In the Claws of Light

Tortillas: Guatemala’s Staple Food and The Female Lead of Informal Economy

Informal economy: “diversified set of economic activities enterprises, jobs, and workers that are not regulated or protected by the state” (WIEGO).

“Clap, clap, clap! Could you please give me GTQ5.00 of corn tortillas, please?” 

Tortillas are made up of corn. Corn is the cultural base of Guatemala’s diet, and so is the informal economy. No matter where you go, whether it is the rural or the urban area of Guatemala, you will always find a “Tortillería Los Tres Tiempos,” which means that tortillas are available three times: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most of the people who make tortillas are indigenous women who work all day long and non-stop because chapines demand tortillas all day long and non-stop.

According to the article “Inequality Los Tres Tiempos” published by the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre, recruiters from urban areas offer parents of girls and teenagers from poor rural areas a salary of $100 to $130 monthly, when the minimum wage is $300, and a place to sleep; in consequence, these girls, driven by the necessity and the dream of a better future for themselves and their families, migrate to the city to work at tortillas shops in miserable and poor conditions (Escobar). This unethical and exploitative practice not only perpetuates economic and gender inequality but also keeps feeding the informal economy– led by women– that offers nothing but a few quetzales to pay generational debts. When working in tortilla stores, and in informal economy workplaces, women lack legal protections, have low wages compared to the amount of work, and lack proper access to healthcare and education, in addition to clearly being vulnerable and exposed to exploitation and abuse. 

According to the National Institute of Statistics, within the frame of 2024’s Women's Day, 48.8% of women have claimed to have had an incident related to violence at least once in their lifetime; additionally, around 34% of women had been sexually assaulted while an 18.14% have suffered physical violence contrasting to a 14.93% who have suffered economic violence (Oliva). If the chances of being abused just because of being a woman in Guatemala are around one in every two women, the likelihood of being assaulted in an unprotected and unknown environment increases when it comes to having a job in an informal economy workplace. 

This is the life of countless women and girls in Guatemala, and Marta is not the exception to the rule. Marta, 40, is an indigenous woman who owns a tortilla store, in which she additionally sells fruits and vegetables. She prepares, cooks, and dispatches tortillas, as well as the sale of produce. In an interview with Marta, she explained that her daily routine consists fully of work: “I work from 5 am to 8 pm,” and within that period, she must clean the machine she uses at least three times a day (Castillo). Given that she also owns a vegetable and fruit store, she must go to the market every two days at 5 am, obviously continuing her 5-8 work shift after getting back from the market, and pay $10.00 for transportation, which ends up being pretty expensive in contrast to the profit she ends up making (Castillo). The hardest part for her is making the tortillas themselves: “The stove is pretty hot and then, when I dispatch the tortillas, the environment is cold so my shoulders end up hurting,” states Marta (Castillo). As with many of the physical consequences of her work, Marta’s right-hand fingerprints are totally burned due to the constant exposure to the stove, and she now has varicose veins because she is standing up all day long without wearing proper footwear.

Currently, she works entirely by herself; for the past three years, she has been the only one making tortillas because “women now prefer just to get married and not work because working making tortillas is very sacrificial” (Castillo). She is unable to take any breaks because she is the only one providing economic support for her two little children, given that her husband abandoned them. Regardless, Marta pays close attention to her children’s education and prioritizes it as much as she can. Both of her children attend a private school–which is the best alternative to a perpetually weak public school system–. Although both her oldest son and youngest daughter are willing to help her, according to Marta, “people dislike when a man dispatches tortillas,” which is nothing less but a stereotypical belief tied to a male chauvinist country, and therefore, her daughter is more likely to be forced to help, affecting her overall school performance at the end of the day (Castillo). Marta pays approximately $475 for rent, where on the first floor she holds her tortilla and fruits and vegetables stand and on the second floor they have their family “home” (Castillo). 

Marta’s family relies entirely on tortilla sales and there are fluctuations in their income depending on the month of the year and Guatemala’s current social and political situation. For example, last year, during a blockade that lasted around two to three weeks and affected Guatemala’s economy on a national scale, Marta earned roughly $650; just enough to pay the rent and some other utilities and cover basic needs. Like Marta, there are many women out there who contribute almost completely to their households: whether as street vendors, domestic workers, or agricultural laborers. 

As opposed to the cultural belief that men are the only providers of prosperity in a household, women are indeed, more likely to contribute economically to their household regarding the informal economy sector. For instance, the informal economy in Guatemala is 68% conformed by men in contrast to 75.7% by women (USAID). Though women contribute a lot more than men in the informal economy, it is just the reflection that women lack proper access to a dignified job and are consequently forced to work with no guarantee of success and safety in what they do.

Whilst women contribute to Guatemala’s economy and households benefiting society at a massive scale, there are no current policies in my country that benefit or help women, regardless of their daily and sacrificial work. 

It is essential to recognize the female’s role in the Guatemalan informal economy; within the challenges they constantly face, giving women a little bit of recognition would help reduce gender inequality and promote economic inclusivity. But recognition should occur not only at the root of Guatemala's society and informal economy, but also in the branches where there are impediments to indigenous women’s involvement in government roles. Increasing access to education would allow them to take legislative positions and be able to make decisions in a country in which women don’t participate in the decision-making process (Espinoza).

In addition to recognizing women, what is more important is taking action and encouraging the legislative system to execute real and feasible solutions that would make the informal economy only a topic of discussion rather than a matter of daily life conditions in every other household. Creating a social security institute that helps, not only women but people in general who belong to the informal economy, would be the welfare for every citizen out there to begin their little entrepreneurship that will subsequently aid an entire household. Having a social security system for all of the economies, with no distinctions at all, would not only guarantee a good quality of life while working but even afterward, ensuring a pension to be able to break that cycle of poverty. Or even better, having workshops in both rural and urban areas so women can access knowledge whether it is to know how to manage resources, look for better opportunities, exploit their abilities and capabilities, or enrich their children’s futures. Undoubtedly, the amount and diversity of solutions cannot be limited, and although certain constraints deprive these ideas of becoming reality, the only thing that separates a few printed words from a brighter future is the State’s neglect, indifference, and opacity. 

Women in the informal economy are the backbone of a systematically sexist country that must be addressed as soon as possible and aim for a more inclusive country; a country in which Marta and many other women could have the chance to access a job with proper working conditions. Although the informal economy cannot be eradicated, it is a necessity that as Guatemalans, we should work to improve. Besides, without women in the informal economy, how long would Guatemala last before falling apart?

WORKS CITED (MLA resources)

Castillo Mazariegos, Thais. (20 Feb.2024). Interview with Marta, Tortilla Store Owner. 

Escobar Sarti, Carolina. “Desigualdad Los Tres Tiempos.” Prensa Libre, 8 July 2021, www.prensalibre.com/opinion/columnasdiarias/desigualdad-los-tres-tiempos/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

Espinoza, Isela, and Eslly Melgarejo. “Basta de Excluirnos, Las Mujeres Existimos.” Prensa Comunitaria, 8 Mar. 2023, prensacomunitaria.org/2023/03/basta-de-excluirnos-las-mujeres-existimos/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.

Oliva, Cesar. “El INE Presenta Indicadores de Prevalencia de Violencia Contra Las Mujeres En Guatemala.” Ine.gob.gt, 2024, www.ine.gob.gt/2024/03/07/el-ine-presenta-indicadores-de-prevalencia-de-violencia-contra-las-mujeres-en-guatemala/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024. 

USAID. “Economic Growth | Basic Page | Guatemala | U.S. Agency for International Development.” U.S. Agency for International Development, 2023, www.usaid.gov/guatemala/our-work/economic-growth. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

WIEGO. “Informal Economy | WIEGO.” Wiego.org, 2018, www.wiego.org/informal-economy. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.