eight people leave the country for each one that comes in. By comparison, nearly 16 people move to the U.S. for every person who moves out.  Considering this epic drain of talent and resources, it is puzzling that Guatemala’s government, with the acquiescence if not approval of some elements of the U.S. government, has shut down the third-largest silver mine in the world in San Rafael in southern Guatemala on some fairly suspicious grounds.  In July, CALAS, an anti-mining organization,...(Read Full Article)