Social, economic and political marginalization of Indigenous and other communities in Guatemala have led to conflicts, a deterioration of social cohesion and irregular migration.
Though Guatemala is Central America’s largest economy, it ranks below average on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index compared to its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors. In January 2024, the new government pledged to advance reforms to address significant gaps in human development, infrastructure and economic inclusion.
USAID’s Tejiendo Paz (the Peacebuilding Project) addresses conflict using preventative rather than reactive approaches involving all societal sectors. From May 2018 through June 2024, it worked with diverse community members, civil society organizations and the Guatemalan government in 133 communities throughout the Western Highlands to address the underlying causes of social conflict and build local capacity to lead inclusive peacebuilding initiatives. Through a systems approach, resilience-oriented design and an emphasis on prevention, Tejiendo Paz supported Indigenous peoples, women, youth, LGBTQI+ individuals and other stakeholders to resolve conflicts and develop networks and partnerships to build peace from the ground up.
With an extension through May 2026, the program entered a new phase focused on building bridges between the Guatemalan government that took office in January 2024 and the Indigenous population (including Maya, Xinca and the Garífuna communities), supporting government institutions in mitigating social conflict. In this new phase, Tejiendo Paz will build on its previous achievements, mobilize existing partnerships and expand its focus to address emerging priorities in Guatemala.
Program Goals
Given that women, youth, Indigenous, Garífuna and LGBTQI+ individuals suffer the impacts of social conflicts more severely, they are also critical actors in defining peacebuilding priorities and promoting development in their communities. Using instruments to integrate gender and social inclusion, Tejiendo Paz works with government officials to review and update their plans to reflect new priorities and strategies.
Tejiendo Paz provides technical support and funding to local and traditional authorities to co-create and implement conflict mitigation and peacebuilding strategies in selected geographic areas, including beyond the Western Highlands. Through this effort, Tejiendo Paz supports the government in institutionalizing social conflict mitigation approaches and building trust with communities. The program will co-conduct a conflict analysis and mapping to identify priority areas and existing local capacities to prevent and manage those issues. The analysis will guide where to develop and implement action plans to address social conflict and promote cohesion.
Tejiendo Paz works with government and NGO actors to further strengthen their abilities to coordinate comprehensive approaches to addressing local conflicts. Tejiendo Paz works to improve the government’s capacity and inter-institutional coordination at the national and department levels to identify, prevent, address and respond to local conflict. With the government’s new emphasis on resolving social conflict and constructively engaging citizens, Tejiendo Paz will support training and technical assistance for officials based on their priorities and emerging needs.
