Problems A.M.A. faces:

As women, one of our biggest challenges is globalization, and the economic and cultural changes that are products of it. We are living in times of radical transition. Once, Guatemalan women of the rural highlands had a well-defined role to play in their local economy, which granted them importance and independence. There was also mutual respect among men and women. Both genders were empowered to make decisions, and this economic equality was inherited by their children, who later passed it on to their children, and so on across generations.
A social consequence of the radical changes imposed by globalization has been the devaluation of domestic labours and other household chores. Since these jobs do not generate sufficient income, they lose economic value and therefore become less important. This has left the women who performed those duties in a position of dependence that forces them to compete in the global market, even though they are not favourably positioned to do so (after all, they live in remote, isolated villages that are cut off from the outside world). Furthermore, these women need to be trained in new forms of commercial production to have a fighting chance of competing in the global market.

At AMA we seek alternatives that help women maintain the space of independence they occupied in the past. Part of our work involves a formation in economic education, which allows them to carve their own niche in today's global economy, so that they do not have to depend on cheap manual labour to survive.

Another challenge we face at AMA is the issue of dependence. This particular issue is of great importance in the communities where we work. In order to create more independence, we encourage women to adapt new ways of thinking, such as “What can I do?” and not “What free handouts does this or that NGO have for us today?” This old way of thinking, ironically, came about because of international assistance and, to a greater extent, the colonial systems that left the highland communities of Guatemala in a state of dependence. Not only did these communities lose their fertile lands and valuable possessions, but they were also stripped of their political authority, their right to buy and sell goods and their freedom of spiritual practice. This gradual loss of power, freedom and individuality left them in a permanent state of dependence.