The impact of social capital developing in the region Ch'ortí Maya of Guatemala

Abstract

Recently social capital has turned into an important component to establish community participation in Latin America, especially to solve problems brought in by neoliberal forces. In this context, a sector in the community has set up new participation mechanisms. This work demonstrates how communal social capital has been a significant factor to organize within marginalized areas in Latin America. To show the development of social capital, this work offers a specific case: The Maya Ch’orti of Guatemala. Through this case, it is demonstrated that social capital can be successfully attained in a relatively small amount of time. Also, this work illustrates that indigenous values can be utilized in a positive way for the development of social and economic capital.