The role of external agencies in the development of El Mezquital in Guatemala City

This paper describes and discusses the role of different international agencies (including UNICEF and the World Bank) and NGOs in supporting development in El Mezquital, a settlement formed from a land invasion in Guatemala City the mid-1980s. It draws on interviews with the inhabitants and with staff from supporting agencies. The support from these international agencies and NGOs allowed considerable improvements in infrastructure and service provision, and supported important processes of community empowerment and greater status and possibilities for women. However, the paper also describes the limitations of this support, including the limited scope for participation, the projects that were planned and never implemented and the problems that the international support failed to resolve. It also describes the resentment from groups within the community with regard to what was achieved

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