Guatemala has government al and non government al agencies that promote change in agricul- ture, taxes, banking, manufacturing, environmental protection, health, education, and human and civil rights.Since 1945 the government has provided social security plans for workers, but only a small percentage of the populace has received these health and retirement benefits. There are free hospitals and clinics throughout the country, although many have inadequate equipment, medicines, and personnel. free or inexpensive health services are offered as charities through various churches and by private individuals.
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Emergence of the Nation. Guatemala, along with other Central American Spanish colonies, declared its independence on 15 September 1821. Until 1839, it belonged first to Mexico and then to a federation known as the United Provinces of Central America. It was not until 1945 that a constitution guaranteeing civil and political rights for all people, including women and Indians, was adopted. However, indians continued to be exploited and disparaged until recently, when international opinion forced Ladino elites to modify their attitudes and behavior. This shift was furthered by the selection of Rigoberta Menchu?, a young Maya woman, for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.
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Emergence of the Nation. It is believed that Greenland’s first inhabitants arrived on the island about 4,500–5,000 years ago (probably from Ellesmere Island). But these early Inuit peoples disappeared from the land about 3,000 years ago for unknown reasons. They were followed by another Stone Age eskimo culture known as the Dorset Culture. This nomadic hunting culture lasted from about 600 B.C. E. to 200 C.E. before disappearing.
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Classes and Castes. Social stratification within Greenlandic communities is not a major factor, since families typically share both common ethnic backgrounds and similar economic circumstances. More...
Social interaction is casual, quiet, and emotionally subdued, with an emphasis on consensus and sociability. The pace of conversation, especially among men, is slow and deliberate. Only one person speaks at a time. Status differentials are muted. Although most public interaction is between men and men, women and women, and age mates, there is no explicit impediment to interaction across genders and ages. People do not publicly greet or otherwise take notice of one another unless they have something to discuss. casual conversations are initiated and closed with expressions such as ‘‘Good day’’ and ‘‘Farewell’’ without such formalities as handshaking or kissing. People face each other slightly obliquely, and men often stand shoulder to shoulder. Children often stare at strangers; adults do not. Much interaction takes place during casual visits to someone’s house. One enters without knocking and removes one’s shoes inside the door. The housewife offers something to eat and drink, saying ‘‘Ver so god[ur]’’ or ‘‘Ger so vsel’’ (‘‘Be so good’’). On fin-
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Emergence of the Nation. Settled by the Norse in the early ninth century, the faroes became Christian and tributary to Norway in the early eleventh century. They remained subject to the Danish-Norwegian Crown after the Lutheran Reformation (circa 1538). Their point of contact with the Continent passed from Bergen to Copenhagen in the early seventeenth century. In 1709, the Faroe Trade (chiefly in exported woolens and imported foodstuffs and timber) became a royal monopoly. The faroes remained subject to the danish Crown when Norway passed to Sweden in 1814. In 1816, they were made a danish county (ami) and their ancient parliament, the Logting, was abolished; it was reconstituted as an advisory assembly in 1852. The monopoly was abolished in 1856, allowing the formation of a native middle class. Traditional open-boat, inshore fishing had already become the mainstay of the export economy, supporting a population that was growing rapidly after centuries of stagnation. The economy grew and diversified as fishing became an increasingly industrialized deep-water pursuit after about 1880. In 1888, a culturally nationalist movement began to gain a wide
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Government georgia is a presidential republic. The president is also the head of the executive branch, although the ministers are formally headed by the state minister. The single-chamber (225 members strong) parliament is elected in a mixed majoritarian-proportional system. The last parliamentary elections were won by the president’s Citizens’ union of Georgia. The other two parties in the parliament are the union of Industrialists and the union of Georgia’s Revival. The judicial branch, which was weak in the communist era, is in the process of being reformed. Local Government s are partly elected and partly appointed from Tbilisi and have little formal power and small budgets. Depending on personal authority and local conditions, they may be fairly independent in their policies.
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Both men and women may kiss one another on the cheek in public places. Kissing on the lips and intimate hugging in public are not approved. Shaking hands is common, but women shake hands less often than men do. Either the person with higher social status or the woman is supposed to initiate greeting and define its form. In the countryside, it is common to greet strangers. Men may embrace while walking in the street. In general, the closer the relationship, the smaller the distance at which people stand. women are not supposed to gaze at a stranger or smoke on the street. More...
Government In an executive-led government , the chief executive has replaced the British governor of the colonial period. The chief executive is selected by an electoral assembly picked by China, and is assisted by an executive council whose members tend to be leading industrialists. A Legislative Council (Legco) approves executive decisions, although its members can introduce bills and investigate the administration. Only a third of the members are elected by districts; the others are representatives of occupational groups or are appointed. The Legco represents the people but has little power.
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There is a modern medical system with Government -funded hospitals that provide inexpensive care; these hospitals offer what is called ‘‘Western medicine.’’ People turn to Chinese (herbal) medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion (in which users place cones of burning leaves on the skin; it is used to cure rheumatism and other ailments), and other alternative treatment for illnesses and chronic problems that are not cured by modern medicine. More...