Guatemala combines internationally recognized macroeconomic stability with growth that has failed to transform the lives of its people. This panel calls this the “inertial growth trap”: low investment concentrated in a few sectors, sustained by rules that protect inherited privileges rather than rewarding merit.

In light of this diagnosis, this panel will present a transformative agenda across three fronts that must advance simultaneously: a more productive and sustainable economy that generates quality jobs; territorial planning that replaces colonial departments with functional metropolitan regions, alongside the closing of historical infrastructure gaps; and governance reform that dismantles state corporatism, strengthens competition, combats corruption, and builds institutions capable of coordinating development.