Institute of Cultural Affairs
Transcending The Creation of
Possible Worlds: Civil Society
Index in Guatemala
The CSI in Guatemala was implemented by the Institute for
Cultural Affairs (ICA) in collaboration with the Civil Society and Social
Movement Program at the
Latin American College of Social Sciences (FLASCO)
from 2003 to 2006. The findings indicate that Guatemalan civil society is
characterised by diversity and heterogeneity.
The civil society diamond in
Guatemala illustrates an unbalanced civil society context, with a
theoretically favourable environment that is constrained in practice by
restrictions on “acceptable” CSO activities and development. The relatively
young, diverse and weak organisational structure of Guatemalan civil society has
repercussions on its capacity to influence public policy. On the other hand,
values such as transparency, accountability, democracy and non-violence are
widely promoted in the public sector in Guatemala. That said intolerance, gender
inequality, poverty and environmental degradation remain major challenges.
There is positive impact of civil society organisations (CSOs) in
Guatemala as can be seen through their delivery of social services, and through
their volunteers who greatly contribute to meeting their proposed objectives.
To build a stronger and more sustainable civil society, it is
incumbent upon the Guatemalan civil
society to ensure better representation and participation of diverse
members of society, as well as develop long-term strategies for dialogue
and negotiation amongst different stakeholders.
