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Proceso 943
March 15, 2001
ISSN 0259-9864
Editorial: The need for
changes in El Salvador
Politics: The Salvadoran
Gobernment: Between mirage and reality
Economy: The "Elements
for the reconstruction" of the Natioonal Commission of Development
THE NEED FOR CHANGES IN EL SALVADOR
The impact of the January 13 and February 13 earthquakes challenged the country's administration strategies. It all seems to indicate that a certain agreement, related to the need for changes, is being schemed. As the government faces the thesis contained in "Elements for the Reconstruction and Development of El Salvador", a document prepared by the National Commission of Development as a contribution from the civilian society, it is practically and officially approving the search for proposals of economic, social and environmental reforms. This Editorial intends to contribute to the discussion about the country's fundamental problems, and to its possible ways of solution as well. For the National Commission of Development, this document means "the beginning of a dialogue process". Proceso takes their word, and gives its contribution to that dialogue.
It is necessary to start the discussion by examining what the situation in El Salvador was like before both earthquakes. The first characteristic of that situation is the lack of structural interrelation among its three fundamental economic sectors: the farming, the industrial and the financial sector. It has been said quite a lot about the damage of the farming sector, and about the decay of the industrial apparatus. There has been an insistence on the expansion of the financial sector. This insistence has led the country to the concentration of millionaire amounts of money in the hands of the families that control the banks, the insurance companies and the pension offices. It is convenient to insist that the expansion of the financial sector has been to the detriment of the other two economic sectors, which have been drowned in debts and in high interest rates. Such sectors also failed due to the absence of investments and the technological setback.
In the second place, the problem affecting most of the population is poverty, closely related to the incompetence of the productive apparatus to generate adequate levels of employment. The quality of the jobs and the levels of the salaries do not satisfy the basic needs of the Salvadorans. Unemployment and low salaries have become permanent difficulties to obtain a secure home, health and education.
In the third place, we have the social violence problem in its different expressions: organized crime, delinquency, and daily violence of all kinds. It may be too much to say that violence is the result of poverty, but what there is no doubt about is that both promote a negative environment and social hostility.
In the fourth place, there is a rupture between society, politics and the State. This gap appears when the social demands do not find the required intermediation in the political system. Meanwhile, the State does not have the capacity nor the ideal resources to meet the most fundamental social demands. It is because of this "failure of politics", that apathy and, in extreme situations, violent protests are a sample of the actions taken by those who do not find an answer to their demands.
Finally, there is a lawless use of both the natural resources and the territorial space . This is mostly evident when one sees the logic that prevails in the construction of urban and rural housing, as well as the generalized culture of abuse over the natural resources.
The ideas formerly described in this editorial are the key aspects that had characterized the country until January 13. The question that we have to ask ourselves is: How was this country shaped with such characteristics?
The first answer might be that "it just happened", and that there is nothing else to discuss about. An answer similar to that one might be that the situation is the result of the imposition of more economy rules, which do not depend on anybody's will. Both ideas are extremely dangerous, because they can be translated into a negative attitude about the future of El Salvador, and about what we can do to change the social, economic and environmental scene.
That has to do with looking for a reasonable answer, which might allow us to change the social, economic and environmental order that prevails in the country. The answer could be that El Salvador became what it is due to an inadequate economic, social and environmental administration.
This administration, which could be considered as "traditional", has dealt with the following aspects:
a) A weak and inefficient social structure. This has caused secrecy in the process of making decisions, as well as corruption in the State's organization.
b) Managerial voracity, that has known no limits, and has turned into a growing exploitation of labor and natural resources.
c) The failure of the politicians in their role of political and social intermediaries, which has promoted the discontent that, threatens the country's stability.
d) Centralized and bureaucratic public policies that not only have been inefficient to answer to the civilian needs but have also and exclusively favored certain economically powerful groups.
e) Low levels of social organization and participation. These have turned the population into passive receivers of the decisions given by the State's apparatus, many times under the pressure of the most powerful businessmen’s groups.
There can be no doubt that the earthquakes exposed this weakness of the current social, economic and environmental administration. Its impact establishes the need and the opportunity for a change. What are the options?
One of those options is the proposal elaborated by the National Commission of Development, which insists, mostly, on the descentralization and the territorial arrangement as key mechanisms for change. "Now is the time for descentralization" - is read in the Commission's document. "The articulation between the national government and the municipalities is a requirement for the reconstruction". It also reads "reconstruction must be impelled with a vision of territorial settlement, and administrative and political reorganization, inclined to integrate the economic and the human geography".
A second initiative was presented by the FMLN´s, and entitled Strategy of Reconstruction and Transition to Development. It has as a goal the creation of a "new society", by the means of a "moral revolution", which is "necessary to face the emergency and to counteract and overcome the selfishness, and the worshiping of money to the detriment of other people's hunger, which are not values for human beings, but characteristic of Capitalism".
Although both initiatives are interesting, the first one has its flaws, and the second one is excessive. The National Commission of Development’s document aims to "overcome some structural problems of the past" without relating it to the problem of the structure of property and the institutional deterioration. The FMLN, on the other hand, leads an ideological approach that will put the business elite on guard in front of the possibility that any kind of change may occur, no matter how small that change might be.
Beyond the ideological discussions, the country is needing changes that go beyond the descentralization and the territorial distribution (as important as both of these issues might be). These changes, even though drastic in some areas, do not have to be conceived in a socialist or revolutionary horizon. A dosage of common sense is enough to understand that El Salvador cannot continue like this. If it does, the economic resources will be threatened, as in the past, with overwhelming social problems that will just end with the best expectations.
What could be the basic elements of a new model of management for El Salvador? As a tentative proposal, the following elements can be considered:
a) The new management model must contribute to —and lean on— a reform of the property structure (business, banks and cultivated lands).
b) It must articulate the financial, the farming and the industry sectors, encouraging mid and long-term investments.
c) It must be supported by a solid institutional structure.
d) It must materialize in interrelated public policies, designed to face the challenges of a country threatened by natural, economic and social "risks".
e) It must lead to a "culture of risk and security", which prepares the population to face this sort of events.
f) It must encourage the organization and the social participation, directed to promote the local energies.
g) It must contribute to a renewal of the politicians, otherwise
the possibilities for a change in the country will be obstructed by the
vices of certain political parties and leaders that have no other purpose
but to protect their own interests.
THE SALVADORAN GOBERNMENT: BETWEEN MIRAGE AND REALITY
When the costs of the damages caused by the January 13 earthquake were made public, one of the first reactions of President Francisco Flores was to ask for the help from the international community to assist the victims. He also considered asking for the forgiveness of the Salvadoran external debt. More than one national observer approved the immediate governmental reaction, specially because we had experienced a permanent slow reaction of the State's apparatus towards different issues, and also because everyone knows the official inclination to hide from the world the true reality of this country. However, it took longer for the public opinion to assimilate the news, than for the government to show opposite signs to what seemed to be the beginning of a transition to transparency and honesty from the governmental team.
Afterwards, the president considered that it was not convenient to ask for the forgiveness of the external debt. The good qualification of the country in the field of international credits would have been compromised. However, in the end, the reconstruction governmental projections depend, almost exclusively, on the international help -from the financial issues to the illegal immigration support. This has been the official strategy during these months of crisis: an impressive shamelessness, accompanied by a manipulative advertising campaign.
It all seems clearer when we analize the governmental behavior towards the preparation of the meeting with the Consultative Group of Madrid and its relation to the document “United for El Salvador”, prepared for such meeting. On the first place, before that unavoidable appointment, due to the demands of the civil society and the external sensibility towards the civilian participation issue, the National Commission of Development (CDN, in Spanish) was asked to work on a citizenry consultation. Almost in a parallel way, a reconstruction plan was elaborated in the Presidential House, raving about the national performance on issues such as political development, descentralization and the civilian society participation. All of a sudden, these issues turned into crucial elements of the official strategy for national reconstruction, supported by the "accomplishments" obtained since the signing of the Peace Agreements.
The governmental document begins with unrecognizable considerations for anybody who knows the reality of this country, as far as the political performance and the consolidation of the Salvadoran democracy are concerned. According to the official document, ever since the signing of the Peace Agreements, the country has found its way to democracy, reconciliation and political development. A corollary of all this is the growing civilian participation, which is a fact in El Salvador. The CDN is the instance where this process of permanent social consultation about the most relevant issues of the national and the local life would become active. The government considered important to emphasize its multiple initiatives to promote "national participation". Such initiatives are the Consultative Group of the Social Investment Fund for the Local Development (FISDL, in Spanish). "Integrated by representatives of the Executive Branch's organizations, businessmen’s groups, municipalities, non- governmental organizations, and other institutions in the context of the implementation process of the National Strategy for the Local Development".
The official document declares itself "optimistic because the support of the international community will transform into an efficient mechanism to improve the situation of the earthquake's victims". According to the document, “to accomplish the country's common goals, civilian participation and descentralization are fundamental, because both actions bring the government near to the beneficiaries, creating a channel for different opinions and establishing mechanisms for accountability that secures transparency in the public management". According to this, El Salvador would have already accomplished levels of political development, descentralization, and civilian participation demanded by the sponsors. All we need is that, with their generosity, they provide the government with the necessary funds for the reconstruction.
This presentation, in addition to being an offense for all Salvadorans and for the international community, is a cheap cover up of our political and social reality. This also unveils the hypocrisy and the fantasy, trademarks of the president Flores´ government.
There is a great contradiction between the official vision and the CDN's document, when it comes to describe the current situation of the country. In the “Elements for the reconstruction and development of El Salvador”, descentralization and social participation —presented by the government as fundamental for its administration— appears as the development's main objective. The commission finds the weakest points of the national reality in the issues that Flores underlined as the major accomplishments of his government.
The National Commission of Development outlines descentralization as an unavoidable issue of the new national agenda. "Now is the time of descentralization. The positive experiences of the disaster and the territorial meaning must be turned into an agile and fluid descentralization. This is a good moment to give a quality step and to transfer the resources and the decision making capacity to the local governments. The Neighborhoods, the water resources and the income taxes are affairs that can be managed with efficiency by the municipalities". It also emphasizes that the "local development will have better conditions when descentralization turns into a daily practice that can provide a new meaning for the municipalities, the micro regions and the regions. These interrelated links, provided with a paced institutional practice, are among the necessary means to take advantage of a historical opportunity. We can turn the reconstruction process into a success".
If the document is taken seriously (Elements
for the reconstruction...) —despite its insufficiency— not
only the government's fraud about civilian participation and centralization
is exposed, but also it makes us ask ourselves about the purpose of such
fraud. Obviously, to present the country as an example of democracy, where
civilian participation and descentralization are undeniable facts, might
seem attractive to the international community. This is what president
Flores has wanted to present to fool the international community. In that
sense, despite contrary statements, the government is showing little respect
for the sponsoring countries, by trying to hide the true national reality.
THE “ELEMENTS FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION” OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION OF DEVELOPMENT
On March 7th, the National Commission of Development presented the document "Elements for the Reconstruction and Development of El Salvador. A Contribution from the Civilian Society". The first aspect that calls one's attention is the pretense of giving the document the category of contribution "from the civilian society", when everyone already knows that the Commission was created by the former government of Armando Calderon Sol, therefore, it lacks the necessary representation to design proposals in the name of the citizenry.
Theoretically, the document would be presented by President Francisco Flores in Madrid to the international community, in the middle of a meeting in order for them to discuss the cooperation for the post earthquake development in El Salvador. In the practice, Flores presented another document —United for El Salvador— and the elaboration and presentation before the national public opinion of the "Elements for the reconstruction” seemed nothing but an advertising trick to gain legitimacy.
It is worthwhile to review the context of the document as well as its economic contents to value its possible impact on the Salvadoran reality. In the first place, it is clear that for the National Commission of Development the highest impact is on the housing area and the building structures. This is evident because of statements such as: "it is about 175 thousand houses that are either destroyed or inhabitable... one out of every six people is currently homeless". "Houses are the most overwhelming physical expression of what is happened. Houses are located in the heart of the disaster". "Numerous houses were damaged or destroyed in the cities".
This does not mean, however, that no reference is made about the society, the institution or about the productivity. The earthquakes changed the social and productive conditions, the work of new institutions, and the activities of the municipalities as well. The coffee-growing sector was affected up to 25%. According to international organizations, 50,000 jobs will be lost in the coffee —growing sector throughout the rural area.
From this diagnosis we go to the formulation of economic proposals, which materializes the key aspects that plan to relate emergency, reconstruction and development with "job and income" and "reactivation and reinforcement of production" economic strategies. A series of generic statements is made including scarce proposals: the "logic of reconstruction must be related to the dynamic push of the productive basis"; "If the first stage responds to the emergency, to the basic needs of someone who has lost everything, it also must generate economic activation"; " The creation of different ways of immediate income is a short term need"; "It is required that the reconstruction opens opportunities, so that families can have immediate income".
Concerning the "reactivation and reinforcement of the productive system", it is said that "people should be encouraged to become part of a local and regional resource management strategy", in order for them to produce the necessary means for the victims by relating housing and "productive activities".
These elements are enough to notice that the proposal is very much alike the governmental estimate of the disaster: it starts evaluating the effects, not the causes; it emphasizes the housing issue, and lacks proposals that might allow the “affected families”, as they are called in the document, to incorporate themselves into the benefits of development.
This kind of diagnosis has the risk to adopt reconstruction programs that, in the end, won´t change significantly the structural characteristics that make the society vulnerable, since they put it in a high risk situation (disasters and social conflicts). Just the use of the word “reconstruction” —apparently just a semantic problem— suggests that the intention is to return to the situation prior to the disaster; in other words, to go back to a highly risky and vulnerable situation. This is, from any point of view, unacceptable.
To pretend that the housing programs will generate jobs and income is a valid proposal, but it takes intermediate steps such as: vocational training for the workers who are actual victims, encouragement of small business with financing, technical assistance, marketing, and investments of both the domestic income and the international help in housing and small business.
Obviously, this cannot be done in a short term, it has to be accomplished in a mid term. Meanwhile, the benefit that the victims will obtain from the “reconstruction” seems that it will be limited —as it is usual in this sort of programs— to obtain some temporary income, while the construction of housing lasts and while the purchase of these is effective. The problem is that once the flow of help ends, the situation will be the same as it was before the earthquake, with the exception that the physical vulnerability will be mitigated, but the social, environmental and economic vulnerability will remain as usual.
The public policies orientation is a problem that concerns the government, which is responsible for generating post disaster development programs (not reconstruction ones), based on the lessons of history: the current development process has made us deepen our social contradictions, and establish an unsustainable relation with our natural surroundings.
The challenge to incorporate development strategies in the pos disasters response plan is open, and it requires a lot of creativity, but most of all it requires a national agreement as well. The proposal of the National Commission of Development lacks both aspects. Housing reconstruction and job and income generation for the victims are not new proposals.
The National Commission of Development has not made a proposal that goes against the governmental policy, which is not an objective, itself, but a need in the present moment. For instance, to propose that the 488 millions dollars to be invested in the coffee-growing sector will actually be invested in the micro, small and mid business would contradict the government’s programs. However, it is totally necessary to face the unemployment, the low income and the poverty issues in urban as well as in rural areas (something that the coffee-growing sector has not resolved, not even during its golden years).
The present challenge is to create new strategies of development that might solve structural problems such as poverty, environmental degradation, vulnerability and disasters. A first step is to realize the weaknesses and the strong features of the current economic model, the impact of the former development models, and the identification of problems, causes and solutions that would eventually lead us to the formulation of a development plan with coherent and consistent programs and projects.