Although Guatemala has legalised the dollar as a domestic currency in parallel with its own quetzal, many of El Salvador's other neighbours and economic competitors have floating exchange rates.
After a year of imprudent policies coupled with low world prices for the country's staple exports (bananas, coffee and sugar), Mr Arzu will leave Guatemala with high fiscal and current-account deficits, slowing economic growth, a sharp depreciation in the quetzal, weak banks and depleted reserves.