Balancing inequalities and opportunities: Globalization and development in Q'eqchi' Maya communities in Guatemala.

摘要

This dissertation examines local processes of socio-economic change associated with globalization and development in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. The study is situated in Chisec, a predominately Q'eqchi' Maya municipality recently targeted by international development institutions for the introduction of economic alternatives, including cash crop production and locally-managed tourism. My focus is on how Q'eqchi' actors take advantage of international development agendas and other globalizing influences as opportunities that they employ towards local ends. Building on previous anthropological studies that explore local impacts of global flows, I use a framework of social and cultural capital to analyze how social networks and other non-economic assets influence local participation in development programs and access to benefits associated with these programs, including direct economic gains, educational opportunities, and less tangible benefits such as empowerment. This ground-level analysis is combined with a broader examination of the relationship between development institutions, the state, and Q'eqchi' Maya actors to show how development programs can unevenly distribute opportunities within a community and the ways in which Q'eqchi' individuals resist this through their emphasis on community solidarity and reciprocity.