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Saturday, March 22, 2008
The View from Rome
(From Zenit.org) Archbishop Romero's Beatification Cause Stalled
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, MARCH 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- As the 28th anniversary of the assassination of San Salvador's archbishop nears, the prelate's cause of beatification
still needs more time.
Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of San Salvador was assassinated March 24, 1980, when celebrating
Mass. He was a staunch critic of the El Salvadorian government and defender of the poor.
The adjunct postulator of
the cause of beatification and the vicar general of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, Monsignor Jesús Delgado, told a Latin
American communications service that a Vatican panel is examining "the social doctrine of the Church in the homilies and writings
of Archbishop Romero."
Monsignor Delgado explained to the Organización Católica Latinoamericana de Comunicación (Latin
American Catholic Organization of Communication) that a Latin American cardinal proposed delaying the prelate's beatification
cause to "give a little more time to the process, because in El Salvador, sentiments are still very conflicting."
According
to the monsignor, there are in El Salvador "two groups: those who are for Archbishop Romero, and sometimes take him as their
flag for a political fight; and those who are against him and would like him totally dead, even in the memory of history."
The monsignor explained the cardinal's point of view that it would not be good to canonize "a saint who would result in reinforcing
disunity and conflict."
Many in El Salvador will celebrate the 28th anniversary of the prelate's assassination with
a series of conferences and other activities from March 24 to 29. The events are organized by the Romero Foundation, led by
Monsignor Ricardo Urioste and an ad-hoc committee recognized by El Salvador's episcopal conference.
Benedict XVI recalled
Archbishop Romero in his Feb. 28 address to El Salvador's new ambassador to the Holy See, referring to him as one of the "pastors full of love for God"
who has helped to root the Gospel in the Central American nation, "bringing abundant fruits of Christian life and holiness."
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Airline Maintenance in El Salvador
In the wake of their recent maintenance troubles, Southwest Airlines has backed off their plan to outsource
some of their maintenance work to El Salvador. America West and Jet Blue are already sending their planes to El Salvador.
The FAA has never found a significant problem with this outsourcing but the unions in the USA and some others are concerned.
Polls Cover Salvadoran Presidential Race
The election of the national legislature is scheduled for January 18, 2009, and the presidential election
on March 15, 2009. Angus Reid (http://www.angus-reid.com/) has been reporting on polling in El Salvador for the last seven months. The most recent poll shows the FMLN candidate,
Mauricio Funes, well in the lead with 44% vs. the just named ARENA candidate, Rodrigo Ávila, who is at 23%. As recently
as February ARENA led FMLN, 30% to 24%.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
From Tim's El Salvador Blog
More than 20,000 Salvadoran were
deported from the US
back to El Salvador during 2007. That
means one out of every 300 persons in El Salvador
right now arrived courtesy of US immigration authorities in the past 12 months.
Joe DeRaymond, an activist currently
working in El Salvador, wrote to describe
how this flow of persons from south to north has become institutionalized:
Looking north from El Salvador, one quickly realizes that there is no stopping
this tide. The latest United Nations figures indicate that 1,070 people every day are leaving El Salvador for the trip north. This human flow is not a flow that will be stopped;
it has been institutionalized and constructed into the societies of El Salvador,
and of the United States.
For example, in 2007, Salvadorans
working in the United States sent $3.695 billion back to El Salvador to family members left behind. This represents
18% of the Gross Domestic Product of El Salvador. The latest census data indicates that the population in El Salvador is about 5.6 million people, which means that almost a third of the population
is living and working in the US, given that well over 2 million are in
the US....
The trip north is made in many
ways, depending on your resources. For $10,000, one can get a custom, first class journey north, by boat or plane. For those
with no money, a very difficult train ride north, hopping freight trains through Mexico is a commonly used route. An often cited fee for an overland trip north
with a guide, called a coyote, is $6,500. What these numbers mean is that every day, millions of dollars are spent on human
traficking, on the monetization of migration from a weak, dominated economy to the largest consumer economy in the world.
And economically, El Salvador is hurting. Bean prices have gone from $.60 a
pound in June of 2007 to $1.15 a pound throughout the country and as much as $1.25 a pound in the eastern part of the country.
Bread and milk prices are rising rapidly; gasoline is at least $3.60 a gallon. There is high unemployment, and the jobs available
do not pay enough to justify the work. The minimum wage in the countryside is $85 a month; in the city, $174 a month. If a
family is not receiving remittances from a family member working in the US,
it is very poor.
Testimony of a University Student
What I heard at dinner on the first night of spring break was hard to believe. A group of seven other Georgetown
students, two leaders from Campus Ministry and I spent the break in El Salvador as part of the “Magis Immersion and Justice
Program,” and to kick off our trip we went to a small restaurant with our guide and bus driver. I was practicing my Spanish
and chatting with our driver, Santos, about how much I was looking forward to the week. It was Santos’ response that took
me by surprise. Rather than returning my excitement or laughing along with me, he became very solemn and told me this would
be one of the most important weeks of my life. He told me that our group would be learning and seeing so much during our time
there that our lives would be changed afterward. I found Santos’ statement touching, but couldn’t help but think he was being
a little dramatic. I knew I would be exposed to different lifestyles and challenges during the trip, but it seemed unlikely
that one week could change my life.http://www.georgetownvoice.com/2008-03-13/voices/the-el-salvador-experience
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Gangs in El Salvador
Interesting article from Al Jazeera on the gangs and work that is being done to help young people.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
El Salvador's ratings are supported by a stable monetary and economic environment
(From Fitch Ratings) El Salvador's ratings are supported by a stable monetary and economic environment,
a good record on structural reforms (including the implementation of DR-CAFTA), a manageable public-sector debt burden, and
stronger governance indicators than its rating peers.
El Salvador's ratings are constrained by relatively modest growth rates compared to the 'BB' median, structural
weaknesses in public finances, especially the low revenue base, as well as weak social indicators and high crime rates, which
detract from sustained investment and growth.
Fitch notes the continuation of positive trends observed in the last review, including a second consecutive
year of higher GDP growth and reduced potential for contingent liabilities due to greater foreign participation in the banking
system. Meanwhile, high oil prices, slowing U.S. growth (which could weaken demand for El Salvador's exports and dampen remittance
inflows), and increased political uncertainty represent El Salvador's primary near-term challenges.
"Higher growth remains critical for El Salvador's dollarized economy to keep public debt dynamics on a downward
trajectory, as well as to improve social conditions and increase per capita income," said Casey Reckman, Associate Director
in Fitch's Sovereign Group.
Sustained consumption and investment drove 4.7% real GDP growth in 2007 and Fitch expects growth of 4% over
the forecast horizon led by the agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and services sectors. A sharper than expected US slowdown
combined with the higher uncertainty related to El Salvador's political cycle could increase downside risks to growth forecasts.
http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/453020.html
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/04/afx4725680.html
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Ruling ARENA Holds Early Lead
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The undefined candidate of El Salvador’s governing conservatives holds a slight
edge in the early stages of the country’s presidential race, according to a poll by Consulta Mitofsky released by TCS. 29.8
per cent of respondents would vote for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) nominee in the next election, up 1.9 points
since November.
A candidate representing the opposition leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) would be
second with 24.3 per cent. More than two-in-five respondents remain undecided.
Antonio Saca, a media businessman, was elected in March 2004 as the ARENA candidate, garnering 57.73 per cent
of the vote. ARENA candidates have won the last four presidential elections in the Central American country. Saca is ineligible
for a consecutive term in office.
Earlier this month, FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes—a television journalist—alleged that he is
the victim of political persecution, declaring, "I’ve been on tour for four months along the country’s municipalities, and
what we have noticed is that, over the past few weeks, pick-up trucks with tinted windows have been following us."
In November 2007, Saca announced that ARENA would choose its next presidential nominee by holding a three-candidate
nationwide primary before March 2008. Yesterday, ARENA revealed the names of the three contenders: former National Police
chief Rodrigo Ávila, current vice-president Ana Vilma de Escobar, and former presidential advisor Luis Mario Rodríguez.
New Videos from February Pilgrimage
I've got about three hours of video to edit. The original footage of two clips has been loaded into
You Tube. Unfortunately some of the resolution is lost. More later.
Go to:
and
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