$2 Million for Gender-Affirming Healthcare and LGBTQ+ Advocacy in Guatemala

§ 01 / The Program

Exporting Gender-Affirming Care to a Country Where 72% of the Population Considers Homosexuality Unacceptable.

USAID funded $2 million in programs providing gender-affirming healthcare services and LGBTQ+ advocacy support in Guatemala — one of the most socially conservative countries in Latin America. According to Pew Research Center surveys, approximately 72% of Guatemalans consider homosexuality morally unacceptable. Guatemala has a strong Catholic and evangelical Christian majority, a constitutional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, and a legislature that has repeatedly passed resolutions opposing foreign-funded LGBTQ+ programs.

USAID ran these programs under the broader Central American root causes of migration framework — arguing that LGBTQ+ Guatemalans face discrimination and violence that contributes to migration flows to the United States, and that improving their conditions reduces migration pressure. The root causes of migration framework was the Biden administration’s primary vehicle for increased Central American assistance, and LGBTQ+ programs were embedded within it.

The Effectiveness Question

The theory of change — fund LGBTQ+ advocacy in a deeply conservative Catholic country, reduce discrimination, reduce migration — is not supported by any measurable evidence. Guatemalan LGBTQ+ individuals do face real discrimination and violence. American-funded advocacy programs in deeply conservative communities that lack political support for their goals have historically produced backlash rather than reform, increasing opposition to the communities they aim to support. Whether $2 million in USAID-funded advocacy was helping Guatemalan LGBTQ+ people or making their political situation worse by associating their cause with American foreign influence is a question USAID did not publicly evaluate.

§ 02 / The Bottom Line

What This Means

$2 million for gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ+ advocacy in Guatemala — a country where 72% of the population considers homosexuality unacceptable, where the legislature has actively opposed foreign LGBTQ+ funding, and where the effectiveness of American-funded advocacy in producing positive outcomes for the target community is undemonstrated. Suspended January 20, 2025 under EO 14169.

Sources · 10 Citations