On any given morning, while traffic in Guatemala City advances as if carrying a cross of concrete, a child dies of malnutrition in Panzós. His mother could not reach the nearest health center because the road, like so many others in the north of the country, is a trail of mud. In Alta Verapaz, Quiché, and Huehuetenango, there are lives waiting to be connected to opportunities. But that umbilical cord made of roads, bridges, and energy does not exist.
Meanwhile, in the capital and in the south, we live atop a volcano of broken promises, without realizing that every tremor we ignore erodes our future opportunities. The State has left nearly GTQ 15 billion annually in the hands of the Development Councils, which, with an execution rate of barely 3% in the first months of 2025, is equivalent to throwing money into the trash. It is kicking the problem toward an uncertain future.
It is a country with a noose around its neck, one that tightens little by little. And when we feel ourselves suffocating — when the airport can no longer cope, when Puerto Quetzal becomes a bottleneck for our exports, when dirt roads and unfinished bridges prevent us from growing — it will already be too late. That is why we need today, not tomorrow, an Independent National Infrastructure Administrator.
This entity must have technical independence, functional autonomy, and the capacity to bring together the public sector, private sector, academia, and civil society. It would be like an expanded and improved version of the National Electric Energy Commission (CNEE). Last week, while discussing the CNEE, some people wrote to me pointing out its flaws — such as the delays of PEG-5 — and they are right. But the lesson is not to discard the model, but to strengthen it. Energy planning came too late, and because of that, difficult years will arrive after 2030. Let us not repeat that mistake with roads, ports, or airports.
Countries such as Australia and New Zealand understood this long ago. In 2008, Australia created Infrastructure Australia, an independent technical agency that develops national plans. In 2019, New Zealand founded InfraCom, with similar functions. Latin America also offers examples: Peru, through ProInversión and the Multiannual Investment Reports for PPPs, has coordinated efforts between levels of government and the private sector. In Bucaramanga, Colombia, the Metropolitan Planning Corporation links the public sector, private sector, and academia in the design of productive projects.
And on the global level, the CoST — Infrastructure Transparency Initiative — has promoted in several countries the creation of Multi-Stakeholder Groups (MSGs) that bring together representatives from government, businesses, civil society, and universities to supervise and ensure transparency in major projects. Guatemala could also draw inspiration from that model.
Let us imagine for a moment the change in wealth creation and the strengthening of Guatemala through projects such as the following:
A road from Panzós to Río Hondo (46 km) connecting 300,000 people from the poorest municipalities in the country with the Atlantic Highway and its logistics center.
A highway from Panzós to El Estor (36 km) that takes advantage of Lake Izabal to transform it into a barge outlet channel toward the ports.
The creation of an Atlantic Free Zone linking Puerto Barrios, Santo Tomás, and Puerto Cortés, connected to the San Pedro Sula airport.
The country we dream of will not arrive by magic or decree. It will arrive through paved roads and ports with strategic vision.
A road from Barillas to Soloma (77 km) connecting 200,000 people in Huehuetenango with the rest of the country.
A Free Zone in Ocós, with a new port competing with Puerto Quetzal and connecting Guatemala with Soconusco and southern Mexico.
And if a citizen like me can conceive these projects simply by reading, analyzing, and traveling the country, what could not a professional team achieve with technical information, financing, and legal authority?
And what is all this for? So that cardamom does not travel only in sacks, but in aromatic capsules bound for Paris. So that cacao does not end up as raw beans, but as fine chocolate bars headed to New York. So that palm oil, coffee, and rum do not remain stuck on dirt roads, but instead take off with branding and added value. So that the 450 million dollars in cardamom exports can become 540 million. So that the 19 billion dollars in remittances are used to produce and not merely to survive.
Because yes, Guatemala is the world’s largest exporter of cardamom. But in Panzós, Senahú, Cahabón, and Chahal, 97% of people live in poverty. How much is a road worth if it lifts hundreds of thousands out of isolation and gives them access to the global market? How much does it cost us not to build it?
These calculations require technical validation, but the potential is clear. And projects must be accompanied by dialogue processes that include communities from the beginning, not as obstacles but as allies. The example of Guatemaltecos por la Nutrición, which has achieved local acceptance in remote and isolated communities, demonstrates that when work is done properly, change can indeed be built from the ground up.
Creating this administrator will not be easy. There will be political resistance, opposition from those who benefit from chaos, and fear of change. But without a long-term plan, without coordination between sectors, and without technical autonomy, Guatemala will remain trapped in its labyrinth of mud and broken promises.
It is time for a pact. Between the State, the private sector, academia, and civil society. A pact for infrastructure, integration, and the future. An entity that prioritizes, plans, executes, and ensures transparency. One that is accountable and brings everyone together. One that sees infrastructure not as an expense, but as the most transformative investment a country can make.
The country we dream of will not arrive by magic or decree. It will arrive through paved roads and ports with strategic vision. It will arrive if we stop leaving everything to the failed State and begin building ourselves the path that unites us.
Guatemala does not need more excuses. It needs to dream again and act accordingly.
