[Cispes-update] Funes Administration Kicks Off Free Uniform and Free Meal Programs for Students

[CISPES National Office]

*Funes Administration Kicks Off Free Uniform and Free Meal Programs for 
Students*
CISPES update
September 11, 2009
escuelas
 

/*Also in this update:*/

    * ARENA destabilization tactics: conditional votes and fake popular
      actions <#ARENA_destabilization_tactics:>
    * Popular mobilizations protest El Chaparral dam 
      <#Popular_mobilizations_protest_El>
    * FMLN Creates Commission for the Disappeared
      <#FMLN_Creates_Commission_for_the>


On August 24, Vice-President and Minister of Education Salvador Sanchez 
Cerén officially opened the bidding process for some 7 million yards of 
fabric for the production of school uniforms, as the first step towards 
implementation of President Mauricio Funes' plan to distribute two 
school uniforms, one pair of shoes, and a set of school supplies to 
every public school student in the country.  The program will not only 
benefit 1,360,000 students, but will also create jobs for small- and 
medium-sized Salvadoran businesses.  Fabric will be purchased from 
Salvadoran businesses and production will be carried out at a local 
level, with each municipality contracting local businesses and 
collectives to make the uniforms for their students.

Sanchez Cerén also inaugurated the amplification of the school meal 
program at a public school in the town of Soyapango this past August.  
The previous school meal program was limited to rural areas with high 
incidences of poverty, whereas the newly extended program includes 
students in impoverished urban areas as well. An additional 452,856 
students in kindergarten through ninth grade in 764 schools will benefit 
from the expansion, raising the total students participating on a 
national level to 1,310,286 at 4,931 schools.   The school meal program 
provides a daily serving of rice, beans, oil, sugar, milk, and a 
fortified drink to students.

Meanwhile, on July 31, Funes distributed property titles for small 
farming lots to over 900 families living throughout the department of La 
Paz  at a ceremony in the Zacatecoluca municipality. Funes attended 
second ceremony in Izalco, Sonsonate on August 14 and presented titles 
to 489 additional families.  The families have been living on and 
cultivating State-owned lands, many for decades, without official 
property titles to their lots.  One of Funes' campaign promises was the 
presentation of these titles, which then allows these families to be 
eligible for loans, technical assistance, and government projects and 
programs.  These ceremonial presentations represent the first steps in 
Funes' promise to deliver 3,500 property titles in his first 100 days as 
president.


      ARENA destabilization tactics: conditional votes and fake popular
      actions

In the coming months, the Legislative Assembly will begin to discuss and 
vote on  $1.5 billion in international loans negotiated by the Funes 
administration, designed to fund a variety of projects.  The votes of 
both primary parties---ARENA and the FMLN---are necessary for the 56 
votes required to approve the loans and next year's national budget.  
However, ARENA's legislative fraction announced on August 20 that it 
will not vote in favor of the loans unless the FMLN agrees to provide 
State financial support for San Salvador Mayor Norman Quijano's Metrobus 
project, turnover three national movie theaters to ARENA mayors, and end 
the firing of federal employees.  In response, FMLN legislative deputy 
Norma Guevara told the Salvadoran press that her party is not 
"susceptible to extortion," reminding ARENA of its promise to be a 
constructive opposition.

The Metrobus project was one of the primary campaign promises of 
Quijano, the recently elected mayor from the ARENA party, despite the 
fact that municipal mayors do not have authority over public 
transportation, which is regulated by the Vice-Ministry of Transport.  
Funes has stated that he will not outright dismiss Quijano's proposed 
project, but that comprehensive improvements to the national public 
transport system are necessary and there is no reason to limit a 
transport overhaul to San Salvador.  The government of Brazil has 
offered to provide credit and technical assistance to modernize the 
public transport fleet and revamp the entire system.  Regarding the 
demand to stop the firings of federal employees, Funes responded that it 
is simply false and there is no policy of mass firings in place.

ARENA has also been accused of orchestrating demonstrations, cloaked as 
community actions, resulting in blocked highways across the country 
during the last week of August.  The protesters claim Funes' 
administration is not fulfilling its promise to distribute seeds and 
fertilizer and demand that these items be distributed immediately.  The 
Ministry of Agriculture is currently in the process of delivering 
177,000 packets that contain 25 pounds of bean seeds and 100 pounds of 
fertilizer to farmers throughout the country.  There have been some 
delays in distribution,  generally due to the condition of the Ministry 
of Agriculture when Funes took office on June 1.  Farming equipment, 
seeds, fertilizer, and other supplies had been stolen from the 
Ministry---presumably by members of the previous administration---and 
the Ministry was therefore burdened with $15 million in debt.

The organizations participating in the road blocks include the General 
Agriculture Center (CEGAS) and the National Rural Agro-industrial 
Association (ANCA), both of which are recently created organizations.  
Equipo Maiz, a popular education collective, pointed out the manner that 
the media has covered these demonstrations in a recent educational 
flyer.  "These protests were widely covered and praised by the major 
communication media, but this time without the typical qualifiers of 
'vandalism' [used in most coverage of popular demonstrations]," read the 
flyer.  Salvadoran social movement leaders have expressed concern that 
the right-wing is organizing groups disguised as popular movements to 
destabilize the Funes administration.  


      Popular mobilizations protest El Chaparral dam

Since the beginning of the construction of the El Chaparral dam in 
October of 2008, local community members have mobilized against the 
dam.  Recently, the communities have camped out in front of the 
Presidential Home, shut down portions of the Panamerican Highway, and 
demonstrated at the dam construction site, demanding that President 
Mauricio Funes halt the dam's construction.  The Executive Lempa River 
Commission (CEL) is the autonomous government institution in charge of 
the execution of the hydro-electric dam.

The project was begun during the administration of President Tony Saca 
and is being financed by a $163 million loan from the Central American 
Economic Integration Bank (BCIE) as well as a $56 million contribution 
from the State.  It is located in the north of the department of San 
Miguel near the municipalities of San Antonio del Mosco, San Luis de la 
Reina, and Sesori.  Members of these communities oppose the dam project 
and say it will flood and destroy valuable farmland, thereby displacing 
many families that reside near the site.  They also criticize the 
project's bidding process and the manner in which construction was 
conceded to the Italian-based Astaldi Construction Corporation.

On July 22, over 200 citizens of nearby municipalities protested outside 
the construction site and met with El Salvador's Human Rights Ombudsman 
Oscar Luna.  Luna has called on the government to thoroughly review the 
project and offered to mediate between the communities and government 
officials.  He cited a report released by the Electricity and 
Telecommunications General Superintendence (SIGET) that concluded that 
the dam's construction should be suspended due to the controversial 
nature of the dam and the likelihood for conflict if construction 
continues at this time.  The report cites many irregularities including: 
anomalies in the bidding and concession process, failure to conduct a 
thorough consultation with the surrounding communities, and deficiencies 
within the environmental impact report presented by the CEL.


      FMLN Creates Commission for the Disappeared

On Monday, August 31, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugo Martinez 
announced that the government of El Salvador will create a Commission 
for the Disappeared to investigate cases of children forcibly 
disappeared and separated from their families during the Civil War.  
Martinez will ask President Mauricio Funes to decree an executive order 
for the creation of the Commission during the 15th anniversary 
celebration of the non-governmental organization Pro-Búsqueda.  Since 
1994, Pro-Búsqueda has investigated cases of disappeared children and 
reunited 214 people with their families. Reyna Portillo of Pro-Búsqueda 
notes that this will mark the first time that their organization has had 
a relationship with the government.  

During the Civil War in El Salvador, the Armed Forces and other State 
security forces were responsible for the separation of many children 
from their families.  According to Pro-Búsqueda, some of these children 
were literally torn from the arms of their parents, although the 
majority became orphans after State-sponsored massacres and armed 
confrontations.  Such children, found amongst the cadavers following 
military massacres, were given away, sent abroad for adoption, or 
eventually put to work in the Armed Forces.  Martinez said that he 
believes that the government should recognize its responsibility to the 
separated families.  He explained that previous administrations refused 
to acknowledge the disappearances and he emphasized the importance of 
these investigations for the historical memory of the country.  
"Forgetting is setting the foundation for other boys and girls in our 
country to continue being [forcibly] disappeared," said Martinez.
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