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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Saca’s
Smokescreen Insufficient in Alleviating Economic Crisis<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>CISPES
Update<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>December
14, 2007<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>[also: check out this recent article
in the Nation Magazine about <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
support for repression through the anti-terrorism law and the ILEA in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>: <a
href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/enzinna">http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/enzinna</a>]
<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>In his most recent populist economic push, Salvadoran president Antonio
Saca announced on December 4 a plan of 19 social and economic measures called the
“<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alliance</st1:place></st1:City>
for Families”. According to Saca, the plan will help to alleviate the
economic crisis in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Alliance</st1:City></st1:place> for Families plan was approved in
the Legislative Assembly on December 7 and will expire in 2009; Saca did not
consult with the various sectors involved and the plan does not have the means
to be financed by the Salvadoran government.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Of the 19 measures proposed by Saca, only one would have a moderate benefit
to Salvadoran families. That measure increases the number of deductibles that a
person working in the formal sector can claim on their income tax form. Another
measure includes a reform to extend the expiration date of pre-paid phone cards
by six months. None of the measures take steps to alleviate the 6.2% annual
inflation rate, lessen the fifth tax imposed on Salvadorans who have to pay 10
cents more per gallon of gasoline, decrease the high level of unemployment, or
increase the minimum wage in El Salvador (the lowest minimum wage in all of Latin
America at $150 per month).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Saca continues to state that these measures are “concrete
responses to the needs of working families”; however the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Alliance</st1:place></st1:City> for Families is viewed skeptically
by the general Salvadoran population, as many believe that it is simply an attempt
to create a positive perception and disguise the failing government of the
ARENA party. The social movement and the FMLN have rejected the plan, and even
the right-wing PCN has derided the plan as “simply not enough” to
respond to popular discontent related to the economic crisis. Margarita Cacares,
a participate in a recent public poll, stated that “it’s too late
to be making promises. Saca has been in power for more than 3 years and he has
done nothing for the population.” Independent legislator Juan Pablo
Duran also said “it’s more propaganda than reality, a virtual help
more than real solutions,” while Sigfrido Reyes, Communications Secretary
of the FMLN, called Saca’s plan an “electoral response given the drop
in his own approval rate and that of his government.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Electoral <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address
w:st="on">Reforms Pave Way</st1:address></st1:Street> to Fraud in 2009<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Also in early December, electoral reforms were hastily approved by
ARENA and its allies the PDC and PCN parties without significant debate or
analysis. The highly controversial reforms are: the elimination of both the
seal and signature that validate each vote; the requirement that a candidate be
affiliated to a political party in order to run (in clear allusion to Mauricio
Funes who has not been historically affiliated to the FMLN); and the
prohibition of citizens changing their addresses one year prior to the elections.
According to Jose Domingo Mendez, the former president of the Supreme Court of
Justice, the elimination of signature and seal on each vote takes away
“transparency in the electoral process,” an analysis shared by the
FMLN.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The electoral reforms passed with just 47 votes, a simple majority in
the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly, without regard to the recommendations made
by a Legislative Inter-party Commission which recommended that any modifications
to the electoral process be made by a majority 2/3 vote of all parties in the
Assembly. The right is clearly threatened by the FMLN’s lead in recent
electoral polls, as ARENA continues to push laws like this electoral reform which
open the path for corruption. The FMLN has stated that the reforms are “paving
the way to a major electoral fraud in 2009.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Funes visits <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> Following Successful “Open
Dialogue” Between FMLN and Salvadoran Communities in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes will visit the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
this week on the heels of the launching of the FMLN’s “Open Social
Dialogue” during the first week of December. The Dialogue visited
several cities in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place> as part of an initiative to create a
government platform with input from different sectors of the Salvadoran
society. Salvadorans in <st1:City w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:City>, <st1:City
w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State>,
and <st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State>
had the opportunity to express concerns as immigrants living in the <st1:country-region
w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> and as citizens of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>In <st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State>
more than 60 people participated in the dialogue, and their demands ranged from
legal advice from Salvadoran consulates and Embassy to the creation of a bank to
send remittances to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Participants expressed discontent
with the Salvadoran Embassy saying that that it should not only provide legal
assistance for people reapplying for TPS (Temporary Protected Status), but also
give advice about work permits and legal residency, and to diminish bureaucracy
in the institution. Other concerns related to the loss of retirement pensions
earned in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> when a
Salvadoran immigrant returns to <st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>,
and the need for a rehabilitation center for Salvadorans deported to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region> in
order to reincorporate them into the Salvadoran society. By participating in the
Open Dialogue, Salvadorans living in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> are included in the
party’s creation of a presidential platform.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Meanwhile, Funes arrives in <st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State>
on December 17 and will visit <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>
<st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place> from December 18-19. Funes
and the FMLN are working to build a broad coalition to defeat ARENA in the
all-important legislative, municipal, and presidential elections of 2009, and during
the trip he will work to build relationships with key members of the U.S.
Congress. He also plans to meet with a variety of international policy and
human rights organizations to discuss the current political and economic
situation in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
as well as local business and religious leaders. Finally, he will meet with
Salvadoran-American organizations in an effort to shore up relations with
Salvadorans living in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and hold a large public event in the Salvadoran community (more information at <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/washingtondc.php">www.cispes.org/washingtondc.php</a>)
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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