saw in the context of the colonization of Mexico and Peru,
t he encomienda was a system of forced labor, which
subsequently gave way to other similar coercive
institutions, particularly to the repartimiento , also called the
mandamiento in Guatemala. The elite, made up of the
descendants of the conquistadors and some indigenous
elements, not only benefited from the various forced labor
systems but also controlled and monopolized trade through
a merchant guild called the Consulado de Comercio. Most
of the population in Guatemala was high in the mountains
and far from the coast. The high transportation costs
reduced the extent of the export economy, and initially land
was not very valuable. Much of it was still in the hands of
indigenous peoples, who had large communal landholdings
called ejidos . The remainder was largely unoccupied and
notionally owned by the government. There was more
money in controlling and taxing trade, such as it was, than
in controlling the land.
Just as in Mexico, the Guatemalan elite viewed the Cadiz
Constitution (this page–this page) with hostility, which
encouraged them to declare independence just as the
Mexican elites did. Following a brief union with Mexico and
the Central American Federation, the colonial elite ruled
Guatemala under the dictatorship of Rafael Carrera from
1839 to 1871. During this period the descendants of the
conquistadors and the indigenous elite maintained the
extractive economic institutions of the colonial era largely
unchanged. Even the organization of the Consulado did not
alter with independence. Though this was a royal institution,
it happily continued under a republican government.
Independence then was simply a coup by the preexisting
local elite, just as in Mexico; they carried on as usual with
the extractive economic institutions from which they had
benefited so much. Ironically enough, during this period the
Consulado remained in charge of the economic
development of the country. But as had been the case pre-
independence, the Consulado had its own interests at
heart, not those of the country. Part of its responsibility was
for the development of infrastructure, such as ports and
roads, but as in Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Sierra
Leone, this often threatened creative destruction and could
have destabilized the system. Therefore, the development