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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=6
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>National
Emergency: Intense rains leave 192 dead<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3 face=Times><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3 face=Times><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><img width=255 height=192 id="_x0000_i1030"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01CA67BA.B6929C40"><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4 color=navy
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:navy;font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4 color=navy
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:navy;font-weight:normal'><a href="http://www.cispes.org/">CISPES</a></span></font></b><font
size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:normal'> update<o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>November
17, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Included in this update:<font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></i></b></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><i><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
italic'><a href="#_Jesuit_martyrs_receive">Jesuit martyrs receive El
Salvador’s highest civilian honor</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><i><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
italic'><a href="#_29_years_later,">29 years later, reparations for
Romero’s murder</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><i><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
italic'><a href="#_2010_budget_approved;">2010 budget approved; FMLN continues
pushing for fiscal reform</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></li>
</ul>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>On Saturday, November 7, intense rains
produced by Hurricane Ida caused major destruction in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> leaving 192 people dead
and 14,295 people in shelters. A month’s worth of rain (14 inches) fell
in less than three hours, causing floods and landslides that destroyed homes,
roads, bridges, and entire communities. The departments of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City> and San Vicente were the most
affected. Approximately 80 people are still missing as rescue workers dig through
the mud and collapsed buildings in search of survivors and bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>President Mauricio Funes declared a state
of National Emergency and the Legislative Assembly quickly followed suit,
declaring a state of National Calamity—a measure that allows Funes’
administration to reallocate funds to attend to the crisis. According to
Funes, the failure of previous administrations to carry out risk-management
projects has intensified the gravity of the disaster, which is
disproportionately affecting poor and marginalized communities. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Venezuela</span></font></st1:place></st1:country-region><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"'> was one of
the first countries to provide relief aid, sending two airplanes full of food,
supplies, and medicine on Monday, November 9. Other countries including <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Taiwan</st1:country-region>, and the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
also responded to requests for aid with supplies and money. <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region> sent a
team of doctors that are attending to the needs of the victims in San Vicente.
<a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=636&Itemid=1">CISPES
has also raised $6,000</a> to send to organizations doing relief work.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><a name="_Jesuit_martyrs_receive"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Jesuit martyrs receive <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
highest civilian honor<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>On Saturday, November 14, hundreds
commemorated the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the assassination of six Jesuit
priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter at the Central American University
(UCA). The ceremony included a candlelight procession, musical and cultural
acts, and a Mass in honor of the martyrs. President Funes also honored the
five Spanish priests with the José Matías Delgado National Order—<st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
highest civilian honor—in a public event at the Presidential Home on November
16. The Spanish priests—Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín Baró, Segundo
Montes, Armando López, Juan Ramón Moreno—were murdered on November 16<sup>th</sup>,
1989 by the US-trained and equipped Atlacatl Battalion of the Salvadoran army
along with their housekeeper, her daughter, and Salvadoran priest Joaquín Lopez
y Lopez.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The current rector of the UCA, José María
Trojeira, highlighted the importance of Funes’ decision to honor the
martyrs, “in 20 years, not a single State structure has made a
recognition of the dignity of these priests who gave their lives in defense of
human rights…it was necessary to recognize them.” The perpetrators
of the crime remain unpunished since the 1993 passage of an Amnesty Law that
forbids punishment of crimes committed during the Salvadoran Civil War;
however, in November of 2008, the Spanish High Court opened <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=482&Itemid=28">proceedings
against 14 military officials and ex-President of the Republic</a> Alfredo
Cristiani (current president of the ARENA party) for the November 16 murders.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><a name="_29_years_later,"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>29 years later,
reparations for Romero’s murder<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Another major step in confronting
government impunity surrounding the Civil War took place on November 7 when <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Ministry of Foreign Relations announced it would make reparations for the 1980
murder of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero and fulfill the 2000 resolution of
the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (CIDH). Death squad operatives
under the direction of Major Roberto D’Aubuisson shot Archbishop Romero,
an outspoken critic of government repression and the plight of <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>’s poor, while he was
performing a Mass in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City>.
D’Aubuisson later founded the ARENA party in 1983.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>David Morales, director of the Ministry
of Foreign Relations’ Commission on Human Rights, explained that part of
the reparations would include the construction of a plaza in honor of Romero
and the production of a video about his life and accomplishments. The CIDH
resolution also calls for a government investigation into Romero’s murder
and the repeal of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Amnesty Law. According to
Morales, the Funes administration, including the Minister of Defense, is fully prepared
to collaborate on the repeal; however, the power to repeal the law rests in the
hands of the Legislative Assembly. Within 30 days, the Funes administration
will present a report to the CIDH detailing the exact measures they will take
to complete the reparations and resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><a name="_2010_budget_approved;"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>2010 budget approved;
FMLN continues pushing for fiscal reform<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>On Friday, November 6, the Legislative
Assembly approved the $3.654 billion 2010 General Budget with 64 of the 84
total votes. This budget covers basic functioning of the government and is quite
similar to the 2009 General Budget. The Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)
party was the only legislative fraction that did not give their votes, despite
the uncontroversial nature of the budget. The <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=634&Itemid=28">12
ARENA deputies who defected</a> from the party on October 12 and formed their
own fraction—known as the Grand Alliance for National Unity or GANA—voted
to approve the budget, allowing it to pass despite ARENA’s plans to stall
it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The next step for the FMLN and Funes
administration will be the approval of the 2010 Extraordinary Budget and the
international loans to finance it. The Extraordinary Budget totals an additional
$404 million earmarked for social investment in areas such as education, public
health, public works, and crime prevention programs. It requires a two-thirds
majority (56 votes) to be approved along with its international financing.
Before the arrival of the GANA fraction, ARENA’s votes would have been
necessary for its approval. Given the new Assembly composition, the FMLN can obtain
a two-thirds majority with support from GANA and the National Conciliation
Party (PCN).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Along with the 2010 Extraordinary Budget,
a Fiscal Reform project presented by the Funes administration is on deck for Assembly
debate and vote in the upcoming weeks. The project entails a series of laws
intended to close legal loopholes that have allowed tax evasion to occur,
thereby increasing the government’s tax income by nearly $600 million a
year. The National Association of Private Businesses (ANEP) has harshly
criticized the reform. Alex Segovia, Funes’ Technical Secretary,
explained that this is one of the most difficult reforms to pass because it
affects the privileged business sector. “Who will this reform affect? It
isn’t the poor, or the middle class. It is those sectors…that have
the resources to study the laws and elude them or, even worse, that have the
resources to be able to evade [taxes],” he explained.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=navy face=Times><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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