Guided by Principle 6, co-ops in Guatemala join forces to strengthen the country’s cooperative ecosystem

Emilio de León, President of the Board of Directors of the San Marcos Cooperative Network, speaks at a recent network meeting.

Cooperation among cooperatives is one of the cooperative principles that is most difficult to implement. Coordination challenges seem to be greater among primary cooperatives (i.e., first-tier co-ops, whose members are individuals) than among second-tier cooperatives (i.e., co-ops whose members are primary co-ops, such as co-op groups, unions, or federations). When primary co-ops are not integrated into a second-tier co-op, they face challenges identifying both their economic sector and territory, which also reduces their access to advocacy and development opportunities (via projects, programs, strategies, and/or policies). All this, in turn, increases their vulnerability to shocks and diminishes their ability to overcome their development challenges.

NCBA CLUSA's Cooperative Ecosystem and Social Inclusion (CESI) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Cooperative Development Program (CDP), is prioritizing second-tier co-ops as one of the key co-op ecosystem actors. Strengthening local and national co-op ecosystems in Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar and Peru is one of CESI's cross-cutting strategies for sustained impact.

In Guatemala, CDP/CESI is supporting a network that integrates 42 cross-sector cooperatives in the Department of San Marcos, which are interested in forming a second-tier cooperative organization. The San Marcos Cooperative Network was formed in February 2023 with NCBA CLUSA support during our previous CDP project. With CDP/CESI support, the San Marcos Cooperative Network developed its taking its next steps. The network's strategic plan-which has four key objectives: organizational and economic strengthening; technical assistance and access to finance; management and production linkages; and service provision for efficient and competitive performance-is keen to identify the political, institutional and economic mechanisms at the local level that will advance those objectives.

Members of the San Marcos Cooperative Network's Board of Directors are accompanied by the department's governor, municipal mayors, representatives from Guatemala's National Institute of Cooperatives, ministries of Agriculture and Economy and NCBA CLUSA.

To address this identified gap and support the San Marcos Co-op Network's strategic objectives, CESI has helped establish Mesa Departamental de Desarrollo Cooperativo, or regional table for cooperative development, in San Marcos, Guatemala. On June 6, this local planning space for cooperative development was launched with the participation of four groups of key actors: local authorities, government institutions and regional offices, civil society and international cooperation, and co-op networks.

Local Authorities

The event witnessed the active participation of San Marcos Governor Rolando López Crisóstomo, Presidential Commissioner for Migration Affairs Aldo Waykán and six municipal mayors, all of whom seek to improve the impact of the cooperative sector in the region, as well as access resources and support from the Municipal Offices of Local Economic Development (OMDELs). Governor López, one of the six governors of Guatemala coming from an indigenous people's community, stated that "cooperative" in the Mayan language Mam is Onb'il, which can be translated as "Let's help each other."

Government Institutions

Starting with the participation of the Departmental Delegations of the Ministries of Agriculture and Economy, efforts underway to improve access to technical assistance programs, business development services, and national trusts. The National Institute of Cooperatives (INACOP) stands out for its vision to integrate Guatemala's ministries of Social Development, Environment and Natural Resources.

Civil Society Organizations and International Cooperation Projects

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) related to the development of indigenous peoples, gender and youth are also involved with support from CDP/CESI. Efforts will be made to integrate actions with other USAID projects and development work active in San Marcos.

Network of Cooperatives

As the main actor, the San Marcos Co-op Network is leading the participation of the cooperative sector through its Board of Directors. Based on the priorities of its Strategic Agenda and Economic Reactivation Plan, it identifies and follows up on the agreements that are reached. Emilio De León, President of the San Marcos Co-op Network Board, said formalizing towards a second-tier co-op would allow member co-ops to "improve their businesses, access services and resources, and improve our sectoral [presence] in San Marcos, thus benefiting our communities and towns."

It is worth mentioning that the same exercise is being led by the Network of Cooperatives in Guatemala's Peten Department. In this other local planning space for cooperative development, the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the South of Petén will join broader efforts, with the support of the Intersectoral Table of Land and Environment and Association Balam. Both experiences will be strongly supported by CDP/CESI as pilot initiatives that could inform future work in other departments of Guatemala.

Alex Serrano, NCBA CLUSA's Senior Vice President for International Programs, makes remarks during the second meeting of the San Marcos Cooperative Network, accompanied at the main table by NCBA CLUSA's Camila Piñeiro and Rolando López Crisóstomo, governor of San Marcos, Guatemala. Fielfer Hernández of Migrantes Tacanecos Cooperative and a member of the San Marcos Cooperative Network's Board of Directors, addresses participants during the meeting.

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