[Cispes-update] FMLN and Social Movement Unite Against Persecution of Organized Vendors, Privatization of Health Care

[CISPES National Office]

Note: the vote to cut funding for the SOA will happen today in the House of
Representatives!  Check out CISPES
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=222&Itemid=
27> 's alert about the SOA and funding for the International Law Enforcement
Academy (ILEA) and go to the SOA Watch webpage to send an email or fax to
your Representative: http://www.soaw.org <http://www.soaw.org/>   

 

FMLN and Social Movement Unite Against Persecution of Organized Vendors,
Privatization of Health Care

CISPES update

June 20, 2007



 

The movement of organized informal market vendors has been gaining steam
recently in El Salvador.  Back on May 30, Salvadoran Security Minister Rene
Figueroa, along with director of the National Civilian Police (PNC) Rodrigo
Avila, announced they were issuing arrest warrants for leaders of the
National Vendors' Movement, including Martin Montoya and Sandra Henriquez.
Since then, the social movement has organized a campaign denouncing the
political persecution against organized vendors and their allies.  

 

The campaign kicked off this past Tuesday when the social movement,
including members of the National Vendors Movement, presented a resolution
to the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly.  The resolution explained the dire
situation that the vendors are facing, detailing the most recent
confiscations, attacks, and repression by the PNC, including a raid that led
to riots in downtown San Salvador on May 12.   A number of organized vendors
were arrested then, and soon after arrest warrants were issued for the
movement's leadership.  Some of those arrested face trial under El
Salvador's recently approved anti-terrorism law (go here
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=219&Itemid=
27>  for more information and to respond.) Social movement organizations
also pushed the Legislative Assembly to create a special commission that
would investigate the persecution and capture of the vendors, and have
called for the PNC and the Attorney General to define the charges against
those arrested.  Additionally, the social movement called on the Legislative
Assembly to publicly denounce the persecution and repression targeting
activists and organizers, especially those within the vendors' movement.

 

FMLN and social movement protest against privatization of health

 

On June 16 the Salvadoran social movement once again took to the streets to
protest the privatization of health care, reactivating the historic marcha
blanca (white-clad marches) initiated in 2003.  The activity was organized
by the FMLN in coordination with health care organizations and new
coalitions formed in the past year against the steps towards privatization
taken by the Saca government.

 

More than 20,000 people marched from downtown San Salvador to the
neighborhood where many national hospitals are located.  Two of the major
hospitals, the maternity hospital and the general hospital Rosales, were
damaged in the 2001 earthquakes, for which the government subsequently
received more than $140 million in loans for reconstruction. The FMLN voted
to approve those loans and has denounced the fact that they have yet to be
allocated.  The party demands that the funds either be returned or utilized
to rebuild 7 national hospitals. 

 

ARENA has already presented a proposal for the "modernization" of health
care, which most social organizations have denounced as a first step towards
privatization.  Some services such as maintenance and food supplies within
the national hospitals have already been privatized. 

 

Saca consolidates "civil dictatorship"

 

During the speech celebrating his third year as president Antonio Saca
announced a plan for approving addition loans that would involve a new,
unconstitutional tactic: establishing a so-called trust fund of $350
million, and doing so without a 2/3 majority of votes in the Legislative
Assembly.  In April the right-wing ARENA party failed to ram through a
package of loans totaling more than $400 million, and thus this new tactic
is the party's attempt to subvert the power of the FMLN, which has refused
to approve any new loans.  

 

The "trust" that Saca is proposing would involve the selling of bonds with
which the government would obtain the necessary $350 million.  The bonds
would be administered by the Multi-sector Investment Bank which would then
pass it on to the government to supposedly spend on security and health. 

 

Saca's plan to create the "trust" without approval in the Legislative
Assembly violates Article184 in the SalvadoranConstitution which states that
all loans or public debt must be approved by a 2/3 majority in the Assembly.
ARENA has been weak in defending the creation of the "trust", making serious
contradictions by first denying that it would further public debt, then
admitting that it would increase debt "for the benefit of the Salvadoran
people." 

 

The FMLN strongly opposes the creation of the "trust" and has pledged to
present an unconstitutionality bill to the Supreme Court of Justice, while
publicly stating that Saca's attempt to take away the power of the
Legislative Assembly is part of consolidating ARENA's "civil dictatorship."
At the same time, the FMLN has denounced the increading rate of the
Salvadoran external debt, demanding that if the government simply taxed the
rich (i.e. the ARENA leaders themselves), then El Salvador's revenue would
double and make further loans unnecessary.

 

FMLN continues the battle for electoral reforms

 

While rumors continue to circulate about possible candidates for the 2009
Salvadoran legislative, municipal and presidential elections, the priority
of the FMLN in the electoral process has been to push for legislative
approval of three key reforms to the electoral system.  

 

The first reform relates to the national registry.  Currently, ARENA has
control over the voter registry, helping the right-wing perpetrate its
fraudulent and illegitimate victories of the past.  According to the FMLN,
the registry must be updated and made accessible to all parties.  The second
reform is the implementation of the residential vote, a step that could also
prevent ARENA from committing fraud (such as bringing people from Honduras
and Nicaragua to vote, having people voting in more than one municipality,
etc.)  The third reform is to limit the power of the president of the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) given that he is an active member of ARENA.


 

The Electoral Commission created by the Legislative Assembly has approved
the implementation of the residential vote but changes to the TSE are
pending.  According to the FMLN's electoral calendar these reforms must be
approved by September 2007; if not, the 2009 electoral process is destined
to be corrupted by the same fraudulent tactics used in past years.  

 

Finally, this past weekend, the TSE announced another important reform: the
separation of municiple and legislative elections (now scheduled for January
2009) from the presidential elections (scheduled for March 2009.)  The FMLN
disapproves of the separation as it would double the cost of the electoral
process.   Eugenio Chicas, magistrate for the FMLN in the TSE, declared that
the move was "a desperate measure" by ARENA proving its fear of a possible
FMLN victory in 2009.   He also pointed out the irony of ARENA impeding the
residential vote (for financial reasons) while favoring a huge budget
increase that would result from separating the elections. 

 

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