March 1, 2002
IN THE NEWS
Massive Firings in the Public Sector
At the end of December 2001 and beginning of January 2002, more than 8000 government employees were laid off. This is the latest and the most extensive in a series of cutbacks which the current administration attributes to a process of state modernization and the privatization of public services such as telephone, water and electricity. In this particular case, three government ministries (the Ministry of Justice, of Security, and of the Interior) were fused into one to form the Ministry of Government.
The process was shrouded in misinformation and was preceded by a reform in the Civil Service Law passed on December 19th 2001, with votes from the ARENA, PCN, PDC, and CDU parties. This reform reduced the government’s financial responsibility to retired or terminated employees and set the stage for the layoffs. There have been conflicting reports regarding the number of workers who lost their jobs, ranging from 7,499 (la Prensa Gráfica, January3 2002) to 8,416 (El Diario de Hoy, January 4 2002). According to the government human rights office, the total is 8,322 persons fired. According to some union leaders, one goal of the firings was to eliminate persons involved in labor organizations (Diario de Hoy, January 5 2002).
Several editorials, while sometimes expressing support for “modernization,” have denounced the mass firings as irresponsible lack of consideration for citizens’ needs, a lack that has resulted in economic disaster for many families and mass public protests in the streets of San Salvador. The human rights ombudsperson, Beatrice de Carrillo, made a statement condemning the public sector layoffs on January 4th (CoLatino, January 4 2002). She claimed that modernization should never be carried out at the cost of leaving thousands in the streets and without work, denouncing the lack of transitional planning or adequate preparation. She also claimed that the firings were illegal and involved deception, emphasizing that most public employees were unaware of the reforms passed in mid-December reducing their rights, and were pressured into “voluntary” retirement. During the month of January there were frequent peaceful demonstrations by the workers and their families. This has not resulted in any relenting on the part of the government, and in fact the firings seem to be continuing, though at a lower intensity.
United States president George W. Bush will be visiting El Salvador in March, and one of his stated objectives is to support and encourage the process of modernization of the state in El Salvador. This “modernization” is being carried out in deceptive and illegal ways, sending thousands of workers into a state of insecurity and greater poverty.
10th Anniversary of the Peace Accords
In the last few months there has been a whirlwind of public statements and debates regarding the 10th Anniversary of the Chapultepec Peace Accords that marked the end of the 12-year civil war in El Salvador. There has been analysis, evaluation, projection, polemic, celebration, accusations, and more than occasional cynicism. There are those who insist that there has been complete compliance with the Peace Accords, and there are many who critique the results as incomplete and inadequate.
Undoubtedly the implementation of the Peace Accords brought about some positive and marked changes. The opening of the political arena to dissenting views on social and political issues is one example. The Armed Forces were reformed and purged of human rights violators (though due to the amnesty of 1993 most never faced trial). The National Civil Police, formed by the Peace Accords, do not carry out the “internal defense” terror tactics that marked the National Guard and Treasury Police in the 1980s. Land transferral to ex-combatents has been carried out. The FMLN stands as one of the few cases where a guerrilla organization has successfully transformed itself into a viable political party within a multi-party system. The creation of the government human rights office and the position of human rights ombudsperson was also an extremely significant step following the horrors of the war.
Without denying the significance of each of these achievements, there are some serious critiques to be made. In spite of the successful transfer of land to ex-combatants, in the 10 years since the Peace Accords the agricultural sector in El Salvador has suffered crisis and depression. The situation is especially harsh for ex-combatants who had to start over in 1992 with heavy debt, little investment credit, and little to no development on their plots of land. The goal of “successful economic and social reinsertion of ex-combatants” was never fulfilled. As for the National Civil Police, they are not, as their predecessors were, tools of a coordinated state repression. However, according to the human rights ombudswoman, they are responsible for a majority of the human rights violations reported to the government human rights office. There is continued suspicion and lack of faith in the police on the part of the general population. It is worth noting however, and perhaps even more disturbing, that faith in the government human rights office has plummeted by nearly 50% since 1995. At the current moment a greater percentage of the population express trust in the armed forces than in this office. Clearly the successes of the Peace Accords are not unconditional, and considering the present trends the loss of these gains seems very possible.
Many citizens hoped for greater effects from the Peace Accords than the mere fulfillment of the letter of their reforms. They hoped that public participation in the political process would lead to a government which more closely represents its constituency, policy reforms that affect the fabric of society and benefit the masses rather than the elites, and the construction of a society of peace. They hoped that citizens could trust public institutions and use them (for example the legal system) to work in favor of justice in everyday situations as well as through larger structural reforms. This has not panned out.
As for a society of peace, many would say that in spite of the absence of civil war, El Salvador is not at peace. Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with most homicides worldwide, and El Salvador is one of the more violent countries within the region with around 100 murders per 100,000 people. There is also a relatively high incidence of assault and other violent crime. In part there is a lasting psycho-social influence from the civil war: excombatants are more likely to be in prison for committing violent crimes. There are, however, many other influences that are structural and lasting, which is more troubling: those who are poor, unemployed, disenfranchised, as well as those who have suffered from domestic or street violence are also more likely to turn to crime or be abusive of others in their communities or families.
Suffering from the economic situation is also widespread and complex. The country’s elite have abandoned their agricultural investments and gone into international finance. Because of this the post-war administrations have essentially ceased support and attention to the agricultural sector, the life’s blood of a majority of the population, and abandoned them to harsh competition and the crises of the international market. It is no longer viable to make a living off a small plot of land, and so farmers plunge deeper into debt and their families ward of starvation. Real wages have dropped, not to speak of respect for human and labor rights, with the post-war focus on maquilas and free trade zones. The economy is dependent on family remittances from loved ones who have immigrated overseas, and those who don’t have a brother or aunt or cousin in the States fall even farther into extreme poverty and insecurity.
The conclusion is that for the majority of the people of El Salvador instability, violence, and powerlessness are still very much a part of life. Salvadorans name street violence, poverty and economic insecurity, and poor governance as their major concerns about the current state of their country. The root causes of the war have shifted, taken on different masks, but they continue. How can there be peace when so many lack basic needs such as housing, food, education, health care, and work? How can there be peace when violence is a constant threat on the streets and in homes?
The positive steps taken by the Peace Accords have been inadequately developed by those in positions of leadership. The FMLN participate politically but many feel they have abandoned many of their grassroots social goals in order to concentrate on elections. The popular organizations have suffered general disintegration due to the years of war, exhaustion, infighting, and difficulty refocusing on the postwar issues of economics and street crime. Ten years after the acclaimed coming of peace, much remains to be done.
These reflections arose in large part from participation in an international conference on the 10th anniversary of the Chapultepec Peace Accords on the 30th and 31st of January of this year. The conference was organized by Centro de Paz (CEPAZ) in San Salvador.
The speakers included Salvador Sánchez Cerén (FMLN general coordinator and a signer of the Peace Accords), Dr. Victoria Marina Velásquez de Avilés (magistrate of the Supreme Court) and Father José María Tojeira (rector of the University of Central America, or UCA). There were also participatory round table discussions on focus issues.
CRISPAZ ANNOUNCEMENTS
We are now accepting applications for the Summer Immersion Program, an intensive short-term internship accompanying rural communities in El Salvador. The 2002 program will run from approximately June 1- August 15. The deadline for application to the 2002 program is April 1st.
We are also accepting applications for our long-term CRISPAZ Volunteer Program, which involves a commitment of at least 15 months including orientation. The start dates for the CVP in 2002 are around June 1st and October 1st. Applications are accepted at any time, and should be submitted at least 3 months before the contemplated start date.
Further information can be found on our website at www.crispaz.org or feel free to write cvp-sip@navegante.com.sv to communicate directly with our program staff in El Salvador.
CALENDAR

13th of January 1st anniversary of the 2001 earthquake, 7.9 on the Richter scale
16th of January 10th Anniversary of the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords
20th of January 23rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Father Octavio Ortiz
1st of February Date of the execution of Agustin Farabundo Martí (1932)
13th of February 1st anniversary of 2001’s second earthquake
12th of March 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of Father Rutilio Grande
24th of March 22nd anniversary of the martyrdom of Monseñor Oscar Romero
SOURCES CITED

La Prensa Gráfica, El Diario de Hoy, & CoLatino. (daily Salvadoran newspapers)
Report of Human Development in El Salvador, 2001. United Nations Development Program.
January 2002. Association Yek Ineme bulletin on the Peace Accords Anniversary.
30-31 January 2002. Presentations and texts, CEPAZ Conference on the 10th Anniversary of the Peace Accords.
5 February 2002. Presentation by Miguel Cruz, director of the Institute of Public Opinion.
Publication of materials of this presentation: IUDOP Press Bulletin #1 of 2002
21 February 2002. Presentation by Raúl Moreno of the Center for Consumer Defense
25 February 2002. Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP), University of Central America, http://www.uca.edu.sv/publica/iudop/principal.htm
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