Guatemala 'Is the Germany of Central America'

Guatemala is the “Germany of Central America” whose low debt burden makes it resilient to the turbulence roiling global markets, according to the central bank.

The nation’s Germanic-style hostility to debt has left it in good shape to weather potential shocks, according to the the bank’s vice-president Jose Alfredo Blanco. At 24 percent of GDP, Guatemala’s public debt levels are among the lowest in the world.

“When the fiscal deficit passes two percent, everyone screams to high heaven," Blanco told Bloomberg in an interview in Guatemala City.