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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;font-weight:bold'>El Salvador</span></font></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><font
size=5><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-weight:bold'> Prepares to Celebrate Historic
Presidential Inauguration<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>Special
Inauguration CISPES Update<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>May 29, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><img width=353
height=328 id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:image001.jpg@01C9E084.5FC91B90"><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'>Also in this update:<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="#_New_administration_to">New administration to face many challenges
including bankrupt government, “crisis of institutionality”</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="#_Right-wing_block_at">Right-wing block at the National Assembly and
the institutional crisis</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="#_Funes_begins_naming">Funes begins naming cabinet and announces
plans for a more efficient presidential administration</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<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'>On Monday, June 1 Salvadorans will congregate to celebrate the
inauguration of Mauricio Funes as president and Salvador Sanchez Ceren as
vice-president. Every five years there is a change of the presidency in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
but this is the first time that the country will witness a transition of power
from a right-wing, conservative administration to a leftist administration,
headed by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). This historic
event has the international community and press focused on <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'>So far over twenty dignitaries (including 15 presidents) have confirmed
their participation in the event in which current president Antonio Saca, of
the right-wing ARENA party, will officially leave office so that Funes can
assume the presidency. The dignitaries including Spanish Prince Felipe De
Borbon, the U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and presidents Hugo Chavez
of Venezuela, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Evo Morales of Bolivia,
Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Daniel Ortega of
Nicaragua, and Felipe Calderon of Mexico. CISPES will also have a delegation
on hand for the swearing in of Funes. Check out the <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=573&Itemid=29">CISPES
media advisory here.</a><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, over 300 national and 400 international journalists have
solicited press credentials for the inauguration, including reporters from
foreign newspapers like Al Jazeera and China Continental. Some are coming
accompanying the heads of state of their country. <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 official Presidential Inauguration ceremony organized by the
government will take place in the Convention Center of the <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Feria Internacional </span></i>in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place> under high security measures. A
massive popular celebration of the inauguration organized by the FMLN will take
place at Cuscatlán Stadium in the afternoon of June 1. Several foreign heads
of state, including <st1:country-region w:st="on">Venezuela</st1:country-region>’s
Chavez and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
Lula are expected to also attend this event.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_New_administration_to"></a><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>New administration to
face many challenges including bankrupt government, “crisis of
institutionality”<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<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'>The Funes administration will be taking over executive power in the
face of enormous challenges, including a severe shortage of government capital
and resources. Critics have accused current President Saca of hiding the extent
of the governments’ fiscal crisis in order to not damage the former
presidential candidate of his ARENA party during the campaign. According to
government records millions of dollars are owed to service providers and
employees, including $25 million in subsidies owed to electricity providers.
“The current financial situation is very concerning. The fiscal reality
is further complicated by the impact of the crisis, the management of spending,
and the management of revenue,” said Funes’s financial advisor and
future Technical Secretary to the President Alex Segovia.<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'>Funes is expected to inherit a government with only $40 million in
funds available for the next six months. “According to our accounts,
[the $40 million] won’t even be left because the identification of
deficits continue to grow,” explained FMLN legislative deputy Norma
Guevara, who is also a member of the National Assembly’s Budget
Committee.<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 Legislative Assembly this week approved five decrees to alleviate
the financial situation, including the release of $1.8 million dollars in
government bonds and the reallocation of $950 million in loans from the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank. These loans were originally procured by
President Saca for social investment and to pay off certain short term loans.
Segovia has said that approximately a month after taking office the new
administration will publically release a comprehensive report on the financial
situation of the country because the people of El Salvador “deserve to
know the current situation the country; it is a responsibility of the new
government.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_Right-wing_block_at"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Right-wing block at the
National Assembly and the institutional crisis <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<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 addition to the economic challenges the new administration will have
to deal with, Funes will also confront a polarized Legislative Assembly with an
obstinate Right-wing block. The new Legislature began on May 1 and has already
passed a reform the removes the president’s right to oversee the National
Registry of Naturalized Persons (RNPN), the institution which generates the
Voter Registry. The Right-wing block also approved reforms which provide job security
protections to upper-level employees of the federal government, an attempt to
keep ARENA officials in power under Funes’s new administration.<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'>Critics have decried a “crisis of institutionality” as the
Right-wing block, led by ARENA, has obstructed the selection of a new Attorney
General in an attempt to keep ARENA-ally and former Adjunct Attorney General
Astor Escalante in the position. Escalante appropriated the position after the
former Attorney General’s term expired, despite the constitutional
requirement that the Attorney General be selected with 56 votes by the
Legislative Assembly. On May 27, various professional organizations of judges
marched to the Legislative Assembly demanding the election of a new Attorney
General. Some judges are refusing to try their cases, as criminal charges
cannot legally be brought in the absence of an Attorney General.<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, new Supreme Court Magistrates have yet to be selected,
despite the fact that their terms will soon expire. This would leave the
Constitutional Chamber vacant. The FMLN maintains that it is prepared to begin
selections, but a legal process opened in the Constitutional Chamber has
challenged several self-nominations. The FMLN acknowledges the unethical
nature of self-nominations, but maintains that the need for a functioning
Supreme Court is paramount and the Legislative Assembly will be able to filter
out such unethical nominations.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_Funes_begins_naming"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Funes begins naming
cabinet and announces plans for a more efficient presidential administration<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<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 the week prior to Funes’ inauguration, the president-elect has
announced the names of many key position in his future cabinet. Funes appears
to be following through on his promise to create a cabinet that transcends
party ties, and this is particularly apparent in his economic appointments.<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 economic cabinet will be headed by Alex Segovia as the Technical
Secretary to the President and as Chief Economic and Social advisor. <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Segovia</st1:City></st1:place> has been
Funes’s advisor on economic policy throughout the campaign and transition
process. Current Democratic Change party (CD) legislative deputy Héctor Dada
was named as Minister of Economy and Carlos Cáceres, former president of the
Salvadoran Banking Association (ABANSA), will be the Treasury Minister. <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'>Funes’s choice for Minister of Labor, <em><i><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-style:normal'>Dr.</span></font></i></em>
Victoria Marina de Avilés, was picked after consultation with the Salvadoran
union movement, and union leaders were ecstatic at the selection. De Avilés
previously served as Human Rights Ombudswoman and has a strong record of
support for labor rights. Dr. María Isabel Rodríguez, former President of the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, was named as the Minister
of Public Health. Former <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>
mayor for the FMLN, Dr. Violeta Menjívar, will head one of the Public Health
Vice-Ministries. Vice-President-elect Salvador Sánchez Cerén, who has promised
to take on a more active role than previous vice-presidents, will head up the
Ministry of Education.<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'>FMLN legislative deputy Manuel Melgar is slated to become Minister of
Security, an announcement that sparked rumors of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> retaliation. The <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Prensa Gráfica</span></i> newspaper reported that
anonymous sources within the US Embassy had spoken of the possibility of
cutting US military and security aid to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> because of
Melgar’s past history in the Revolutionary People’s Army (ERP)
during the Civil War. No official statement has been made by the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
government in reference to Melgar’s designation as Security Minister.<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'>Funes has also spoken about dissolving Presidential Commissioners and
other posts created by the Saca Administration that he believes duplicate the
work of other government institutions. “There are positions that came to
be something like a cemetery for those politicians that wanted to retire, or
for those that wanted to remove themselves from public administration,”
he explained. “If there is a need to tighten our belts not only the most
poor will tighten theirs, but also the government, and the beginning of
austerity is making public administration more efficient by eliminating those
units, secretariats, and commissions that have no reason to exist and can
therefore be absorbed by another Ministry or Secretariat.”<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'>As the names of the future cabinet continue to be announced and the
next Salvadoran presidential administration takes shape, the international
community and citizens are witnessing the beginnings of real change: political
leadership ready to confront the economic crisis head on, and social ministries
staffed with leaders who are committed to the people and who will provide space
for social movements in the new government.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><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'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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