[Cispes-update] Capture of suspects in assassination of FMLN Mayor; Social movement rejects Association Agreement with the European Union; Rising bus fares show unwillingness to address economic crisis

[CISPES National Office]

Attorney General’s office announces capture of suspects in assassination of
FMLN Mayor

April 30, 2008



 

Also in this update:

-         Social movement rejects Association Agreement <>  with the
European Union

-         Rising bus fares demonstrate government <> ’s unwillingness to
address economic crisis

 

In the early dawn hours of April 14, El Salvador’s National Civilian Police
(PNC) arrested Isabel Cortés and Marvin Antonio Rodriguez and charged them
with January’s double murder of Wilber Funes, mayor of the town of Alegría,
and municipal employee Zulma Rivera. Cortés is a member of the Alegría city
council who was elected along with Funes on the FMLN party ticket in 2006.

 

After three months of silence regarding the investigation into the
assassinations, the Attorney General’s office and the PNC put forward their
explanation of the crimes, attributing the murders to personal differences
between the mayor and Cortés. The prosecutor in charge of the case, René
Peña, declared that “we can say with certainty that there was not a
political motive,” as had been originally suspected.

 

Sigfrido Reyes, FMLN spokesman, warned that “in no way are we going permit
[these arrests] to become a smokescreen that serves as cover for the true
perpetrators of this deed.”  Funes and Rivera were killed on January 9 when,
en route to monitor progress on a public works project, they pulled over to
the side of a rural road to help another motorist, who then shot them and
fled.

 

The FMLN has demanded a thorough investigation, as well as proof that the
two captured suspects are responsible for the murders of Funes and Rivera.
CISPES has also expressed concern about lack of government investigation
into possible political violence in recent years, and will be investigating
the conduct of the National Civilian Police and the U.S.-funded
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) during an upcoming delegation
to El Salvador in June (go here
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=363&Itemid=
51>  to find out more.)

 


Social movement rejects Association Agreement with the European Union


 

Various social and labor organizations, including the Salvadoran Union Front
(FSS) and the Union Confederation of Salvadoran Workers (CSTS), have
recently issued declarations in opposition to the proposed “Association
Agreement” between the European Union and the Central American countries.

 

These organizations consider the Association Agreement (known as ADA in
Central America) to be a free trade agreement similar to the CAFTA agreement
between Central American and the United States.  As with CAFTA, the
Association Agreement with the European Union is being negotiated without
the input or participation of the public in Central America.  

 

Based on El Salvador’s preliminary experience with CAFTA, which has lead to
negative effects such as deteriorating food sovereignty, a rising trade
deficit, and increasing poverty, social organizations warn that the ADA will
exacerbate poverty, corruption, and the dependency of the Central American
countries.  During the 3rd round of negotiations in mid-April, groups
marched in San Salvador to protest the potential impacts of the agreement.

 

The proposed Association Agreement has three main components: trade,
cooperation, and political dialogue. Under this agreement, the E.U. is
offering an increase of tariff-free products for Central American exports
through its General System of Preferences (GSP), which El Salvador has been
part of for years. However, this status could be revoked if El Salvador
fails to ratify Convention 87 of the International Labor Organization,
nullifying any potential benefits of the agreement.  In general, Salvadoran
organizations see ADA as an extension of CAFTA and have pledged to continue
opposing the signing of such an agreement.

 


Rising bus fares demonstrate government’s unwillingness to address economic
crisis


 

Faced with the threat of an increase in public bus fares from $.25 to $.35
Salvadorans continue to express their frustration with the central
government’s inability to resolve the ongoing conflict with the
transportation sector.

 

For several weeks, the transportation sector has demanded from the right
wing government of ARENA to approve a law increasing the public bus fare,
and to enter into negotiations about 16 demands they have put on the table.
To put pressure on the central government, Genaro Ramirez, president of the
Association of Salvadoran Bus Owners (AEAS) and former candidate for vice
president of El Salvador for the National Conciliation Party (PCN), called
for a national work stoppage by bus companies on April 16. The most affected
areas were Santa Tecla, Apopa, and Soyapango, among others. 

 

The economic crisis, which is being experienced daily by the Salvadoran
population, would be aggravated by an increase in the bus fares. This comes
as the third rise in the last few years;  if approved it would make the
Salvadoran bus fare the highest fare in Central America. 

 

At $.35 per trip, the average commuter would spend $41 each month on bus
fares. With the monthly minimum wage stuck at $155, this leaves few
resources for the average working family to pay for housing and food.
However, the Vice-ministry of Transportation has referred to the proposed
fare hike as the only viable option that bus companies have for dealing with
the high price of gasoline. 

 

The government’s willingness to give in to the demands of the transportation
industry has been strongly criticized by various sectors of the population.
The government has not only favored the transportation associations with a
subsidy over other the sectors that demanded the same benefits (such as the
independent bakers association), but it also has shown its incapacity to
negotiate an agreement with the transportation sector or to provide an
alternative to Salvadorans families, who continue to bear the burden of
rising gasoline prices. 

 

 

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