There are times when El Paredón, a tiny fishing village on Guatemala’s Pacific coast, feels just about as far away as you can get from civilisation and the bustle of modern life. But even here, among unpaved, sandy streets and adobe houses topped with roofs of palm, global economic trends are in evidence.

Sandra Pérez, a 34-year-old mother of three, feels them as much as anyone. The sharp rise in international fuel prices this year has meant that she can no longer afford to send her children to school regularly. The boat ride to Sipacate, the nearest town, has gone up from two quetzales (27 US cents, 15 British pence) to five; the bus from there to the school now costs seven quetzales instead of five a few months ago. “When there is no money, my children stay at home,” she says. “It hurts me to know that they are missing out on their education but there is nothing I can do.”