Where Guatemala loses to its regional competitors

Guatemala loses on: (1) minimum labor cost — Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador pay maquila minimums 15-45% lower; (2) narrower and shorter tax incentives than Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua (only textiles + ICT under 29-89; 10 years with no extension against 15-20 renewable); (3) structurally low FDI capture — 1.6% of GDP, a third of Costa Rica's or the Dominican Republic's in dollars; (4) logistics — the worst LPI in the group apart from Nicaragua (88/139), fragmented ports with no global operator; (5) rule of law and human capital — CPI 142/182 (dossier 10), electrification 90.4% (second from last), mid-to-low English against Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica, homicides rising in the high group; (6) an oversold renewable grid (59.5%, fourth of six). The synthesis: Guatemala is Central America's macro bet and the weakest on micro-fundamentals — the opposite profile to Costa Rica.

The research is written in English; quoted figures, source names and the titles of legal instruments stay in the language their source published them in.