THIS REPORT IS based on research carried out in El Mezquital during 1999. The research sought to identify the positive and negative experiences of the “development process” that took place in this large informal settlement over the last 15 years, both in terms of acquiring basic services and social infrastructure and in terms of empowerment and community mobilization.

Guatemala is ranked 117^th by the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index⁽¹⁾ and is amongst the lowest of the countries considered to have achieved an intermediate level of development. It is characterized by high levels of inequality in both rural and...

THIS PAPER seeks to identify the positive and negative experiences of the “development process” in El Mezquital, also to disseminate this within a society where the space for discussion and debate has been very restricted and where poverty, marginality and precariousness continue to increase. It focuses on describing the development of El Mezquital and the very limited role of government agencies. Quotes from focus groups or interviews are in italics. The original report in Spanish is also available.⁽³⁾

The research on which this paper draws aimed to:

document and synthesize the nature of community organization in El Mezquital;

analyze the...

IN 1984, A group of some 1,500 families invaded land surrounding the colony of El Mezquital, in the south of Guatemala City (zone 12). The colony had been built during the 1970s by the National Housing Bank (BANVI) as a residential area for low- to middle-income people. The land covers an area of 35 hectares: to the north is the Central de Mayoreo (market place and bus station); to the west, the sheer drop of the El Zacatal ravine (with seasonal drainage) and the colony of El Mezquital; and to the south, the Villalobos river joins the Frutal gorge (a...

DEVELOPMENT IN EL Mezquital has been based upon the interaction of different organizations — government institutions, NGOs, international organizations and community organizations. It has taken place on the understanding that living conditions in the settlement cannot be genuinely improved single-handedly by the market, the state, international cooperation or the community when working in isolation. However, the organizations did not always share the same vision, objectives or work programmes and there were moments of confrontation.

According to the majority of those interviewed (both within the community and with non-community stakeholders) the government played the least significant role both in qualitative and...

THE RESIDENTS RECALL that when they arrived in El Mezquital, the invaded area was “filthy and stripped of vegetation”. The initial invasion by thousands of families aggravated these conditions. The lack of water, the discarded waste, the precarious living conditions (for example, the shacks which offered little protection against the elements, generally built from bamboo, cardboard and waste materials) and the overcrowding resulted in a very low quality of life as well as high levels of mortality and morbidity, particularly for the children.

Since then, there have been significant developments. After 15 years of community work, supported by external organizations,...

THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS in El Mezquital achieved the only successful, large land invasion to take place in Guatemala during the 1980s. They successfully lobbied and worked to get basic services, infrastructure and health services. They acquired collective skills in negotiation — with international organizations, NGOs and, to a lesser extent, governmental bodies; also in management, and personal skills such as budgeting, public-speaking, travelling to other countries, overcoming timidity and general learning skills.

The community organizations in El Mezquital also experienced problems of division and conflicts between community and personal interests, resulting in a lack of legitimacy for many community leaders....