"A Trapped Economy and a Captured State: The Case of Guatemala" Lecture by Dr. Juan Alberto Fuentes Knight

5:30 - 7:00 PM

Brian Mulroney Hall 101

Join us for a lecture titled, "A Trapped Economy and a Captured State: The Case of Guatemala" delivered by Dr. Juan Alberto Fuentes Knight. 

In his lecture, he will discuss how a trapped economy and a captured state reinforce one other, how extreme laissez-faire ideology, path-dependency, and economic concentration lead to low and unequal economic growth, migration, and illicit economic activities. He will also address what types of relationship or deals are agreed upon by political and economic elites.

About Dr. Juan Alberto Fuentes

Dr. Juan Alberto Fuentes Knight is a renowned Guatemalan economist and political figure.

In his extensive career, he has been Chair of the Board of Supervisors of Oxfam International; Minister of Finance in Guatemala; founder and Director for the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI); Regional Advisor to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and an academic, researcher, opinion columnist and international consultant.

His book Rendición de cuentas (Settling Accounts) details his experience as Guatemala’s Minister of Finance from 2008 to 2010. His latest publication, La Economía Atrapada: gestores de poder y Estado encadenado (2022), explores the consolidation of power by Guatemala’s economic elites, and how this affects entrepreneurship, development, and democracy.

Dr. Fuentes Knight studied economics at McGill University and the University of Toronto and received his PhD from the University of Sussex.