The purpose of this article is to determine the impact of the general system of royalties on social investment in the department of La Guajira. This research is of descriptive type, realized on realities of fact. Information was obtained from the citizens residing in each of the municipalities under study and from the legal representatives of the different companies that contribute royalties to the department of La Guajira, and showed the impact of royalties and their impact on social investment in the population. It was concluded that there are a number of irregularities, such as lack of staff recruitment, mismanagement of the local budget, financial problems of public institutions, construction and execution of municipal and departmental development plans, problems in the legal documentation of Statistical records, government noncompliance with communities, problems in the formulation and execution of social projects, among others.