Checks and Balances

My friend Gracie said via comment that she wonders whether conversation outside the U.S. is more political because interested Americans seek out political discussion, or because politics are more important to people in other countries, on the whole. It's an interesting question, and I think it's probably a little bit of both. Regardless, here's something I've learned from literally everyone I've spoken with here:

Like in the U.S., Guatemala has three branches of government. In Guatemala, these are the three:

1. Elected officials and judges
2. The military
3. Narcotraffickers

And the wealthy elite just sort of float between branches, and the police are paid nothing and so they subsist off of what they can get from extortion and drug-traffic. Or this is what they tell me.