International propaganda

Cardenal: morality and recreation

Vetoes to social development

Year-end evaluation of 1999 and electoral perspectives for 2000

News Briefs

INTERNATIONAL PROPAGANDA

El Salvador is the ideal Latin American country for investment. So it is presented —or perhaps we ought more precisely to say: this is the way President Flores offered the country to a select group of businessmen meeting in Miami. El Salvador, according to President Flores, has undergone substantial transformation, the most relevant results of which are a median growth of 5.2%, a 2% reduction in inflation, control of the fiscal deficit, simplification of the fiscal system based on very few and low taxes, an increase in international reserves, the privatization of pensions, telecommunications and energy, a modern bank law with mechanisms to protect the bank user, notable advances in technology information and development of knowledge —a call center with one hundred community booths for entering internet— and the administration of customs by teledespatch. These novelties are supported by international institutions which place El Salvador at the level of Chile —in Latin America— and with Taiwan and Canada —at a world level— on the question of economic freedom.

The political economy of the ARENA administrations is thus very useful for projecting an attractive image of El Salvador to the continental business community. The question is that, in spite of all of its efforts, that policy does not yield the results hoped for. Investment is not forthcoming. El Salvador continues to be the Central American country with the least foreign investment. There are only promises, but even these, from which the Flores government expected so much, are very limited. Up until now, the only thing that Flores has obtained are promises to open new runaway shops (maquilas) in textile. But these, for as many jobs as they might generate, will not pull the workers and their children up above the poverty line because the jobs offered are of bad quality and will not make the economy grow at the necessary rate in order to generate prosperity and well-being for the majority of the Salvadoran population. There is not a single case in history where socio-economic development has been achieved by combining an upsurge of exports with a depressed internal market, unemployment and low salaries.

Investment resists coming to El Salvador perhaps because it is well aware that the governmental discourse is no more than propaganda, presidential assurances of "long-range vision of national development" notwithstanding. The high ratings given to El Salvador by specialized companies do not appear to convince the investors who continue to be cautious. One thing is clear, however: President Flores did not present to his audience the social violence which is wracking the country, nor did he provide an explanation of the judicial discretion with which public and private affairs are being handled, nor did he tell them of the growing social mobilization which confronts his government in the form of trade unions because of the lack of economic resources and ideas for really modernizing the public sector. He said nothing to them about the financial fraud nor the connivance of the superintendents with big capital nor the malaise of the courts and magistrates nor of the social security strike nor the health reform nor the low scores achieved by the new high school graduates nor the gangs of kidnappers.

Instead, he spoke to them of the macroeconomic stability of El Salvador, but he took great care not to mention that, after ten years, stability is not as solid as it might seem because economic growth is experiencing extensive diminution, the fiscal deficit has increased to a dangerous degree as well as delinquent accounts in the banks and the balance of trade deficit. He did not mention that one of the bases of that policy, exports, have not responded as might be expected. He spoke to these businessmen of the insertion of El Salvador into world production, which is to say, the opening of more maquilas, and of making the economy more competitive at the cost of the working class ("the biggest treasure is its hard-working and untiring workers..."). Finally, he reminded them of the strategic importance of Central American integration, "the biggest integrated market which might ever be formed in the history of the modern world"; but he told them nothing of the border conflict between Nicaragua and Honduras because he understands integration only in economist terms.

Two points might be rescued from the president’s vision of El Salvador. The first is the recognition of the "most difficult challenge of all" that of "transforming the growing economy into social development". Of course, he did not enter into details because first there must be economic growth. While this comes along, the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer. Social development is a measure to be desired, but in the very long run, which leads us to the second point, the basic principle which guides the social policy of the Flores administration. Health, education, work and housing, in practical terms are no longer rights guaranteed by the state but are goods which individuals must acquire on the market or, in cases of extreme poverty, by means of programs providing public assistance.

This means that the former rights of the citizens have been reduced to the right of the individual as against the state and the right to vote. The "shared responsibility" of which President Flores speaks so much means nothing else but that each individual has to deal with what he or she needs competing with others who also seek the same thing. Diversity of interests, in that each one competes for scarce resources, is resolved by the imperatives of the market. Moreover, those interests, meaning both social and personal interests, are reduced to an economic dimension. Competition is imposed as the only guarantee that the beneficiaries arrive at their legitimate destinations. In the social sphere, efficiency is responsible for order, which is understood as the offering of services which compete among themselves at the lowest possible cost in terms of public resources. What the government saves in benefits and services, it uses to promote private capital. In this way public services become merchandise and the citizenry is relieved of his or her collective rights. In summary, President Flores’ speech in Miami does not take national reality into account and, in this sense, does not tell the truth; but, on the other side of the coin, he gives resounding evidence of the real principles which guide his decisions and policies.

CARDENAL: MORALITY AND RECREATION

ARENA knew that the competition for the position of Mayor of San Salvador, along the length and breadth of the race, whoever decided to undertake it would find himself faced with an uphill struggle. To be on a par —not to mention winning against— with the charismatic and popular figure of Hector Silva will be a task of titanic dimensions. It has even been noised about that the government party has only sought a candidate who might lose against the incumbent with some dignity intact. The ARENA candidate for the most important mayor’s office in the country will not only come up against the electoral capital accumulated by a municipal government which has been relatively successful in the course of its term in office, but also against the effects of ARENA tricks produced in the person of Francisco Flores.

To begin with, very little must be said, given that the successes and virtues which have made the current mayor of San Salvador a figure worthy of respect and admiration among the citizenry are already well-known and he is, therefore, an electoral rival who will be difficult to beat. On a second point, it is not completely beyond imagination to suppose that ARENA would seek to distance its candidate from the image which was used to promote Francisco Flores. And this not because this particular image has already been successful in such a small degree, but also because it is already beginning to reveal how false it is —its quality being merely the product of an agile but deceitful electoral strategy. Flores has turned out to be completely different from the image used to sell him to the voters during the presidential campaign. It would, thus, awaken suspicion and a lack of confidence in a populace already deceived by the very image used to promote Flores should ARENA offer up a new one with similar characteristics.

Luis Cardenal came to the fore in response to these two adverse elements. And this explains many things. Principally, his about-face: the Luis Cardenal of the early campaign begun by ARENA as little to do —at least publicly— with the candidate who so distinguished himself in his role as member of private enterprise and as the occasional article-writer in the print media of the country. Luis Cardenal, the pre-candidate, stands out as a moderate in a sector which is characterized as profoundly hard-line conservative. While he was never a liberal and has shown not the slightest deviation from being the consummate impresario, he did stand out at one moment for his efforts at discussing the affairs of the country in terms of reason and creativity. Little is left of this Cardenal. The Luis Cardenal presented to us today has turned out to be so hard-line, and so lacking in imagination and so conservative that he could be confused with the most deeply rooted ARENA party member. In this he is diametrically opposed to Francisco Flores the candidate.

Up until now, the Cardenal campaign has been distinguished more by its picturesque and combative background than by his proposals and moderation. Focussed on undermining the figure of Hector Silva and attempting to cause a lack of prestige, Cardenal has pooh-poohed the need to present serious and plausible proposals for the development of greater metropolitan San Salvador. The thing is that even on this the ARENA candidate is having a rough time: how could he propose something new when the Silva team has been so prolific in the production of ideas and very good projects? How could Cardenal propose anything without repeating what Silva has already presented or is already doing? Perhaps in trying to avoid repetition and in recognizing that only with difficulty could he propose anything which Silva has not already thought of, Cardenal has dug in his heels in such asphyxiating moral conservatism.

So then the picturesque aspects begin to appear: for now the population does not know what Cardenal will do if given the chance of becoming the Mayor of San Salvador, but we do know —how could we no know when the media does not stint in their efforts to show us— that he loves Christmas carols, that he has a good solid relationship with his children and wife (who does not hesitate to dress up as a shepherdess in support of her husband) and that he hates casinos; is enchanted by marketplaces and has a real love for piñatas, especially if these are held in the poorest and most marginalized sectors of the capital city. This is the novelty of the Cardenal campaign: the moral solidity of his family and his penchant for charity (the politician who offers public spectacles is always charitable with the boredom of the population): these are his electoral calling cards.

It is possible that the piñatas and Christmas carols are important to a sector of the population so avid for recreations and good clean fun, but neither the spectacle nor the reiteration of the value of home and family will construct a more habitable city with greater opportunities for development: a city with more security and dignity. Salvadoran politicians have always lacked seriousness and commitment when it comes to the needs of the population. A novel candidate is the one who tries to fill this empty space. Cardenal, at least the Cardenal we have seen up to this point, seems not to live up to the mark in his attempt to comply satisfactorily with the task at hand. He is very busy organizing Christmas events and criticizing the mayor who has really shown signs of being committed to improving the quality of life of those who live in the capital city and not only with a show of morality and a display of boredom.

VETOES TO SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

One of the characteristics of the relationship between the new ARENA administration and the Legislative Assembly has been the constant confrontation arising from discrepancies with regard to the use of public funds. Almost as a general rule, the decrees that are approved by the Legislative Assembly without a concourse of votes from the ARENA deputies are vetoed by President Flores. With these vetoes he is directly attacking the social and labor stability, the provision of basic services and the administration of justice.

Among the decrees recently vetoed by Flores are those by means of which the financing of the increase to the judicial branch of government in the amount of 33 million colones and to the employees of the Salvadoran Institute for Social Security (ISSS) in the amount of 292 million colones, as well as the creation of a fund in the amount of 50 million colones to indemnify the ex-civil patrol agents who served the Armed Forces during the civil war years.

Decrees providing for the maintenance of the subsidy of the electrical energy rates for small consumers in the amount of 570 million colones have also been vetoed and, on another point, the discounts garnished from the striking teachers' checks were turned down for a total of 4 million colones. All in all the President will be saving the public treasury a total of 916 million colones, equivalent to 5% of the national budget and reducing pressure on the fiscal deficit, but at the same time he is ignoring the problems presented by the health, education and justice systems and pouring more gasoline on the fire of a potentially explosive labor situation affecting the public sector (see Proceso, 881 and 882).

Flores says he is determined to veto all decrees which may not be beneficial to the country and adds: "we will oppose the actions of those who seek to take political advantage of the most deeply felt necessities of the Salvadoran people", in clear allusion to the health sector strikers and those of the educational sector as well as the deputies of the opposition who approve the decrees. Moreover, Flores has said on other occasions that the state is in no condition to finance through its budget the millionaire expenses which would be generated in order to comply with the diverse decrees vetoed.

Since the moment he took office last June, President Flores announced a plan of "fiscal austerity" with which he aims to control the growing fiscal deficit, a task at which the preceding ARENA administrations have had no luck. This apparent obsession with the control of public finances is in contrast with some of the measures of the budgetary policy reflected in the bill for the General National Budget for the year 2000 drawn up by the Ministry of the Treasury. Between the years 1999 and 2000 it is expected that the general budget of the nation will grow from 17, 079 to 18,224 million colones, which implies an increase of 1,145 million colones, the equivalent of 6.7% of the 1999 budget.

This budgetary increase was channeled principally into the category of service to the public debt, "support for institutions related to the treasury and others", financing for the municipal governments, the Ministry of the Economy and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

By means of the presidential vetoes he is not really preventing expenses which could not be assumed by the state. For example, the 33 million for the increase in the judicial branch of the government could easily be obtained by reducing the enlarged category dedicated to "support to institutions related to the branch of the treasury and others" by 20%, which was increase by 128 million colones between 1999 and 2000. Unfortunately, the vetoes to the use of public funds affect very sensitive social areas: the provision of services in health and education, the administration of justice and subsidies to the provision of basic services (electricity). As a result, the vetoes became negative messages for those who hoped for improvements in the provision of basic services.

In the first place, the refusal of the government to even negotiate on the topic of salaries in the conflicts taking place in the health and education sectors —which also include the question of privatization— denotes that, even now the proposals for improving the provision of basic social services continue to be only empty discourse. The Armando Calderón Sol Administration (1994-1999) even came to the point of making the offer that the budget for the social area would come to represent 50% of the total budget for 1999, but during his mandate the participation of social spending in the total diminished on various occasions.

President Flores offered, in his inaugural address, an "increase in social investment in education, health, water, basic services and housing, in order to guarantee security and justice", but recent indications make one doubt this offer because, at bottom, and at the margin of whether he wishes or does not wish to combat those who "seek to take advantage" of the necessities of the workers, is placing in check the capacity of the state to offer health, education and justice services.

In second place, the veto of the salaries of the employees of the judicial branch also show that the new administration has no qualms about intervening in the formulation of the budget of that branch of government, which, as a provision of the constitutional reform of 1983 enjoys autonomy in the structuring of its budgetary spending.

As was stated above, in both cases the government characterizes the salary demands as "private interests", but what is certain is that no one in the country can deny that the mean salaries, and even the minimum, are far below the cost of the basic food basket. And on the same point and consonant with it, the salary demands of the health, education and justice workers are legitimate, the problem arising out of this is that in addition to these there are another million and a half workers who also need increases. Fortunately for the government, not all of its employees are demanding increases.

Finally, his veto of the subsidy to the electrical energy rates is another ill sign sent by the government to the masses of population given that it would imply an increase in the rates to small consumers. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that the president had already vetoed the decree, the Minister for the Economy, Miguel Lacayo, stated that the subsidy will continue for an indefinite period because, according to his declarations, there is work being done "to see how it can be managed".

The recent presidential vetoes by President Flores show as clear as day the contradiction between the stabilization policies and the social development policies. And so it is that while some propose to limit public spending, others demand that funds be earmarked for public resources in order to "compensate" for the negative effects of the stabilization and adjustment policies in education, health and even for containing social violence by strengthening the entities charged with public security and the administration of justice.

According to the Director of ISSS, Ana Vilma de Escobar, future projections are to offer health services as concessions to private enterprise, a posture which provides more aspects for discussion on the topic of the convenience or inconvenience of privatizing basic services—even more if the negative effects of the privatization of the telephone company and the distribution of electric energy are considered (see Proceso, 870).

YEAR-END EVALUATION OF 1999 AND ELECTORAL PERSPECTIVES FOR 2000

At year end most Salvadorans continue to be concerned about the problems of crime and the national economy, according to the most recent public opinion poll conducted by the University Institute for Public Opinion (IUDOP) of the Jose Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA) in El Salvador. The poll, conducted for the purpose of learning how the citizens evaluate the situation of their country at the end of 1999 was carried out between December 4 and 8 of the current year using a representative national sample of 1,327 adults living in urban and rural areas of the fourteen departments of the country. Nevertheless, and as opposed to previous years, a percentage of the population began to be concerned by the social instability generated by the labor crisis (7.6%) and by the Flores Administration way of governing (5.2%).

In fact, 37% of those polled stated that they thought the political situation of the country had gotten worse this year as opposed to 45.5% who declared that they thought the situation was the same and 12.1% who maintained that it had gotten better. The remaining respondents did not give an opinion.

In the area of economics, the opinions tended to signal the idea that the situation had gotten worse at a national level but had stayed the same at the family level. Concretely, 47.8% held that the general economic situation had gotten worse during the current year while a close percentage of 42.4% said that they thought the situation had stayed the same and 8.6% declared that the economic situation had improved. In family terms, more than half of the population, or, 57.1% held that their economic situation had stayed the same and the remainder of the responded were divided between affirming that it had gotten worse (29.2%) or had gotten better (13.5%).

On the subject of crime, a little more than half of the respondents, or, 52.1%, think that crime increase during 1999 while 30.9% stated that they felt it had stayed the same and 16.6% believe it diminished. Some 23.4% of those participating in the poll stated that they had been a victim of a criminal act during the course of the year, a percentage similar to that of previous years.

As to the future of the country, opinions expressed tendencies indicating uncertainty to pessimism. Some 38.3% think that the country will be worse within a year as opposed to 18.4% who hold that it will be the same and 17.6% who think that it will improve. The remainder of the respondents, or, 25.7% said they did not know how the country would be in a year's time. On a long-term projection of five years, the number of persons who stated that they did not know how the country would be increases to 42.8%.

At the end of 1999, the majority of the population, or, 86%, did not believe that the country is being led in a good direction and think that a change is needed.

Asked about what this country needs politically in order to improve, half of the respondents answered that the country needs a government which knows how to listen to the population while some 18.6% indicated that they thought it needed a firm hand and 15.4% said that dialogue and consensus-building among the diverse sectors of national life was a necessity. Others indicated the necessity for all citizens to participate politically and the rest gave other answers.

The UCA poll took up the topic of social and labor conflict which affected the country during 1999. Opinions were offered on a wide range as to what the causes were which provoked the problems. Some 38.3% of those polled think that the labor conflicts in general are owing to economic difficulties faced by the workers; 33.8% consider that the problems are a result of bad governmental administration and 19.1% hold that the strikes are part of destabilization plans promoted by certain political sectors.

Concerning the Social Security strike or labor stoppage, the results follow similar tendencies. A little more than a third of those polled think that the Social Security problem is owing to a lack of compliance with promises made by the government. Almost a third think that those involved do not show any willingness to engage in dialogue, while 19.1% reiterate that the problem is part of a political destabilization plan. The rest of those consulted offer other responses.

Nevertheless, when asked directly if the demands of the ISSS employees were just or not, there were divided opinions expressed. Almost 42% believe that the demands of the Social Security workers are not just as opposed to 38.3% who consider that they are. The remaining responded did not know the demands or preferred not to express an opinion.

The poll revealed, additionally, that 66.8% of those responding were not in agreement with the strike or work stoppage as a way of presenting labor demands as opposed to 24% who said they were in favor.

Asked about what the government should do in order to deal with the current labor conflicts, the majority of the Salvadorans questioned (58.1%) stated that the government ought to attempt negotiations better conditions for both sides, 20.5% are of the opinion that they ought to fire the trade unionists and 17.5% hold that the demands of the workers ought to be fulfilled, among other responses.

On the topic of Social Security, the UCA poll revealed that 7 of every 10 citizens are against the privatization of Social Security or some of its hospitals.

IUDOP asked Salvadoran citizens to state their electoral preferences for next year's elections. In national terms the intentions to vote, at the beginning of the month of December, favor ARENA, followed by the FMLN and 4.9% will vote for the CDU. The remaining parties do not add up to more than 3%. On the question of municipal councils, the difference between the big parties is smaller: 27.1% would vote for ARENA, while 21.3% would vote for the FMLN. Some 2.8% would vote for the CDU and 2.2% would vote for the PDC. The remaining parties did not reach 2% of the responses.

On the other hand, more than half of those consulted (56%) think that ARENA has more probabilities of winning more deputies.

The UCA poll included a special sample of 639 interviews on the question of the municipality of San Salvador in order to explore the electoral tendencies of the residents of the capital city with regard to the municipal elections. The results show that at the end of 1999 Hector Silva and the FMLN hold a clear advantage.

Of those interviewed who reside in the municipality of San Salvador who were asked who they would choose between Luis Cardenal and Hector Silva, the results show that 54.1% stated that they would choose Hector Silva as mayor while 29.1% said they would opt for Luis Cardenal. Some 10.3% held that they would not choose anyone and 6.4% said that they did not know who they would choose for the moment.

To the question about which party they would vote for the mayor of San Salvador, some 41.8% held that they would vote for the FMLN, followed by 26.8% who chose ARENA. The remaining parties showed electoral preferences that did not reach 3% in the municipality of San Salvador. The FMLN counts it major support among the middle levels and the workers while the ARENA party continues to be strong among the higher level sectors and the marginal votes.

The results of this poll do not show fundamental variations in the opinions on the problems of crime and the economy. However, labor conflicts seem to have introduced an element of concern among the citizens who see the future of the country as uncertain. While opinions on the labor problems are divided, the most frequent declarations point towards a recognition of the workers' problems, the lack of capacity to negotiate of the sectors involved and the rejection of the strike as a way of presenting demands. The citizenry is more willing to support negotiated settlements of the conflicts than the imposition of one or the other of the two sides.

In the political realm, the poll revealed that ARENA continues to be the party receiving the most support on a national level, although Hector Silva and the FMLN have managed to establish, for now, a clear advantage as favorites for governing the capital city.

San Salvador, December 15, 1999

ARAUJO. Walter Araujo, head of the ARENA party faction, will not be investigated by the Legislative Assembly for a supposed procedural error. Because a procedural error, the Special Commission for the Pre-Trial Investigation must suspend the investigation of the file sent by the Judge of the 6^th circuit court of San Salvador, Robert Arevalo, on the assassination of the president of LAFISE of El Salvador, Siegfred Guth Zapata. A witness mentioned Araujo as supposedly being involved in the death of the businessman, for which reason, at one point, it was thought necessary to begin an investigation of the ARENA party deputy. However, in the pre-trial petition three errors were found which will impede the holding of a plenary. First, according to the deputies, the judge must send the original copies of the file and not copies. Secondly, the constitution establishes that the person bringing the penal action must be the Attorney General's Office. In addition, the provisions of Article 383 of the Procedural Penal code also establishes the procedure in such a way that the Attorney General of the Republic is the entity which must propose the pre-trial; this was not taken note of. The President of the Special Pre-Trial Commission, Arturo Argumedo, explained that the procedural errors detected at the moment in which the commission was formed cannot be resolved by the commission itself. Finding a solution to the problem is the province of the plenary (La Prensa Gráfica, December 12, p. 28 and El Diario de Hoy, December 14, p. 12).

SILVA. The candidate for mayor of the FMLN-USC coalition and incumbent capital city mayor, Hector Silva, will wait until January to publish his new municipal platform and in February he will leave his post to dedicate himself fully to his campaign for re-election. The banner under which he will compete in the upcoming elections, in addition to including the insignias of the allied parties, will include a photo of the mayor's face, which will be a first in the country's electoral history. For their part, the Democratic Convergence (CD) was not registered as part of the party unity in question. Jorge Villacorta explained that such a decision was a point of discussion. "This was the decision (three to one) within the Convergence", stated Villacorta. And so the CD will propose a re-election to the two councils, but will not legally support the coalition. The FMLN will be the administrative body charged with the re-election of Silva. The USC explained that they will suggest that the FMLN administer all of the money, "so that once and for all it might be applied to the campaign". According to unofficial calculations, the USC will receive at least 99,789 colones, the equivalent of the 8,761 votes which it obtained as the Social Christian Renovation Party (PRSC) in the 1997 elections. The FMLN will receive close to 540,990 colones (El Diario de Hoy, December 15, p. 8 and La Prensa Gráfica, December 15, p. 36).

CONCESSION. On December 9 President Flores announced that the reform to the health system will begin in 2000 and that one of the first actions will be to offer as concessions the medical and hospital services in order to broaden the coverage to users. According to the president, the two new hospitals, Roma and Amatepec, although still not equipped to serve users, will begin operations under a schema of concessions, which is different from an administrative schema which the Salvadoran Institute for Social Security (ISSS) utilizes. Flores cited several kinds of concessions which will be implemented in the ISSS clinics and hospitals: the signing of the accords with doctors interested in offering their professional services, the contracting out of laundry services and the cessation of the administration of hospitals to religious congregations in the rural areas of the country or the support for state hospitals. "We are not selling the hospitals", Flores clarified. He added that "the state assumes responsibility for turning over the health services completely to the citizenry, but seeks the most effective way of turning them over on a case by case basis". "We believe that to duplicate the inefficient bureaucratic conditions of the current hospitals would be a serious error and a waste of resources. There is an intermediate road, and it is that there are ways of providing services on the basis of concessions in such a way that the hospitals can be made to be efficient", he affirmed (La Prensa Gráfica, December 10, p. 4).

PEÑATE. On December 20 an investigation began on the Ombudsman for the Defense of Human Rights, Eduardo Peñate Polanco in order to determine his capability or lack thereof to continue as head of that institution. During an interview held by a morning news daily, Peñate stated that his removal from office is imminent in the political sphere, but that it is illegal. He declared that the investigation would turn on "fighting for quotas and the caprices" of politically committed persons. "The politicians have attacked my right to an image and even my own private life", he stated. Peñate insisted that those who are behind the matter are those who administer the human rights business. "As they are not in agreement with my decisions, they want to remove me from office in order to negotiate the positions", he added. Confronted with the accusation of being "inefficient", the Ombudsman declared that it was not true, because, among other things, they had gone beyond the proposed objectives of the institution. He affirmed that his error has been "not ever having been a politician, having been sincere and that when they came tome to ask for political quotas I would not permit it". "I prefer to die standing up in the defense of these rights and of democracy and not to be a puppet as others have been before me", he alleged (El Diario de Hoy, December 10, p. 11).

ISSS. The attempt to resolve the labor conflict between the Union of the Workers of the Salvadoran Institute for Social Security (STISSS) and the leadership of that institution at the conciliatory stage failed, on December 12. Both parties signed the minutes in the Ministry of Labor where their disagreements were established. The conciliation stage began months ago and was the only channel for continued communication which has been maintained. The next step, according to the law, is arbitration where each party involved must name a representative to discuss the problem of the collective bargaining contract together with the issue of the salary increases. The Sub-Director of the ISSS, Emilio Velasco, sustained that in order to initiate arbitration he must wait for the resolution of the General Director of Labor, who will present his recommendations. The petition to begin arbitration remains at the option of the two parties and of the general director of labor. The director has an average period of 48 hours in order to define a resolution on the conflict. For his part, the secretary of the STISSS, Oscar Aguilar, stated that the union presented a counterproposal on December 10 in which he accepted 60 million colones as a salary increase and not 92 million as was agreed to in 1998. The only condition they offered, he explained was not to modify the collective bargaining contract and to re-instate the 221 workers. Nevertheless, the boss' side showed themselves "not to be in agreement", stated the trade unionist (La Prensa Gráfica, December 11, p. 22).