On July 1st, the Guatemalan textile industry began the high season for production to fulfill orders of garments from the United States for the end of the year. The textile factories, which have been heavily affected by the economic crisis, forecast the contracting of 3,000 people for the season.

According to Prensalibre.com, Ligia Barrios, Director of Marketing and Promotion for the Garment and Textile Commission (VESTEX, acronym in Spanish) from the Guatemalan Exporters Association (AGEXPORT, acronym in Spanish), “there are currently 65,000 people who work directly in the production of garments and textiles, and foresee contracting more in order to meet the demand.”