Meanwhile, the ARENA government recently announced the
result of the national census that was compiled in May, 2008. The census results
were released 6 months later than originally promised. The FMLN party and other
social organizations, including the legal organization FUNDASPAD, have
questioned the results of the census, asserting that the results have been
manipulated and do not coincide with population records of municipal
governments. Citizen Action (ACD) – a coalition made up of various Salvadoran
legal and election-focused groups – also raised questions about a report made by
the Organization of American States (OAS) last year that was not made public by
the government but which raises serious concerns about the electoral registry.
Among the problems with the new census are
inconsistencies identified by officials from the northern municipality of
Las Vueltas, in the
department of Chalatenango, who criticized the fact that the census attributes
only 940 habitants to the town, while the population reflected in the central
government’s Solidarity Network program is 1,491. The difference of 551 people
between the results of the census and other official records is believed to be a
result of manipulation to favor the governing party in the upcoming elections,
and may also result in a reduction of governmental funds awarded to some
municipal governments. Las Vueltas, governed by the FMLN since 1994, is part of
a list of FMLN municipalities whose populations have been reduced in the
official census. Especially alarming are the cases of large cities like Santa
Tecla, with a supposed 34% reduction, and Soyapango, which shows a 19% decrease.
The FMLN has denounced the “coincidence” of having many FMLN municipal
strongholds experience a significant reduction in population. Even the right
leaning Christian Democratic Party (PDC), through its deputy Mauricio Rodriguez,
has questioned the results of the census.
More
neoliberal measures to “alleviate” economic crisis
In the context of the economic crisis and the outcries
of the agricultural sector, Salvadoran President Antonio Saca is pushing for the
prompt approval of the Land-Lease Law, which seeks to “legalize” land tenure and
thus increase local production of basic grains. Various campesino and social
organizations, such as the National Agricultural Workers (ANTA), have denounced
that the law is a “step back” from the land reform of the
1980s.
Equipo Maiz, a
popular education organization, explains that this law is part of the ongoing
implementation of the neoliberal economic model in the rural areas of El
Salvador. Under the proposed new law, President
Saca intendes to promote establishment of maquiladoras (textile manufacturing
plants) in rural areas, export-oriented fruit orchards, and transnational
hotels. These sectors would promote neither national food sovereignty nor local
production. The ARENA party’s policies have worked to legally concentrate
landholdings among large national and international corporations, which tends to
work against local production, food sovereignty, and the interests of
cooperatives and campesino
workers.
Attacks instead of
solutions
The mixed public-private enterprise
established by FMLN municipal governments known as “Energy for El
Salvador” (ENEPASA) continues to come under
attack by the ARENA central government. Instead of recognizing the direct
benefits ENEPASA, a program created under the Latin America-wide ALBA trade
initiative that imports subsidized oil from Venezuela, the government seeks to
further politicize the issue and distort those
benefits.
According to the Economy Minister Yolanda de Gavidia,
ENEPASA is an example of “disloyal competition,” given that major gas stations
cannot offer the same low prices that ENEPASA does. However, ENEPASA president
and mayor of Soyapango Carlos Ruiz defended the transparency of the enterprise
and has reiterated its openness to a possible government
investigation.
In just four months, ENEPASA has provided savings to
Salvadorans through its low gas prices and contributed over $5 million to the
government’s budget through taxes paid. Currently, the concrete solutions
presented by the FMLN party to the economic crisis in El
Salvador are subject to attacks and
investigations by the central government, which has at the same time been
strongly criticized for its lack of initiative and ability to offer solutions to
the crisis.
Even founding members of the ARENA party such as Hugo
Barrera have publicly alerted their party that they should focus more on the
problems facing the nation, rather than attacking the FMLN. Mr. Barrera made
these comments in relation to Saca’s latest smear campaign, which seeks to link
FMLN leader Jose Luis Merino to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC). Barrera warned both ARENA presidential candidate Rodrigo Avila and the
party’s leadership to “not go around talking about [relations between the FMLN
and the FARC] anymore.” However, ARENA has continued to assert such connections
through the national media.
