Yesterday was May Day – Labor Day in El Salvador and everywhere else in the world (except for the United States, which is especially ironic since the day commemorates a US event: the 1886 execution of the Haymarket Anarchists of Chicago.)  In El Salvador, over 60,000 people – workers, students, religious, and everyone else – marched through the streets to demand their rights.  The head of the march arrived at Metrocentro before the tail even left the launch point at Plaza Salvador del Mundo.  Mauricio Funes, a popular journalist and potential FMLN candidate for 2009, was out signing flags.  A heavy police presence was reported, though there were no arrests.  Many demonstrations filled the streets in the United States as well, demanding immigrant rights and an end to deportations.  The largest ones were in Los Angeles and Chicago.  (Read Tanya Snyder’s article about a four-day fast for immigrant rights in her neighborhood of Washington, DC.)

 

In El Salvador, people have plenty to protest.  More people here now understand better the macroeconomic decisions made by the government – like CAFTA, Plan Puebla-Panama, and various Structural Adjustment Programs – decisions that shape their lives.  The war in Iraq is also a hot topic here.  The ARENA party, which was largely a creation of the Republican Party neoconservative wing in the early eighties, is one of the last blind allies of the US government, and just sent El Salvador’s eighth contingent in Iraq.  (El Salvador is the only Latin American country with troops still in Iraq.)  The labor market is in shambles.  Even the wonder-solution of just five years ago – the sweatshop assembly lines of the maquiladoras – are closing down.  Gas prices are on par with California, while the great majority of workers won’t take home five bucks at the end of the day. 

 

Several scandals have been rocking El Salvador for months now, as Salvadoran society has seen at least half a dozen complex organized crime and corruption dramas unfold.  Besides large drug busts, there have been a number of high-profile arrests from past administrations.  The current Minister of Health and Public Assistance has taken a lot of heat over a lavish 90,000 dollar office makeover while the hospitals run out of lifesaving drugs.  Former Public Works Minister David Gutierrez stepped down from internal ARENA party function amidst another scandal.  And while Dr. Paul Wolfowitz looks like he will have to step down from the helm of the World Bank, so may one of the architects of dollarization and the economic disaster of the last ARENA administration, Juan José Daboub.  From there it only gets crazier...

 

First, it was the arrest of alleged “narco-deputy”, Roberto Silva, nicknamed el Perico (slang for cocaine) – a national legislator for the old military-linked, landowners party, the PCN.  He, his wife, and his mother-in-law were all arrested for money laundering, shoddy business practices, bribes and kickbacks in a scandal that could threaten to take down at least a dozen municipal governments.  He was basically let go by the judicial system in a brilliant snafu of floating paperwork that gave him a day’s lead to flee the country.  Looks like the US$130,000 2006 Maseratti and 2006 Porsche drew a bit too much attention alongside the yacht and beachfront mansion.

 

Then, there was the “Dante-esque” killing of three powerful ARENA deputies to the Central American Parliament and their driver in Guatemala, evidently by elite police in a drug deal gone awry.  One was the son of party ideologue and hero, Roberto D’Aubisson (the intellectual author of the assassination of Monseñor Oscar Romero): the quadruple killing in Guatemala occurred on the 15th anniversary of the death of his father.  A Guatemalan presidential advisor recently complained that she was receiving little to no help from Salvadoran government and the FBI, whose involvement in the investigation was watched with great anticipation.  Here in El Salvador, there is little attention placed on the case now, while in Guatemala, the heads of the National Police and Interior ministry have stepped down amidst accusations of death squad activity, and involvement in narcotics trade.  Suspicions here are that this case is somehow connected to the Silva case, as each supposedly worked with competing Mexican-based organizations.  It seems quite clear that there is so little follow-up to this story because some skeletons should be left in the closet.

 

A mere three weeks after the passing of Rufina Amaya, survivor of the El Mozote massacre, El Salvador lost another brave woman: María Julia Hernández, the founding director of Tutela Legal, the human rights office of the Archbishop of San Salvador. María Julia worked with Archbishop Oscar Romero during his three years at the head of El Salvador's Catholic church from 1977-1980. From that time forward, Tutela Legal and María Julia Hernández have been some of the most credible and consistent voices regarding the protection of human rights in El Salvador.  She died of a heart condition at age 68.

 

Things are peaceful in the Lower Lempa, though.  In fact, there is only good news to tell.

 

The women’s committee in Amando Lopez community have moved on from operating a small sewing workshop to retail.  The town, of about 100 families, is named after one of the martyred Jesuits of the UCA, and it is composed of former refugees and ex-combatants, and Voices has been assisting them for several years now.  The women’s sewing workshop had difficulty getting cheap fabric that people liked and it became clear that they couldn’t compete with cheap imported clothes, new and used.  The women decided to diversify their economic operations, converted part of their sewing workshop into a used clothes store, and have been able to purchase a few hundred pounds of used clothes, mostly pieces sold in bulk by US operations like Goodwill.  With a little help from Voices, they were also able to set up a small gas range, where they sell pupusas and other traditional foods.  This way they are generating employment, raising a steady income for the group, and creating a nice place to go out for dinner on a Sunday evening. 

 

The big news in Ciudad Romero is that the long-sought after Casa Comunal (Community Building) is finally under construction.  The rows of cinderblocks are lined alongside the site, and the foundation has been laid for a site designed to house dozens of families in the case of flooding.  Meanwhile, the Centro Juvenil, rebuilt several months ago with the help of the St. Paul partner community, now has 150 chairs and is well utilized.  It may be getting a lot more use in the near future, as a group of area youths with whom Voices works is interested in using the space for a museum and youth center.  The building belongs to the youth of the community and is only being held by the Directiva until there is a group responsible for taking care of the space, as is happening now. 

 

The Voices-sponsored youth organizing project that brings together hundreds of kids from the 32 communities is also holding youth tours of the communities.  Over 100 young people recently biked and walked through the oldest two resettlements – Ciudad Romero and Nueva Esperanza, both of which were settled during the conflict, a war zone of thick brush surrounded by hostile soldiers.  The youth heard stories of exile and struggle from community leaders, and it was recognized that the Presidents of both communities are youth (by local standards), both about thirty years old.  There will be similar community bike tours throughout the year, as the youth take the initiative to discover their shared history in diverse communities.

 

A small youth-led arts and crafts project has come along quite well in the past few months.  About fifteen youths get together to make a variety of crafts, from bamboo and gourd pieces lamps, to leather bags and jewelry.  They have been quite successful with sales, and more than a few show great potential.  Rosie, the new Voices volunteer, has been able to help out with this work, which is done in conjunction with the United Communities. 

 

The United Communities and partner organizations held a regional festival to celebrate Earth Day on April 22.  It was a very successful event, filled with music, traditional dances, food, and sales.  Handmade hammocks, organic produce, arts and crafts were all on sale, as were plants and seeds.  Nationally renowned environmentalists participated, as did community and youth leaders from throughout the area.  In all, there were over thirty vendor tables, and an estimated four thousand people came through. 

 

The rains have begun to fall, to great joy, worry, and even amazement.  On one hand, rains mean crops, which means life.  But that joy is quickly tempered by the fear of the effects of another multiple-hurricane year prediction (this year the gurus at the U. of Colorado are predicting nine.)  The levee and protective works are still unfinished, and getting the government to fork over the misappropriated funds is a tall order.  The communities are developing their strategy, and people are very aware they must keep their morale up.  Meanwhile, the rescue preparedness continues, and the emergency radio system is almost finished.  The area is now covered with very good signal and connected always to emergency related systems at REDES, a technical organization in the capital, and the Emergency Medical Technicians.  The boat, purchased after Hurricane Stan to facilitate evacuations, has radio coverage to the ocean and can communicate with other vessels using the naval frequencies as well. 

 

The levee has been in the news recently, caught up in a fierce debate over further indebting of the country by the executive branch.  Unfortunately, the $8 million needed to make limited Stan-related repairs to four major rivers have been refused by ARENA in retaliation for the FMLN refusing to support a $162 million loan (meanwhile, there are many projects for which the government has failed to produce results and many suspect large-scale theft).  The issue is being used by ARENA as a wedge issue to divide the party from the population, but it doesn’t seem to be working in the Lower Lempa, since most people understand that $8 million for four rivers would do little in the face of the great needs.  Meanwhile, as the rains have started for this year, the plans for the maintenance cleaning of the 19 kilometers of levee have begun.

 

Meanwhile, in the community of Santa Marta, in the mountains of the northern state of Cabañas, residents have been camped out on the road leading in to the community since 3 a.m. Friday morning.  They are keeping watch to prevent police from enforcing a controversial eviction order that would displace more than 50 families from their homes and farmland.  Last September, a District Court issued an order for Santa Marta families to vacate three properties they had purchased in 1994.  The deadline of October 26, 2006 was postponed, but the eviction order was not overturned.  Some speculate that plans for building a major highway through Cabañas as part of the “Plan Puebla-Panama” development corridor is creating speculation, which is jacking up the value of real estate that 10 years ago was considered the least desirable land in the country. 

 

Kidney failure has become a major health concern in the Lower Lempa, likely a result of the use of agrochemicals.  Chronic renal insufficiency, not associated with its usual causes, diabetes and high blood pressure, has been diagnosed in 30-45% of men over 30 — and there are few resources directed toward the prevention, early detection, or treatment of this disease. A close partner of Voices on the Border, Laura Turiano of the People’s Health Movement, has written an article about the problem.  . 

 

Click here to read Voices on the Border’s report on mega-project development in El Salvador, including the construction of dams and highways, and the slow privatization of water.

 

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All the best,

Your friends at Voices on the Border