140 



CONSUMER GOODS 



July 3, 1937: The Departmental authorities in Solold have 

 ordered each town to send for its allotment of corn to 

 sell to the people. Panajachel gets 500 pounds a day, 

 which mozos are sent to bring down. 



July 5, 1937: The corn is sold in the town hall. Indians 

 are given only 2 pounds apiece, while Ladinos are even 

 waited on twice. Unfair. 



July 27, 1937: Yesterday and today much corn from the 

 new harvest on the coast was brought here and sold at 

 3 cents a pound. It is a good thing, because those who 

 still have supplies from last year were getting 5 cents a 

 pound for it, and more recently (because of Government 

 competition) 3H cents. 



August 5, 1937: There is much corn in the Solold market, at 

 3 cents a pound. 



August 24, 1937: There is much corn brought here by 

 Sololatecos and Atitecos, who bring it from the coast 

 for sale at 3 cents a pound. 



August 27, 1937: There is much corn in the SoloM market, 

 but at ZYi cents. 



September 17, 1937: Corn is scarce in the Solold market, 

 and selling at 3H cents. This is a great hardship because 

 the poor people cannot afford it at that price. 



November 7, 1937: Not much corn in the market today; 

 it still sells for 2 cents a pound, when in other years at 

 this season it is a cent and a half at its highest. In the 

 last hard months of this rainy season a Sololateco who 

 lives here helped the people greatly by bringing corn by 

 the hundredweight from the Capital to sell here at a 

 rather reasonable price, with only a small profit for 

 himself. He is still doing this, and people go to his 

 house when they do not find him in the plaza. 



November 14, 1937: There was no corn for sale in the 

 market today, but people bought some from the Solola- 

 teco. They say that last Friday in Solola there was so 

 much corn that the merchants had to return home with 

 some. The reason was that at the height of the market 

 a truck loaded with corn from the Capital drove up. 

 Most people bought corn from the driver, and the price 

 went down. Some who bought from the trucker said 

 that it was to punish the merchants who a short time 

 ago took advantage of them when corn was very scarce: 

 they were overcharged and short- weighted. 



November 17, 1937: They say that today two trucks 

 came from Antigua with corn at a reasonable price. 

 One truck remained here, and the other went on to 

 Solold to sell. 



November 18, 1937: I learned that the corn that was 

 brought yesterday was sold at $1.90 a hundredweight. 

 Many Ladinos bought several hundred pounds apiece, 

 and a few Indians bought it by the arroha (25 pounds). 



The average price of com in 1936 in Guatemala 

 City was $1.09 a hundredweight. In Panajachel 

 I bought it during the cheapest season in March 

 and April for 83 cents,'-* Resales' diary indicates 

 that this low price prevailed through July. It 

 then rose until in September it was $1.25 and in 



"* It sold tor as little as 75 cents in December 1935. Informants say It 

 sometimes sells for as little as 50 cents. 



December $1.50. Most likely the average price 

 was a little lower in Panajachel than in Guatemala 

 City, and probably about $1.05 per himdred 

 pounds. However, the Indians for the most part 

 paid more than this, for they usually buy by the 

 poimd rather than the hundredweight, and they 

 frequently buy in the stores. I have concluded 

 that on the average in 1936 com cost the Pana- 

 jachel Indians 1% cents a pound. This is the 

 figure I have used in my various calculations. (It 

 may be noted that there is sometimes a small 

 difference in the price of corn depending on its 

 color and origin. This I have not taken into 

 account.) Judging from the average price re- 

 corded for 6 years in Guatemala City ($1,275) the 

 usual worth of corn to the Indians of Panajachel 

 during the period of the study was more — about 

 $1.50 a hundredweight. This is the figure that 

 informants gave as the long-time average in 

 Panajachel. 



BEANS 



The price of beans varies pretty consistently 

 with that of com, probably because in the country 

 as a whole corn and beans are grown together, have 

 the same seasons, and probably similar fortunes 

 from year to year. During the 6 years recorded '^° 

 for Guatemala City, the price of beans was about 

 160 percent that of com. This proportion varied 

 from month to month as follows (with the price 

 of beans in parentheses) : 



Percent 



January 166 ($1.33) 



February... 175 (1.41) 



March 194 (1.60) 



April.... _.. 198-. (1.57) 



May 207 (1.45) 



June.. 250 (1.84) 



July... 232 (1.87) 



August ' 215 (1. 67) 



September 219 (1.63) 



October 226.. (1.63) 



November 226... (1.63) 



December.. 178 (1.42) 



' Omitting 1937. 



and from year to year as follows: 



1935... 145 (1.58) 



1936 158 (1.72) 



1937 134 (2.75) 



1938 144 (1.82) 



1939 171 (1.61) 



1940 223 (2.70) 



1" Memorial of Hacienda t Crtdito PMlico, \Wi, pp; 599-600 (Guatemala, 

 1939. a); 1939. p. 729 (Gaatemala, 1940). 



