Human development agreement in Guatemala

The Inter-American Dialogue asks Will a New Development Accord Succeed in Guatemala?

In early October, Guatemala's president, members of his cabinet, as well as business and religious leaders in the Central American nation agreed to a "historico acuerdo de desarrollo humano," which commits them to work together to reduce malnutrition, improve education and provide youths with the skills necessary to be successful in the labor market. Will the accord be implemented successfully and achieve its goals? Is such a framework for cooperation a model that could improve social conditions elsewhere in Latin America? What are the most important components of such an agreement's success or failure?

I can't say that I had heard of such an accord. Go check out the responses. I'm with Jeffrey Puryear, vice president for social policy at the InterAmerican Dialogue and director of the Dialogue's education program, PREAL. The accord represents an important achievement simply by bringing together leaders from government, the business community, civil society, the Churches and elsewhere to map out an economic plan for the next decade or so. Howeve, Puryear argues

Turning agreement into action will be a challenge. An important question will be whether the country has the political will and institutional capacity to develop the activities proposed.But getting such a broad and diverse group to sign up was a big first step. It marks an effort seen elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean to turn some policies, particularly in the social area, into 'politicas de estado' (state policies) that are based on multi-party agreements, long-term in character, and operate above the tidal forces of partisan politics. If the leaders of Guatemala's civil society can build consensus on detailed strategies for reducing malnutrition, raising education quality and providing workforce skills, they will have made a real contribution.

 Maybe Matt will be able to add some more insight.