[Cispes-update] US Embassy Demands FMLN Position on Foreign Policy

CISPES National Office cispes at cispes.org
Tue Dec 8 13:49:20 EST 2009


 


US Embassy Demands FMLN Position on Foreign Policy


 


 





 


 


CISPES <http://www.cispes.org/>  update


December 8, 2009

 

Included in this update:


 


*	Anti-mining coalition <>  launches spirited advertising campaign
*	Reconstruction <>  post-Hurricane Ida
*	ARENA politicizes tragedy <>  left by Ida
*	Ex-Hermosa <>  Manufacturing workers win union recognition

 

On Friday, November 27, the US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Robert Blau
announced that “anti-american” statements in a speech made by Vice President
Salvador Sánchez Cerén in Caracas, Venezuela, “could have negative effects”
on US Congressional debates concerning bilateral aid.  “So I want to know,
what is the true position of the FMLN with respect to my country?” he went
on.

 

The questioning and threats from the US Embassy came after Sánchez Cerén
attended a gathering of leftist political parties in Caracas along with
other members of the FMLN party’s leadership.  At the event, the FMLN
embraced 21st Century Socialism and the call for a 5th Socialist
International.  Furthermore, the party rejected the US-proposed military
bases in Colombia and Sánchez Cerén called for Latin American unity in
confronting the US empire.

 

El Salvador’s right wing media and the ARENA party have latched on to the
statements from the US Embassy, attempting to spread fear of US retaliation
for Sánchez Cerén’s statements.  The strategy is a continuation of the fear
campaign used in the lead up to the March 15 presidential elections that
brought the FMLN to power, in which voters were told that an FMLN victory
would sour relations with the US and result in mass deportations and a halt
to monies sent home from Salvadorans living in the US.

 

This reality of continued US political and economic intervention remains a
serious factor for El Salvador in determining its foreign policy. When
questioned about Sánchez Cerén’s statements, President Funes made a
distinction, remarking, “who participated in that encounter was the FMLN as
a political party, and they have every right to attend whichever convention
they are invited to; the government did not participate.” 

 


Anti-mining coalition launches spirited advertising campaign


 

The second week of November, the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining
(the Mesa) launched a new, strategic advertising campaign to educate people
in El Salvador about the lawsuits
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=496&Itemid=
28>  filed by two North American mining companies against the government and
to prompt national dialogue about the destructive effects of mining.
Billboards and signs on buses and overpasses depict a map of El Salvador
with gold blocks atop the Northern zone; clawed hands hover over the map,
reaching for the gold.  Beneath the image, the text reads: “Mining companies
extort El Salvador!  Canadian and U.S. companies are each demanding hundreds
of millions of dollars.”  Radio spots further explain the impacts of mining,
Pacific Rim and Commerce Group’s lawsuits, and how the suits override
national sovereignty.  The billboards and signs are currently are located in
San Salvador and in the zones affected by mining; the radio spots are airing
nationally.

 

In other Mesa news, the case of murdered Mesa member and prominent
anti-mining
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=610&Itemid=
28>  activist Marcelo Rivera continues to draw international attention.
During a mid-November trip to El Salvador, U.S. Representative Jim McGovern
(D-MA) met with members of the Funes Administration, the National Civilian
Police (PNC), and the Attorney General to express concern over the status of
Marcelo’s case, as well as the case of murdered
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=621&Itemid=
28>  Teamster organizer Gilberto Soto, and other court cases involving
suspected political violence.  Rep. McGovern encouraged further
investigation into the political motives of these cases to demonstrate a
solid commitment to ending impunity in El Salvador.  

 


Reconstruction post-Hurricane Ida


 

Just over four weeks since Hurricane
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=35&
Itemid=28>  Ida’s torrential rains and left 198 dead, the true extent of the
damage is still being assessed.  The floods and mudslides caused by the
storm destroyed 638 homes and left another 1,250 in extremely high risk.
The country’s infrastructure was also hit hard, with 47 bridges and 70 major
thoroughfares still in need of major repairs.  Many communities’ water
distribution systems were also destroyed.  Final costs of the damages will
be determined on December 4 when the Latin American and Caribbean Economic
Commission (CEPAL) presents a diagnostic report to the government.  Minister
of the Interior Humberto Centeno and Minister of Public Works Gerson
Martínez explained that the upcoming reconstruction phase will tackle
infrastructure and community planning problems that languished under past
administrations.

 

The government has received over $10 million in clothes, food, supplies, and
cash donations from the international community, as well as brigades of
Cuban doctors and Venezuelan engineers.  The administration of this
international aid has been characterized by a heightened level of
transparency.  Unlike the administrations who governed during past natural
disasters, Funes’ cabinet has implemented a public auditing system to report
the amounts of aid and how the funds are distributed or spent. The Funes
Administration is now soliciting international cooperation for the country’s
reconstruction efforts.

 


ARENA politicizes tragedy left by Ida


 

ARENA’s legislative fraction has petitioned the National Assembly to censure
Minister of the Interior, Humberto Centeno, for negligence in his response
to the disaster caused by Hurricane Ida.  Many analysts have questioned
whether ARENA’s legislative petition is anything more than retaliation for
Centeno’s efforts to expose corruption within previous administrations.  On
October 1, Centeno presented corruption charges against two former Ministers
of the Interior—both from ARENA administrations.  No other institutions have
criticized Centeno’s management of the emergency.

 

On November 17, protesters claiming to be from affected zones shut down the
avenue in front of the Ministry of the Interior, demanding aid for their
communities.  However, when journalists asked them what zones they were
from, none of the protesters were able to name an affected area.  Social
movement leaders have accused ARENA of mobilizing and paying “phony”
demonstrators, who were not actually from affected areas.

 


Ex-Hermosa Manufacturing workers win union recognition


 

More than five years after being fired and blacklisted for organizing a
union to address workplace abuses and unpaid wages [link to action alert
with background on case], the former workers at the Hermosa Manufacturing
textile maquila were officially recognized as a union by the Ministry of
Labor this past weekend.  On November 29, the founding General Assembly of
the Textile Workers Union (SITRASACOSI) celebrated its constitution and
elected a provisional Board of Directors.  Estela Ramirez, newly-elected
union president, expressed the groups’ satisfaction at finally achieving
legal union recognition.  “This will be a powerful new tool as we continue
in our struggle for the unpaid wages and benefits that we are owed,” she
declared.

 

 

 

 

 

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