I'm curious about why Central American nations have not be able to industrialize and modernize as much as other (Latin) American nations.
Although these nations - Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica - have been subject to continued economic exploitation (e.g. banana and coffee corporations) and various coups d'était/regime changes, so have other nations in North and South America (Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, etc.). Despite times of instability, these nations seem to have been able to recover, maintain more social stability, industrialize, and thus gain more economic progress in modern times than Central America. What exactly caused or led to this?
While both regions were subject to colonization, the central american region has especially exploited. Not only that, they lack the natural resources that South America enjoys. Panama has escaped the fate of it's neighbors due to the Canal.