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Wednesday, March 29, 2006
President Elect of Costa Rica Speaks Out
Óscar Arias, president-elect of Costa Rica and Nobel Prize winner, was critical of rich countries for agriculatural
subsidies, calling them "irrational, unjust, and hypocritical".
"I have often said that there are millions of pople who earn one dollar a day and there are cows in Switzerland
whose owners are given three dollars a day for each cow."
Arias continued, "It is absolutely irrational, unjust, hypocritical and cynical on the part of the rich
countries, that say that they want to help the poor countries in this area and they do not do it even though they are able."
Monday, March 27, 2006
Captain Admits Role in Archbishop Romero's Death
(UPI) -- A former El Salvador air force captain has admitted to playing a role in the killing of a prominent
bishop from that country in 1980, El Nuevo Herald reported.
Alvaro Saravia said he is willing to break his 26-year silence regarding the death of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo
Romero and name other people involved in an upcoming book.
Saravia was a close aide to the late Roberto D'Aubuisson, an alleged death squad leader who founded the Nationalist
Republican Alliance (ARENA), which is currently in power.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Flor Continues to Improve
In February the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York brought a little girl from El Salvador to Syracuse
for surgery to correct 'the worst case of ricketts I've ever seen' (according to Professor Brad Olson, M.D.). I add
this short introduction for those not familiar. Her current status is related below by Bonnie Adams, R.N., who is also
the bishop's wife.
"Flor’s visit to the Dr.’s went very
well. The X-ray at Dr. Katz’s office was done with her lying flat on her back. They took a picture from her hips
to her ankles. Dr. Harley was extremely
impressed with her left leg and said that it is perfect. The right leg is about as good as it is going to get.
The femur is healing and the tibia needs to heal more. She will have the halo until the tibia heals but no more adjustments. Flor needs to work on bringing her whole foot up (like she was
standing). She also needs to be bending her knees more. These are things the Therapist can work on but Flor needs
to be working on them as well. The more she does the stronger her legs will be."--thanks Donna!!!
Flor's next appointments will be 4/21
and 4/24. She has been dangling her legs a lot and has not requested pain meds for a few days now. She loves to play cards
and other games. She went on her first road trip yesterday in a car, saw a children's play. Today I took her in my car to
go to church and out to lunch. So, I do not think I need to call Medical Transport anymore to pick her up for appointments.
And now she can go on field trips! In two weeks they will be going to Niagara Falls with some folks from St.James, Skaneateles.
I plan to bring them to the Cathedral for Easter. Flor has a tutor 2-3 times a week, books were borrowed from Seymour
bilingual school but no luck on getting the teacher's editions yet. Nancy Graham is the liason between the tutor and
State Street Elementary school for some materials. We are also looking for little science kits- like caterpillars/butterfly.
Flor also has physical therapy 3 times a week and Rosa has a reading class twice a week.
May 6th will mark a new chapter as
Rosa and Flor move to Fayetteville to stay with Donna Bye and her family.The physical therapist will simply move to this new
location, she says it will be closer for her. The local schools have a heads up (thanks to MaryEllen Wiley!) and will be helping
out, and her tutor may also continue to teach her after she moves to her next location.
In about a month Flor should start
weight bearing! Another new chapter.
Reunited After 24 Years
Teresa Hernández was reunited with her father on Saturday after being separated
in October 1981 during the civil war. This is the first case resolved by the Comisión Interinstitucional de Búsqueda
de Niños y Niñas Desaparecidos.
Sun, March 26, 2006 | link
Huge Immigration Protests Across the USA
Latin@s and North Americans protest in Los Angeles against the proposed immigration laws.
Sun, March 26, 2006 | link
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Bishops Oppose Immigration 'Reform' Legislation
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church on March 22 adopted a resolution "opposing
legislation making humanitarian acts unlawful" regarding care and aid extended to "undocumented immigrants."
RESOLVED, that the House of Bishops, meeting at Kanuga, March 17-22, 2006,
reaffirming the action of Executive Council, meeting in Philadelphia, March 6-9, 2006, declares its strong opposition to any
legislation that would make it unlawful for faith-based or humanitarian organizations to act to relieve the suffering of undocumented
immigrants in response to the Gospel mandate to serve the least among us and our Baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ
in all persons;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Bishops calls upon the people
of the Episcopal Church to act on their Baptismal covenant without regard to such unjust legislation.
Red Tide Causes Turtle Deaths
(UPI) Wildlife Conservation Society scientists say a 'red tide' event off the coast of El Salvador last
year directly caused the deaths of some 200 sea turtles.
WCS and other organizations Thursday released the results of tests conducted in January off the southern coast
of El Salvador, to help determine why the ocean-going reptiles were dying in such high numbers.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Venezuela to Sell Cheap Fuel to Certain Cities in El Salvador
The government of Venezuela has signed a deal with a group of mayors from El Salvador, agreeing to sell fuel
under preferential terms to parts of the Central American country.
The oil deal was signed between the Venezuelan state oil firm subsidiary PDV
Caribe and the Intermunicipal Energy Association for El Salvador, which officials said was formed by mayors of the Farabundo
Marti National Liberation Front party, or FMLN.
Monday, March 20, 2006
El Salvador Imports Twice What It Exports
El Salvador is fourteenth in the world on a list -- but it's not a good list. They have a very high
trade deficit -- more than $3B per year. They import oil, cars, and medical equipment, of course, but also food and
clothing -- even nails. Fortunately, remesas send by Salvadorans working overseas -- both legally and not -- almost
balance out the trade deficit.
Pro Búsqueda Awaits Apology from Government
Pro Búsqueda is a grass roots organization founded by Fr. Jon Cortina, S.J. (1934-2005). Their sole
purpose is to find children who 'disappeared' in the civil war. (See http://amlat.oneworld.net/article/view/128286/1/1730 for an eulogy written at the time of Cortina's death in December).
743 cases of missing children have been registered with Pro Búsqueda since 1994. Finding them is very
difficult since many were infants when they disappeared. Pro Búsqueda has located 88 and reunited many with their families;
understandably some children -- who now reside in the USA or Europe and are in their 20's -- do not wish to meet their parents.
The parents at least have some closure and know if their long lost children are alive or dead -- 38 have been found to have
died.
The Interamerican Court of Human Rights (part of the OAS) has recently ruled -- in the case of two children
named Serrano -- that the government was clearly responsible for their abduction. (Witnesses testified that they saw
government helicopters taking them away.) Pro Búsqueda and the parents would like a simple apology from the government
for their complicity in the alleged crimes, as has been done by many other governments -- even the Pope for the Holocaust.
The Salvadoran goverment refuses. Recently a Mass of Petition was held in the undercroft of the cathedral at the tomb
of Archbishop Romero.
See also: http://probusqueda.org.sv and http://www.diariocolatino.com/nacionales/detalles.asp?NewsID=11737
El Salvador seeks to copy IDF model
From Israeli sources:
The Israel Defense Forces has gained a worldwide reputation for being a small and wise army, but El Salvador
has gone a step further as its government decided to set up an army based on the IDF model.
The central American's defense minister approached Israel’s Ambassador Yonatan Peled and asked that Israel
assist his country in building a modern and efficient army, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.
[El Salvador is one of only three countries with embassies in Jerusalem. The others are Greece and Costa
Rica.]
Friday, March 17, 2006
El Salvador's Old Hostilities Resurface in Mayoral Election
From LA Times
SAN SALVADOR — A leftist former guerrilla was declared the winner of the mayor's race in this capital city
Thursday, following a disputed, razor-close finish that exposed the continuing divisions in El Salvador between right and
left.
Violeta Menjivar of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, won the race by a scant 44 votes,
following a tense night of protest and street battles in San Salvador three days after Sunday's election.
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In the weeks before the election, the Arena and FMLN candidates engaged in a bitter campaign
tinged with increasingly incendiary rhetoric reminiscent of this nation's 12-year civil war, which ended in 1992. Back then,
the two factions fought with bullets.
"These hatreds still exist between people who remember the war, people who are
now in their 50s and 60s," said Leonel Gomez, a political analyst here. "These older leaders are passing on a culture of violence
to the youth."
Arena mayoral candidate Rodrigo Samayoa conceded defeat at a news conference Thursday. In a gesture
of reconciliation, El Salvador's president, Tony Saca of Arena, called Menjivar to congratulate her.
But the FMLN lost
its dominance of the national legislature to Arena, as well as its control of city hall in several provincial towns and cities,
which were won by Arena and other parties.
The FMLN's narrow victory in San Salvador also was taken as a sign of the
weakening of the former guerrilla movement, which has held the capital in three consecutive elections since the first post-civil
war elections in 1997.
Political analysts said the dispute over San Salvador's mayor's race would only feed a growing
disillusionment with the democratic process. More voters — 45% of the electorate — stayed away from the polls than voted for
any single party, said Napoleon Campos, a political analyst here.
"The bigger winner in this election was absenteeism,"
he said. "The big losers were the people, reconstruction and democracy."
Menjivar and the FMLN, Campos added, will
rule San Salvador with a politically impaired administration that faces increasing municipal debt and pressure from a powerful
union movement to raise public employee wages.
The FMLN fought a series of right-wing governments in the 12-year war
during which 75,000 people were killed. Peace accords were signed in 1992. The FMLN gave up guerrilla warfare and formed a
political party that has been highly critical of El Salvador's close ties with Washington.
The Arena party, once linked
to the country's notorious death squads, has won every presidential election since the civil war.
Several people were
hurt in the clashes Wednesday night, in which police say protesters opened fire against them. The officers responded with
tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring seven.
"We are on the verge of another conflict," political analyst Gomez said.
"There are people who are starting to talk about taking up arms again, people saying they can't put up with the economic situation.
People are desperate."
Thursday, March 16, 2006
First Woman Mayor of San Salvador
At 2:30 AM EST the Tribunal Supremo Electoral finally announced that, after verification of all the contested
ballots, physician Violeta Menjívar is declared elected to the mayor's post in San Salvador.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Still Undecided...
At 2:00 AM EST the authorities had not announced a victor in the mayoral race in San Salvador. Various
news outlets were saying that the FMLN cnadidate was in the lead in the counting.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Victor in Mayor's Race About to be Announced
At 7:27 PM EST the TSE said they were about to announce a victor in the race for mayor of San Salvador.
Violeta Menjivar, candidate of the FMLN, appears to be in the lead by a few votes. She would be the first woman to be
elected to this important office -- argueably the second most important political office in the country.
El Salvador Has Election Irregularities
From Prensa Latina:
The international observers at the El Salvador municipal and legislative elections Sunday, denounced several
irregularities Tuesday.
One of the anomalies, detected by observers from US, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, was non-functioning of
indelible ink pens so the vote was not secret.
Also observed were non-registered voters and those with questionable identity cards.
Even more serious was the buying of votes and that civil servants were forced to man the governing party´s
ballot boxes.
The international commission also criticized the over-activism of President Elias Antonio Saca, who led the
campaign of the ARENA party, Nationalist Republican Alliance, including on Sunday.
According to US observer Krista Lee, the report on this election will take two more weeks.
The final report will be given to the Electoral Supreme Court and authorities of the four countries represented
by the committee.
The Count Continues
The most recent count gives the FMLN candidate, Violeta Menjívar, a 116 vote lead in the important race
for mayor of San Salvador. The legislature looks to be under the control of the rightist parties (ARENA and PCN) with
44 of the 84 deputies (ARENA 34 and PCN 10). FMLN has 32, PDC 6 and CD 2. 33 of the 84 deputies are new.
Both of the major parties are claiming 'victory'.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Legislative Assembly Falls to ARENA
As of 1:00 PM CST the preliminary data gave ARENA 34 seats in the legislature, 32 FMLN, 11 PCN, 5 PDC, and
2 for CD.
ARENA Takes Majority of Mayor's Races
146 mayor's races went to ARENA, 59 to the FMLN, 38 to PCN, 14 to PDC and 3 for
CD.
See Saw Race for Mayor of El Salvador
At 7:00 AM EST, the official count gave the ARENA candidate a 15 vote lead over the FMLN candidate with
almost 88% of the votes counted. If she wins Violeta Menjívar of the FMLN will be the first woman elected to this key
position.
Latest Results
At midnight, Salvadoran time, 60.6% of the vote had been tallied. Results nationally were:
FMLN 39.28%, 33 deputies
ARENA 39.06%, 32 deputies
PCN 11.44%, 10 deputies
PDC 7.03%, 4 deputied
CD 3.09%, 2 deputies and
PNL 0.10%.
Violeta Menjívar, FMLN, seems to be holding on to a small lead in the mayor's
race in San Salvador. The current mayor was elected on the FMLN ticket. The incumbents held on to their offices
in the second and third largest cities.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
More Results
The embattled ARENA mayor of San Martin (my adopted home town) has apparently been tossed out. FMLN
has 43.6% of the vote; ARENA has only 41.8%. Elsewhere in the Department of San Salvador (which constitutes almost 30%
of the population of the country) seven of the nineteen mayor's races have been declared for the FMLN. The rest are
not decided.
FMLN now has a slight lead in the Legislative election (33 to 32 deputies).
Latest Results
At 9:30 PM EST (aka, bedtime) the mayor's race in San Salvador is neck and neck between FMLN and ARENA.
Likewise the National Assembly is currently 33 deputies for each major party. The other lefist parties have six and
the rightist party has ten, so the right would seem to have control of the legislature.
Updated Results on Legislative Assembly
Results at 9:00 PM EST:
ARENA: 33
FMLN: 34
PCN: 8
PDC: 4
CD: 2
Other Races for Mayor
Orlando Mena of the PDC is reported to have won in Santa Ana, the second largest city. In San Miguel,
the next largest, the PCN is reported to have won.
FMLN Takes Lead in San Salvador
At 8:30 EST, FMLN is reported to have 45.3% of the vote. ARENA has 44.4%. This is with 20% of
the sites reporting.
Results for Election of Legislature
Early results:
ARENA: 33
FMLN: 33
PCN: 10
PDC: 3
CD: 2
Current breakdown:
ARENA: 29
FMLN: 24
PCN: 14
Independent: 7
CDU: 5
PDC: 2
53% Turn Out
When polls closed at 5:00 PM (6:00 PM EST) more than 53% of the registered voters had cast their ballots.
Only the 2004 presidential election achieved a higher turnout. Early estimates gave the government party (ARENA) a slight
edge in the mayor's race in San Salvador; this would mean the FMLN is losing this important post.
Pictures from the Elections
Sun, March 12, 2006 | link
Elections Underway
As of noon in El Salvador (1:00 PM EST) about 30% of the registered voters had gone to the polls in the
elections for the Legislative Assembly and the mayors of all of El Salvador.
Current Legislative Assembly includes deputies from five political parties. In alphabetical order
they are:
Sun, March 12, 2006 | link
Monday, March 6, 2006
You Go, Girl
Two items of interest:
- Women make up 53.5% of the 3.8 million Salvadorans registered to vote in next Sunday's elections for the
national assembly and for mayors. 25% of those registered are between 18 and 23 years old.
- More than half of the money sent home to Latin America (remesas) is sent by women. In the past five
years the total of the remesas has risen from $18 to $45 billion. About $25 billion is sent by women. About 42%
of Latinas and Latinos working outside their home country regularly send money home.
CAFTA enters into force
On Wednesday, March 1st Ambassador H. Douglas Barclay joined Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca, Vice
President Ana Vilma de Escobar, Minister of Economy Yolanda de Gavidia, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Laínez at
the official ceremony to announce CAFTA’s entry into force for the United States and El Salvador.
The event was held at Industrias Río Grande, a producer of ethnic food products that is hoping to expand its
exports to the US.
Mon, March 6, 2006 | link
Weekly Thoughts from Pastor Dana Reardon
We are going through a process in our congregation of rethinking who we
are. We are writing a new mission statement. I hope that it will be a time to rethink what it means to be
Christ to the world. All of us as individuals and stewards ought to have our own mission statement. We ought
to know who we are in this world and what we are called here to do. Then stewardship becomes bringing all the resources
that you have to bear on doing what you are called to do. Once my former bishop told me that I had the heart of an
urban pastor because, "I saw something where there was nothing and worked to make it happen." My response was, "Shouldn't
every pastor?" But the question is really, "Shouldn't every Christian see what God intended in this world even
when it is not yet much in evidence and then work to make it happen?" Begin by reexamining who you are. Maybe
look at your birth certificate, but more likely your baptismal certificate. Mine was an old, (of course) form that had
the baptismal service printed right in it. What did you affirm at your confirmation? Who really are you
and what have you been created into this world to accomplish? If you haven't thought about that lately then perhaps
this lent is a good time. My mission statement is short. I don't accomplish it every day. I should reaffirm
it even more often. I stumbled on it by accident when I was helping another congregation to think about who they were.
Mine simply says, "Sharing Christ's love." That includes good news for me because I get a share in it too. And
it also gives me a direction that is outside myself. It also tells me where to put my time and my resources.
Your statement might be more specific. It might be more family or community focused but certainly is other focused.
Being Christ propels us outside ourselves. Being stewards puts us into a flow from God through us to the world.
Friday, March 3, 2006
92.3% of Children are Registered for School
According to recent government figures, 92.3% of the children between seven and twelve years old are registered
in the educational system, according to vice-minister of Education, Jose Luis Guzmán. Of course, especially in the more
rural areas and in the poorest areas in the cities, daily attendance is lower -- sometimes considerably lower. In rural
areas children may have to walk great distances to school, which is particularly difficult when the roads turn to morasses of mud in the rainy season. To their credit, however,
education is the single largest line item in the government's budget and they say they are striving for 100% registration
by 2015.
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Central America Moves Toward Customs Union
The tenth round of negotiations between the countries of Central America
is underway in Costa Rica. The hope is that the countries of the region will create a customs free region similar to
the EU. This action could improve trade between CA and the EU. There are about 30 million people in Central America;
there are almost a half a billion people in the EU.
The EU is the second most important trade (12% of total trade) and investment
partner for Central American after the United States (46% of total trade). Trade (exports and imports) between the region
and the EU represents some 0.4 % of total EU external trade, with exports from Central America being mainly agricultural goods
and imports from the EU predominantly industrialised goods. EU direct foreign investment in the Central American sub-region
has grown from some €140 million in 1994 to €540 million in 1999.
Two More Infants Die from Diarrhea
The Ministry of Health reports that two more infants have died in the past two days in the epedemic of rotatvirus
that began in January, bringing the total to 26. More than 55 thousand cases have been seen this year, and officials
believe they are seeing only 40% of the cases.
Mirna Carolina Muñoz carries her
nephew, Diego Esaú, who has been admitted to Zacamil Hospital, in Mejicanos.
Images from Ash Wednesday
Interesting that this video was on the main page of one of the country's leading newspapers.
Thu, March 2, 2006 | link
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