The political parties are focussed on 1999; as a result, some have begun to make the necessary readjustments in their internal functioning. Up to this point, the ARENA party has taken the lion's share of the news in the media, not only because it is the first party to make public the name of one of its pre-candidates--Francisco Flores--, but because their candidate could be heading up one of the sectors of the party which is unsatisfied with the leadership of the old guard of ARENA--a sector that could have its niche in the Legislative Assembly. In some ways, Cristiani's initial reaction to Flores' self-proclamation as an ARENA pre-candidate could have been a sign of some of the existing frictions within the right-wing party, although the position taken by the President of COENA at a later point--afterwards he supported Flores' nomination--could be aimed at underlining the "cement-like" unity of the party.

All in all, however, what's happening inside ARENA cannot help but generate a wide variance in hypotheses and interpretations. One of the most widely accepted speculations is the one which takes into account the undeniable tendencies existing inside ARENA, which--although they may be fully articulated into a common project in favor of free enterprise and the rejection of any initiative smacking of social solidarity-- do not seem to be in full agreement as to which sectors of big business should be blessed; nor are they clear as to who will be those who lead the ARENA initiative. Which sectors will receive the privileges: banking, agricultural or industrial interests? Who will administer the right-wing project? The hard-liners like Mario Acosta Oertel? The successful businessmen like Roberto Murray Meza? The "old foxes" like Alfredo Cristiani? Or will it be the young intellectuals like Francisco Flores?

If these possibilities for interpretation contain some grain of reality, it appears that things inside ARENA are not as tranquil as it might appear at first glance. There is significant evidence for the existence of fissures in the party on the basis of existing power struggles between interest groups as well as on the basis of conflicts between various persons (and their followers) which--supported by their direct lineage from Roberto D'Aubuisson, the founding father, in a presumed historical protagonism or support intellectual brilliance--aim to lead it.

But the party is not, for all this, ready to fall into an abyss, nor is its political future uncertain. Nevertheless, we are seeing power struggles and conflicts that have made it falter at more than one point in its disciplinary unity which, even before the signing of the Peace Accords, kept ARENA rank and file far from the madding crowd of dissidence. When the country achieved peace, ARENA reaped a harvest of discord because its war against communism--real or imagined--had not allowed its members to consider who was taking control of the banks, what sector was falling back technologically, who was reaping the benefits of state protection, etc. These topics, however, once the war was over, have occupied a central place in ARENA discourse.

ARENA now confronts an internal economic war among its principal sectors. It also confronts a political war: which sector will channel its interests through the state enterprises and who will be in charge to make sure that that's they it will be? And the FMLN? It is an important political contender, but it is not the fearful enemy of the past, an enemy capable of coagulating a threatened and terrified right into a unity without fissures. Of course, in this thinking, it is not a desirable good that the FMLN should come to administer the state apparatus; ARENA members must, of course, design a strategy to detain the electoral advance of that left party. It is on this point that the ARENA leaders must seek basic agreements and it is precisely this point that, up to now, perhaps has contained the dissidence within bounds. But we are dealing with a point of commitment that becomes more fragile each day given that the threats to the wealth of formerly powerful group--the traditionally dominant groups in agriculture--no longer come (in this scheme of thinking) from the communist enemy, but from an economic grouping--the financial sector--whose aims and interests do not coincide and, in many aspects, are contradictory with the aims and interests of the others.

The FMLN is clearly a dangerous political rival for ARENA. But, among its members there are also dangerous rivalries. How can a political strategy be articulated that would be adequate enough to contain the advance of the FMLN, but which favors--or at least does not undermine--the interests of the economic and political sector with which I identify? This must be one of the questions passing through the minds of the principal ARENA leaders right now. And it must be agreed that it is not a question with an easy answer.

Is the internal debate in ARENA good for the process of democratization in the country? Of course it is. From this debate come to light the private interests of those who administer the state behind the pretense of serving the common good. Is it good for the country that one of the tendencies in dispute, for example, the Francisco Flores tendency imposes itself? That depends. If, for example, a modicum of moderation is imposed on the intolerance which traditionally characterize ARENA decisions, this would undoubtedly constitute a good in the processes of democratization. If, on the contrary, in order to strengthen ARENA, it causes the party to close ranks to public debate, fomenting intolerance, this would not constitute a good for the country, although it would be convenient for the party.

There are those who would like to measure the rhythm of the country with reference to the rhythms of ARENA. This is an even more serious error--not to speak of blindness or lack of judgment. That ARENA is becoming stronger does not mean, in the least, that the country is going to get better. That the country has advanced in the process of democratization has not necessarily been thanks to ARENA, but in many aspects, in spite of ARENA.

In all spheres of power there are important names, celebrated personalities, outstanding intellectuals and a series of men who head the lists of the most outstanding. Throughout history, the power relations have always been imposed with masculine labels. Women have rarely been the representatives of social, religious, economic, academic and--of course--political sectors. And this is not because the capacity and intelligence of the men are superior; it is simply that the opportunities, preferences and places of leadership and power are reserved for the masculine gender. This is owing to a long history of subordination and the marginalization of women.

This situation is clearly evident in the political life of El Salvador. For example, the Legislative Assembly, as the highest state organ, is composed of 70 men (83.3%) and 14 women (16.7%). This last is the "significant" percentage that represents 52% of the total Salvadoran population: women. For them, political participation is extremely difficult, given that this has always been an activity reserved for men. There still prevails the erroneous belief that the female sex is not capable of leading the country, or of offering opinions and important clear decisions for national development. The Salvadoran political context is extremely patriarchal.

The obstacles which women must overcome, in order to enter this exclusive domain, are large and varied. And once inside, to maintain themselves and climb up the ladder to higher levels is an even more difficult task. In politics, discrimination against women is exhibited in many ways and those women who have been able to climb over the walls, play a role in politics not without a good dose of tension.

In a study carried out and published in 1995 by the non-governmental organization, Women for Dignity and Life (Las Dignas), 13 women who occupied important positions in national politics were interviewed. They related their experience within this realm of national politics. They tell of their experience and they talked about what most weighed them down on the way and darkened their expectations. They described the most common situations of discrimination which their experienced. Among these, the following should be mentioned: that the pressures and exigencies of the job are much stronger for women than for men; that "the errors, insufficiencies and deficiencies" are considered to be more deeply criticized in the case of women; that there is rejection and isolation for pregnant women and those who are married or have children are not given scholarships or trips abroad. These among others. This is daily history and has been for a long time; it is a result of cultural, family and educational models and molds.

The understanding of gender has still not achieved sufficient autonomy to confront such a worrisome situation. It is really anxiety-producing that the political sector is far from being democratic: it is as much a spokesperson for individual and collective injustice as is the family, that principal foundation of society. Both areas--although they are so distinct--are representatives of Salvadoran society and, unfortunately, they are promoters of a repressive vision of the feminine population.

Some months ago, the ex-president of the ARENA party, Gloria Salguero Gross, declared to a national newspaper that for a woman to reach an important position (the Presidency of the Republic, for example), there are "men who place obstacles [in the way]", owing to the fact that they "are those who occupy the leadership structures in the party". She emphasized that "on a scale of 0-10, ARENA receives a qualification of between 8 and 9 points on machismo, a reality which, doubtless, is an evident characteristic of the rest of the political parties. According to Ms. Salguero Gross, it is for this reason that the women's sector of the party has not been able to present a woman as a presidential candidate. In this context, Cecilia Gallardo de Cano, Minister of Education, said that, in spite of the fact that opinions about her work are favorable, she has not analyzed in depth her presentation as a presidential candidate and that, moreover, the party has not asked her to. Nevertheless, if she waits for the party to decide, what will surely happen is that she will not be the candidate representing ARENA.

Aspiring to become president, or, at least a presidential candidate, has almost never happened in the history of El Salvador. Approximately four years ago, one of the small parties presented Rhina de Rey Prendes as presidential candidate. She was the first and last woman who has ever achieved the "prestige" of at least aspiring to the executive office. But she lost because she did not receive the support of the population. Unfortunately, the presence of women in politics, in addition to being minimal, enjoys a very low capacity for influence and decisions. The structures of government and the centralized forms of leadership in the country are always controlled by men and this will be the case until power is decentralized and the number and authority of both sexes is equalized in national leadership.

For now, it is necessary to promote more political room for women, not as secretaries of deputies nor as wives of some important functionary, but as independent women capable of taking decisions about the democratic, economic and social development of the country. To get to this point will require competition with the masculine groups (given that politics and other sectors function by means of opposing groups) and, although it is not the ideal way to enter power, it is a way of beginning to "enter the marketplace".

This is the way the last published poll by CID-Gallup that evaluated the current political scene put it. The poll revealed that 3 of every 100 ARENA members preferred that the ex-President Alfredo Cristiani should be the presidential candidate for 1999. After Cristiani, the ARENA members prefer Cecilia Gallardo de Cano for the candidacy. Then follow Roberto Murray Meza, Mauricio Samayoa and Oscar Santamaría, as well as the novice aspirant Francisco Flores, current President of the Legislative Assembly.

The FMLN, on the other hand, prefers that its candidate be the capital city mayor, Hector Silva. Then follow Ruben Zamora, Shafik Handal, Facundo Guardado and others. Nevertheless, one also hears the name of the Ombudsman for the Defense of Human Rights, Victoria Marina de Avilés. Her period in office as Ombudsman ends in March of this year. As a result, she might have the opportunity to choose to be a presidential candidate.

The list of names is long and, as one might suppose, it is led by and almost completely made up of men, but perhaps the private and domestic life of women begins to show the first symptoms of agony. That the names of these two public women figure among the list of possible pre-candidates to the most public position in the republic is very encouraging. Perhaps the participation of women will not be very important yet and policies are still not democratic and egalitarian, but the changes begin to be visible, spaces are beginning to open up and women are beginning to make their presence felt, although at the price of competition and not constitutional equality among people. It will not be easy to break down the barriers of machismo so deeply rooted and so treasured by our Latin American cultures now. The country must re-educate itself in order to understand that women are heads of family. Why, then, are they not able to be heads of state, as well?

OPPOSITION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW. On February 12, the National Association for Private Enterprise (ANEP), the Foundation for Social and Economic Development (FUSADES) and the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce for Construction (CASALCO), presented serious observations against the Environmental Law which it is hoped will be approved by the Legislative Assembly. In the opinion of FUSADES, the bill presents the problem that it was written by technicians in environmental affairs who are totally unfamiliar with the technical aspects of legislation and judicial norms. The document cannot be considered a bill but rather a declaration of principles and idealistic hopes concerning the environment, but without legal form and content. Meanwhile, ANEP noted that the project attributes to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources faculties which are the province of the Legislative Assembly, such as legislating and establishing state organisms. "One notices a clear purpose in the project to consecrate a ministry with an organization foreign to the true propositions of a general environmental law," he explains. For its part, CASALCO advised that the title of the Environmental Law should be changed to the Law for Sustainable Development, considering that the human person is the center of this sustainable development (LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 13, p. 5 and EL MUNDO, February 13, p. 4).

ENVIRONMENT. The head of the Environmental Unit of the Attorney General's office, Carlos Solorzano Trejo, qualified as a serious error the argument that technical faults could impede to passing into law of the Bill for the Environmental Law. According to Solorzano, all of the thinking and the economic interests of the nation are contained in the law; nevertheless, this legislation could contain some faults, although its objective is to protect the environment. "The problem is that when old economic and political interests are now to be controlled, these, strengthened by the long absence of law in this realm, react violently [against the proposal for a law to control them], he declared. (LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 13, p. 5 and EL MUNDO, February 13, p. 4).

EVICTION. The owners of eight quick food sales stalls protested on February 12 against the announcement by the mayor of San Salvador that the food sales stalls behind the Benjamin Bloom Children's Hospital would be evicted. The eviction was scheduled to take place on February 23 and will be part of the Citizen Tranquillity Plan which Hector Silva is sponsoring. In spite of the fact that municipal authorities say that these stalls will be relocated to a sector in front of the National University of El Salvador, "the fear is that when they take us out of here, other sales stalls will come [to replace us]", said Roberto Salamanca, owner of one of the food stalls (EL DIARIO DE HOY, February 13, p. 50 and LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 13, p. 160).

ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP. The Administrative Group will initiate the process of consultation on the document "Bases for a National Plan", was presented on February 13 by the President of the Republic, Armando Calderón Sol and the National Development Commission (CND). The members of the group are: The Minister of the Treasury, Manuel Enrique Hinds; the President of the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (ANEP), Ricardo Siman; the Director of Economic Affairs of the Executive National Council of ARENA (COENA), Roberto Murray Meza; the Secretary of Communications of the Presidency, Eduardo Torres; the lawyer José Fabio Castillo; representatives of the trade union sector Sarai Molina, Emilio Flores and Jorge Pinto. The nine members were chosen by the CND and will have the task of consulting about the document among the different sectors to establish basic agreements on the National Plan. Calderón Sol indicated that the Administrative Group came out of national level consultations, alleging that its members "do not represent a particular sector" given that each one of the members, although each one of the members currently occupies a position in the government, trade union or political parties, were invited as individuals (LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 13, p. 22, LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 14, p. 5 and EL DIARIO DE HOY, February 14, p. 10).

THE FMLN WITHOUT A CANDIDATE. On February 10, Hector Silva, mayor of San Salvador, announced that he would not accept the presidential candidacy nomination to represent the FMLN. Silva explained that he is more interested in finishing the work he has begun in the metropolitan mayor's office than in accepting the position as presidential candidate. "At this point in my life, there are personal factors which are more important than accepting a candidacy," affirmed Silva. The President of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Tenorio, who had been mentioned as a possible candidate for presidency on the FMLN ticket, rejected any pre-candidacy position, explaining that he would not leave his position which focuses exclusively on the question of justice. "Personally, I wish to be clear, formally, that my work is here in the court and I have not received any formal proposal from any political party... I will continue to honor my commitment with the Court", declared Tenorio. Likewise, Councilman for the Mayor of San Salvador, Hector Dada Hirezi, made clear that he has not intentions of accepting a presidential candidacy given that the FMLN has not presented any proposal to him and that, even if that were the case, he would not accept it. Meanwhile, FMLN leaders said they were in no hurry to elect a candidate, given that their priority would be to offer a Government Plan (LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 1, p. 4 EL DIARIO DE HOY, February 11, p. 8 and LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 2, p. 5).

INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY CHARGES. The head of the Superintendence for Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET), Eric Casamiquela, confirmed, on February 11, before the Economics Commission of the Legislative Assembly, that there would be "an adjustment" in charges for electrical energy. According to Casamiquela, domestic energy consumers will pay more while the big consumers will pay less, given that SIGET argues that presently small consumers pay less of the real value of energy while the big consumers pay a surcharge which, at the same time, subsidizes the small consumers. "There are four adjustments to the subsidies, but they will be accompanied by improvements in the market," assured Casamiquela. Roberto D'Aubuisson, ARENA deputy, considered that "the SIGET law applies adjustments to make prices more accurate". The deputies criterion is that it is healthy to eliminate subsidies given that these lessen private investment (EL DIARIO DE HOY, February 12, p. 8 and LA PRENSA GRAFICA, February 14, p. 5).

INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY CHARGES CRITICIZED. On February 15, Monsignor Gregorio Rosa Chávez, Assistant Bishop of San Salvador, criticized the increase in charges to consumers for electricity. According to the prelate, the increase affects the small consumers. For this reason he called upon the government to be more responsible, and take into account the costs of the basic food basket (EL DIARIO DE HOY, February 16, p. 6).