Jaqueline Barrios is the country coordinator for the Dialogue’s Guatemala office and manages projects implemented through the Migration, Remittances, and Development Program. She joined the Dialogue in 2016 as an administrative assistant for the Opportunities for My Community Project. Previously, Barrios worked as a general accountant at several corporations for more than 11 years. She holds a BA as a Public Accountant and Auditor and is currently pursuing a Masters in Tax and Fiscal Law.
In May 2023, the Prosperity and Progress in Intermediate Cities project, implemented by the Inter-American Dialogue with the support of the Cities Alliance and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), began operations with the goal of providing economic and educational opportunities to vulnerable populations at risk of migration in the department of San Marcos.
On January 12, 2024, the Inter-American Dialogue released the report “Prosperity and Progress in Intermediate Cities: Making Development Impacts through Remittances.” The report, produced by Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration, Remittances, and Development program, Jaqueline Barrios, country coordinator for Guatemala, and Patrick Springer, program associate, reviews results and impacts of the program’s local development initiative in the Guatemalan municipalities of San Marcos, and Amatitlán.
In this report, The Inter-American Dialogue is pleased to present the activities and results of the Thriving in San Marcos initiative, which offered an innovative approach to local migration management.