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     Proceso is published weekly in Spanish by the Center for Information, Documentation and Research Support (CIDAI) of the Central American University (UCA) of El Salvador. Portions are sent in English to the *reg.elsalvador* conference of PeaceNet in the USA and may be forwarded or copied to other networks and electronic mailing lists. Please make sure to mention Proceso when quoting from this publication.
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Proceso 967
September 12, 2001
ISSN 0259-9864
 
 
 
 
 
 

INDEX

Editorial:  The FMLN that the right-wing wants
Politics:  About the resignation of Ernesto Lima Mena
Economy:  The water problem
 
 
 
 
 
 

EDITORIAL

    In many occasions, the collision of circumstances that reinforce each other is given in a social-political level. During the last few days, a situation such as the one previously described has been developing in this country: on the one side, the September celebrations —the civic month— have turned again into the favorable space for the most outdated nationalism, dressed with a few drops of anti-communism, to appear in the national press and in the official speech. The best —or the worst, depending on the perspective— is yet to come: blue and white flags everywhere, together with the traditional pledges of love to the patriotic symbols uttered by public officials of the highest ranks.

    A few days ago, with the Salvadoran espionage case in Honduras, another focal point of nationalist attraction was created for the popular imagination. That situation, along with the permanent border tensions between El Salvador and Honduras, puts in the hands of the “real Salvadorans” arguments in favor of the national territory’s defense that can be used
 —as it is presently happening in Honduras— when, for electoral needs (or any other need), some sector wants to manipulate the citizens. Patriotic celebrations and tensions with a country with whom a war was already fought: how suitable for those who conceive the nation as a hacienda of their exclusive property, and are willing to get to the last consequences to defend it.

    In case this was not enough, this right-wing nationalism has had another lucky strike, this time provided by its permanent enemy: the FMLN. As it is well known, the Salvadoran right-wing has always nourished itself from the “communist menace”. The ARENA party has done better than anyone else. The ARENA response has been as strong and as threatening as the FMLN menace has been conceived. In other words, ARENA became stronger keeping between its eyes the FMLN’s military and political work. The more dangerous this work has been conceived, the stronger the ideological and political cohesion has been in ARENA’s ranks. For the same reason, the right-wing’s consensus —when it comes to the key issues for the political and economic agenda— has been easier to achieve at the moments of “left-wing’s promotion”, that is, in times in which the communist threat has been felt closer or with more possibilities of success.

    It has to be noticed that such threat does not necessarily has to be a real threat, although it can be. For instance, the electoral achievements of the FMLN in the past elections were effective achievements, for this reason, the ARENA leadership had to respond with a series of rearrangements that still remain unfinished. However, the communist menace flag can be raised higher as an advertising strategy, and not because it could represent an objective threat.

    In this sense, it can be raised to reinforce an internal cohesion that is worn out by power disputes among the party sectors who lost the sight of the “common enemy”. Curiously, in ARENA, the weakening of the FMLN —caused by its endless internal frictions— has relaxed the discipline and the party’s unity, which can use an attention warning —expressed in the right-wings’ press— so they do not forget of the “danger” they are facing.

    Obviously, if that danger is not real, some signs of reality will have to be provided: the FMLN —informed the media screaming out loud— is receiving instructions from CUBA, specifically from Ramiro Abreu, Chief of the Latin America’s Department of the Cuban Communist Party. Which means that —according to the narrow interpretation that the right-wing press offers— that Castro’s Cuba is still making efforts to expand itself in Central America. The threat that it represents is not a matter to face with the arms crossed, since the Department of America —recalls El Diario de Hoy— is “an organism that supports both insurgent and drug dealing groups, and which keeps non-official diplomatic relations”.

    Therefore, for hundreds of right-wing sectors, anti-communism is still the unity factor of political and commercial interests that sometimes seem to forget about its real enemy. Very little important —from this perspective— are the FMLN’s real options when it comes to electoral issues, the effective capacity of Cuba to financially support the Salvadoran left-wing party, or that the insurgent alternative had been discarded by the Frente by signing the Peace Agreements: ARENA and the nationalist right-wing need a dose of anti-communism to feel sure about what they are, and to sand the rough edges that only announce violent ruptures.

    It all is about imagining a threatening FMLN, conspiring, always ready to attack. It does not matter much to emphasize —even if it is well known— on the crisis situation that the FMLN is going through, which has led it to ask for the help of the Cuban government. A weak FMLN, with no direction, going through endless disputes, is not very helpful for a right-wing anxious to recuperate an ideological profile that at times is diluted in minor fights. Clearly, it is not very helpful for propaganda or publicity, since if we put it in political terms nothing is more convenient than a Frente incapable of taking one step ahead.

    The FMLN that the right-wing wants for advertising purposes is then, a FMLN that has not given up its socialist and communist purposes. Anything that takes this direction will be very useful. For its electoral calculations, nothing is better than an internally rotten FMLN, with very little vision about the country’s situation and with the most overwhelming ingenuity.

    During the civic month, the nationalist right-wing can consider itself satisfied: in addition to its patriotic love, it can rave about fighting one more battle against a friend of a lifetime —communism— and its alliance in El Salvador.

    A manifested desire of the right-wing is to make out of El Salvador a “businessmen’s paradise”. How many times ARENA’s main political actors have expressed their ideas in these terms. Occasionally, it has been said that ARENA’s roots and its “compromise with peace” are owed to the official party’s founders firm conviction that the fratricidal war situation that the country suffered was not favorable for the development of commercial activities. Individual initiatives were not possible back then.

    In addition, the free market companies were under the communist menace, as some of the most nostalgic ARENA members usually remember about the anti-communist origins of the party. In the same sense, they consider themselves as the guardians of the commercial freedom principles for which their founders fought for. That is why to recall the names of some of the ARENA “martyrs” is the pride that the sympathizers of this political party usually sing at the top of their lungs with pride. Specially when this commercial faith is in harmony with the dominant ideology at the modern occidental world.

    However, on the other hand, the ARENA businessmen consider themselves the chosen ones to enjoy the benefits of the free trade activities. The fact that they define themselves as the most important defenders of such activities would explain this sort of acquired right. >From this moment on, their main social, economic and political organizations start working with the purpose of defending such sacred principles. Whoever opposes to them is not only considered an enemy of the most sacred aspect of humankind: the profits that the economic activities generate. It does not matter that the consequences of those benefits turn into abuses for the rest of the society.

    The sacred liberal doctrine defends individuals before defending society, and it is explained as the result of adding all of these people together. In this context, the regulations to the individual trading activities and taking care of the abuse committed by the businessmen against the rights of other society members cannot be tolerated. They do not only count with the liberal doctrine, but they also have the society’s most efficient resources to make seem natural the fact that they violate other liberal principles, such as the people’s equality and dignity.

    The discussion about the regulation and the respect for the consumers’ rights in the country belongs to this context. An evidence of such situation is the forced resignation, a few days ago, of the Telecommunications and Electricity superintendent, Ernesto Lima Mena. He announced last week that he had presented his irrevocable resignation to the Republic’s president, Francisco Flores, unhappy about the economic groups during his performance as superintendent.

    Lima Mena’s  professional background as the responsible for the Telecommunication and Electricity General Superintendence has been sort of complicated. Ever since his designation, the consumer prices for electric energy and telecommunications have constantly increased. However, his resignation is more important because that national branch is supposed to have an important role for the defense of the national consumers’ interests.

    It is important to remember that Lima Mena, before presenting his resignation to the president of the Republic, had been involved in a sort of debate with the influential sectors of the national business companies. In the first place, the superintendent had been criticized by his performance against the most important national telephone company, found guilty of listening to telephone conversations. The former superintendent fined the company involved and asked the Attorney General’s Office to investigate. This decision caused angry protests from the businessmen involved and from certain public safety officials, suspects of being linked to telephonic espionage. In addition, the superintendent’s performance was strengthened by the decision taken by the Supreme Court of Justice (to revoke the decision of the institution’s directors, the businessmen’s representatives, to revoke Lima Mena’s performance).

    On the other hand, the superintendent became involved in another discussion with the telephone companies’ businessmen, because of his last decision to regulate the charge for the voice mail. This indiscriminate practice, according to the former superintendent, annually costs millions of colones to the cellular telephone service national customers. This decision was another cause of friction between the companies’ businessmen and the superintendent.

    In this context, after the second anniversary celebration of the Francisco Flores’ administration (which meant important changes in his cabinet), he announced a meeting to evaluate the superintendent’s performance. Finally, due to the businessmen’s pressures, Lima Mena is forced to resign. He expressed that he had tried to make the consumer’s defense principle come true against the voracity and the abuse of the company owners. His intentions were worthless, despite the fact that he is a prominent member of the party that holds the power. His irrevocable resignation was demanded, in order to let another person take his position, someone according to the businessmen’s wishes.

    The abrupt end to Lima Mena’s story as superintendent of Communications and electricity is very much alike the destiny of both his predecessors. Just like Orlando de Sola and Erick Casamiquela, Lima Mena had to abandon his position before the time stipulated by the law. The only thing that this last resignation proves is that the Superintendence is a battlefield for businessmen and ARENA’s politicians. It seems as if the sectors involved do not come to an agreement about the margins that they have to give to the person whose charge is the responsibility to take care of the citizenry’s interests, regulating the performance of the telecommunications and the electricity companies.

    These apparent differences inside the right-wing about the superintendent’s functions have to do with up to what point the businessmen are willing to be supervised and regulated when it comes to affect their own benefits. However, since the fight is between those who consider themselves the heirs of the market’s features, it is difficult to foresee a favorable end of story for the consumers. The last hope that is left at his moment could be the considerable expenses that the high prices of electric energy mean to all the national company owners. Counting with that, maybe the business elites will come to an agreement some day, in order to allow a certain amount of freedom for a superintendent willing to regulate the energy and telecommunication sectors.

    Over three decades ago, the water supply issue appeared as one of the greatest challenges for the development models. This was not only because of the need to supply a growing population that was geographically concentrated, but also to guarantee an adequate hydrological cycle and, therefore, an adequate renovation of superficial and underground sources. The suspension of the water supply to San Salvador (a city with 1,500,000 inhabitants) for almost a week (from September the 9th through September the 14th, 2001) is precisely the result of an inadequate administration of the water resources which, by the way, is not the exclusive responsibility of the present National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA, in Spanish).

    The problem is alive; it has deep economic, social and environmental implications, and it threatens to become one of the most serious environmental limitations for the sustainable development. In this sense, the present situation requests a brief reflection about the water issue in El Salvador, however, not only from the present rationing perspective, but mostly from three fundamental aspects: the situation of the water collection, the water resources’ contamination and the reform proposals for the water sector that have been made public along the nineties.

    El Salvador is located in an area of abundant pluvial precipitations that —at least theoretically— should be considered as a wide availability of water. However, not all the water that precipitates is obtainable for human consumption. Two thirds are consumed by evaporation, while only a third is available to use. The problem becomes more serious due to the rupture of the hydrological cycle, which is a result of the vegetation elimination, since this one allows a higher retention of the water precipitation, favors its infiltration to fertile grounds and water mantles, and prevents the erosion menace. In El Salvador, over 80% of the territory is already suffering deforestation, which causes that most of the water precipitation runs freely on the ground eroding it, obstructing the water residues and reducing the amount that filtrates through the deep water an agricultural grounds.

    This activity does not only affect the water collection, but also originates severe restrictions for the agriculture, because it causes erosion on fertile grounds and avoids the humidity retention on the superficial layers of the ground, compromising with this the development of the cultivation (basic grains, generally). In addition, the absence of vegetation in the hydrographic river basins favors environmental threats such as dry seasons and floods, since it reduces its capacity to retain and infiltrate the precipitations.

    An additional restriction for the water accumulation is caused by the growing urbanization of San Salvador, which has promoted the water resistance of high water filtration areas. The paving of streets and the building constructions lead to a reduction of the infiltration area to the San Salvador water resources, to the point that practically ever since the seventies it was detected that its level was being reduced in approximately a meter per year. The growing immigration to the city and its overwhelming expansion obliged to use other water resources for its supplying, and that is how a water supplying system is built, which transports it from the highest area of the Lempa river to San Salvador. Presently, most of the water supplying depends on this system, as it shows the fact that its inoperativeness has left 70% of San Salvador without the water service.

    The problem of the insufficient collection of the precipitated water is added to the threat of the superficial and underground water contamination, for the water services as much as for the industrial pollution. The ANDA only transports the water services from the main cities of the country to the close rivers without subjecting them to at least a minimum treatment. On the other hand, most of the industrial and craftsmanship companies do not examine its residues and they discharge them without any treatment into superficial bodies of water which later transport them to the Lempa river (precisely the name of the river which supplies the system of the same name). In the beginning of the nineties, it was estimated that only a 6% of the industrial companies of San Salvador treated their residues. It does not seem odd in this context that most of the studies about water contamination —including the government’s— agree that in a 90% that the resource is already contaminated.

    This is the scenery where, in the present time, studies and proposals are made with a tendency to reform the institutions responsible to administrate the water resources and decentralize the operation of the water systems. In a good deal, the process has been propelled by the Inter-American Bank of Development’s sponsorship (BID, in Spanish), an institution that promotes a three objective reform for the water service: to create an water resource authority that will define policies and rights to use the water; to elaborate a regulation frame; and to promote a “commercial reform” that allows the participation of the private business sector in the sanitation and the water services, a field reserved for the State up to this day.

    This is how the State’s reform would also be contemplating the redefinition of its administrative role. Essentially, a change in its intervention would be discussed in a way that, instead of being the administrator of the water and sanitation services, it would only plan the definition of policies and regulations of the water service. The collection, transportation, distribution and the process of making water potable, as well as the maintenance of the water systems and the sanitation would be transferred, eventually, to the hands of the public operators (essentially city halls), private ones and combined.

    As it can be intuited, the water problem in El Salvador, is not only generated by some technical deficiency of the Lempa river. It has to do with an unsustainable dynamic of the utilization of ecosystems and hydrographic river basins that limit the water collection that precipitates during winter, they compromise the growth of the superficial and the underground reserves, and in addition, contaminate the existing supply. These processes are, at the same time, the result of structural characteristics of the Salvadoran society as, for instance, the concentrated distribution of the best lands in very few hands, the eternal technical and economic (credit) abandonment in which the peasant sector is, and the uncontrollable urbanization that leads to replace green areas with concrete.

    The water resources situation demand a legal and institutional reform of the sector. However, such reform should not be seen from the State’s role modification perspective, and the entrance of the private business companies, since there also exist structural conditions that are as important as the institutional problems.

    The water service reform has to consider the need to harmonize the economic tendencies with the   need to use the natural resources in a sustainable way, specially water. Undeniably, it is important to realize that the water service problem cannot be reduced to the construction or the enlargement of the water supplying systems, but that it goes through the reform of economic and social aspects that attempt against the sustainability of the water supplies and the Salvadoran economic model.