The solidarity economy and territorial development in Guatemala: an analytical matrix

Abstract

Social and solidarity economy offers a useful lens for examining territorial development alternatives in contexts shaped by inequality, labor informality, limited financial inclusion, and weak links between small economic actors and broader markets. In Guatemala, cooperatives, productive associations, mutual societies, and associative peasant enterprises form an organizational fabric with a tangible territorial presence; however, that presence requires verifiable criteria to assess its contribution to local development. The purpose of this article is to propose an analytical matrix for assessing the contribution of social and solidarity economy to territorial development in Guatemala, with particular attention to cooperatives and productive associations. Methodologically, the study is based on a critical and systematized review of academic, regulatory, and institutional literature published mainly between 2004 and 2026, incorporating classic works when they provided indispensable conceptual categories. The main result is the identification of six analytical dimensions: territorial organizational infrastructure, responsible financial inclusion, productive strengthening, democratic governance, commercial articulation, and territorial sustainability. The article contributes by translating a debate that often remains normative into an evaluative tool that connects questions, indicators, and evidence. It concludes that solidarity-based organizations can foster territorial development when they combine cooperative principles with organizational efficiency, productive innovation, market access, results measurement, institutional autonomy, and supportive public policies. Associativity should therefore be analyzed as a relevant organizational condition, but not as an automatic guarantee of development.