The structural conditions of Guatemala have historically been characterized by huge economic inequalities which are reflected in high unemployment rates, nutritional problems, health problems, low access to education and high levels of analphabetism.

Furthermore, Guatemala is known for severe human rights violation. Especially the indigenous people have been the target of racism and to the present day are stuck in a backward position.

For the past decades the political system of Guatemala has been in hands of the military. Politicians were never able to change the social economic situation of the population, resulting in a civil war that lasted for 36 years. In 1996 a new phase started when the peace agreements were signed between the government and the guerilla.

In the armed conflict over 15.000 persons died and over 1.000.000 were dispersed
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In 1982 and 1983 families and whole villages fled from the massacres to nearby villages, mountains or Mexico.

According to statistics of the UNHCR, in 1984 an average of 200.000 Guatemalan refugees stayed in the Mexican state of Chiapas. This amount of people increased to 250.000 (including the birth of many children in the refugee camps) in the year 1993 when the refugees started to return to Guatemala.

In 1986 COMADEP was founded in Mexico as an initiative to help provide the basic needs for the refugees. The organization was promoted by the current director and a group of Mexican solidary people.

After its foundation COMADEP defined a strategy characterized by the following steps: Exile - Return - Reintegration - Development. Gradually, when the refugees returned to Guatemala, the concept of development was redefined as being human development that puts men and women as central actors. All of them should be able to develop their economic, social, cultural and political capacities in order to transform their environment, respecting their culture and natural resources.

In Mexico, COMADEP worked with the refugees that stayed in Chiapas, Campeche and Quintana Roo. During that time several projects were implemented like educational, organizational and health projects.

COMADEP accompanied the whole process of the return to
Petén. Currently they have offices in Petén and in the capital
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After going through this emergency phase, COMADEP and each of the cooperatives, as well as the women's groups and the educational promotors defined development processes in the following way:

• COMADEP helped and fostered the organization of educational promotors, who were all indigenous farmers. They formed the Association of Rural Teachers of Guatemala (AMERG) to educate the children. AMERG, including 400 teachers, started a didactic learning method and later a program of professionalizing the teachers. This program was also conducted with other educational organizations Currently the professional teachers are working for the Ministry of Education.

• COMADEP also supported the women's organization Ixmucané and started with trainings about women rights. COMADEP continued this work in Guatemala with Ixmucané and later on with the association San Franciscanas, women from the municipality of San Francisco. Different projects were developed, including small companies, the industrialisation of various products and gender issues. Currently the activities of COMADEP aren´t just with refugee women but also with other women.
  

• During the exile in Mexico, several cooperatives were organized which received periodic trainings by COMADEP. Back in Guatemala a federation of cooperatives named FECAIRAN (Federation of Agro Industrial Cooperatives for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources) was formed. FECAIRAN has several productive projects, as well as a commercialization program. Currently FECAIRAN is also working with resident groups of farmers

Despite the end of the war the social and economic problems of the population, especially that of indigenous people, have barely changed.

The peace agreements ended the war and have good intentions, yet have never been implemented. This has two reasons: (1) The lack of will on part of the last government preceded by Alfonso Portillo; (2) The population doesn´t know the contents of these agreements and never acknowledged them. The agreements were signed and negotiated by the guerilla leaders, the army and the government, without the participation of the population.

For these reasons COMADEP, among many other organizations of civil society, currently works in different areas to improve the population´s wellbeing.

The hope of many people is that the current government will be a better one as the last one preceded by the president Alfonso Portillo but controlled by ex-general Efraín Ríos Montt, who was president of Congress. The Portillo government will go into history as the most corrupt one that benefited the least to the indigenous.

The Alfonso Portillo Government didn´t do anything to
improve the situation of the poor. Over half of the
indigenous people are chronically underfed