tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post428779282555366211..comments2024-03-28T11:30:20.005-05:00Comments on El Salvador Perspectives: Protests over water policy met with rubber bullets and tear gasTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-26809788625535046962008-04-21T17:13:00.000-05:002008-04-21T17:13:00.000-05:00I think I am going to have to second what Wesley h...I think I am going to have to second what Wesley has said. The problem is that many times here in El Salvador the anti development groups, many sponsored by money from the states and Canada, push their political agenda by trucking in shock troops, paying them a few bucks plus lunch to yell scream and make a stink or create violence. The ring leaders whip the troops into a lather, hand them them the rocks and molotiv coktails and fade back and watch the fireworks pretending their hands aren't dirty. It would be my guess that the gov't had some good intel and took the opportunity to lay the blame on those that deserved the credit for the problems. I am not in favor of violence but sometimes these "activists" bring it on themselves. It would be really cool to see the PDDH look after the rights of the common citizen to enjoy a well ordered society instead of always looking out for the rabble rousers doing their best to halt progress and foment violence here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-68460489914745659962008-02-15T12:57:00.000-06:002008-02-15T12:57:00.000-06:00i don't condone the us of anti-terror laws against...i don't condone the us of anti-terror laws against simple protestors. i'm not familiar with the language of how the law is written either.. however, what if the government can prove that these people weren't simple protestors? what if them people got their funding from an a foreign agent (castro or chavez) and were causing problems in an attempt to influence the coming elections. it is possible. cuba has had its hands in ES before.wesleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14864384581165381467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-3941358282823226272007-07-25T15:24:00.000-05:002007-07-25T15:24:00.000-05:00Mandy,You have stated things pretty accurately. ...Mandy,<BR/><BR/>You have stated things pretty accurately. Yet doesn't that lead to the conclusion that civil society organizations ought to be advocating for decentralization <B>with sufficient funding and subsidies</B> from the national government to run the system, rather than opposing decentralization? That's where I have been confused about some of the protests in El Salvador.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-81597171976295575972007-07-25T15:05:00.000-05:002007-07-25T15:05:00.000-05:00From what I have learned so far in El Salvador, de...From what I have learned so far in El Salvador, decentralization is always seen (by less educated communities) as the first step toward privatization. This is because in the past when the government decentralized banks, electricity, pension system, etc. it always led to the purchase of those municipal-run companies by the private sector. This raised prices/tariffs for consumers. However, as many people do not understand, desentralization is simply a way to empower the community - and also to take the responsiblity away from ANDA for providing water(which saves ANDA money, especially in communities who cannot pay them for water and where they would lose money putting in systems). I am pretty sure that a well-functioning system like Suchitoto will not go private as long as it can cover its own costs, and it seems like it can. Saca was apparently using Suchitoto as a good example of a well-run decentralized water system. So although his desire to privatize rural water should not impact on Suchitoto, it will have disasterous effects on other rural areas that will be forced to privatize.Mandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09203138870757570967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-23919058200041791642007-07-06T13:40:00.000-05:002007-07-06T13:40:00.000-05:00Nice put Solava!I agree with you!Nice put Solava!<BR/><BR/>I agree with you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-17377804789381521642007-07-05T16:45:00.000-05:002007-07-05T16:45:00.000-05:00Now, the use of an "anti-terrorist law" against pr...Now, the use of an "anti-terrorist law" against protesters should be of great international concern in terms of human rights and, more specifically, in terms of freedom of expression. Every country has anti-terrorist laws. They have to in order to protect their own citizens. But using them against protesters is wrong because it's unconstitutional.<BR/><BR/>On a previous comment I also mentioned that Suchitoto manages its own service of potable water distribution and treatment. This is something we call "decentralization" in El Salvador, and it has nothing to do with "privatization" of the water service. Decentralization was originally proposed by the Santa Tecla mayor Oscar Ortiz, of the FMLN, because ANDA, the government water service, was too slow to reach many low income communities; in fact, they have stated that their priority is to provide the service to the most populated areas. The decentralization initiative, which calls for municipal governments to manage their own potable water service, was eventually approved by the association of mayors of El Salvador, Comures. When Saca visited Suchitoto it was to accept the decentralization of water. Suchitoto was a good place to do it because it's a municipal government that has shown that decentralization works, and it happens to have an FMLN mayor.<BR/><BR/>Now, in my opinion, decentralization (giving communities the power to develop and control their own resources) is a good thing. It worked wonders in Nejapa, for instance, which will bring potable water service to the most isolated communities 100%, a first in El Salvador. And, by the way, the mayor of Nejapa is also a leftist. So, what's going on? Whay was CRIPDES protesting against decentralization in Suchitoto. This is not a rhetorical question. I really would like to know. Perhaps somebody here has a different take or additional information. What is the missing link here that justifies protesting against a local development initiative that is actually working? Could anybody enlighten me?Jorge Ávaloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08173574715366250550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-49623925252962850332007-07-05T15:27:00.000-05:002007-07-05T15:27:00.000-05:00There have been some important developments in thi...There have been some important developments in this case.<BR/><BR/>CRIPDES has told Amnesty International, the UN, and the IAHRC that police agents threatened to throw the handcuffed detainees out of a helicopter.<BR/><BR/>An article in CoLatino says that those arrested may be charged under the anti-terrorist law.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-79707846467936359852007-07-03T15:02:00.000-05:002007-07-03T15:02:00.000-05:00wow. very interesting. it should be key what happe...wow. very interesting. it should be key what happens from here on. if suchitoto already has a potable water system, including a treatment plant, and administered by the local govt. then it should be treated as its own entity. i say if suchitoto already has its water needs met, the govt. should leave them alone and move on to improve areas that don't have access to water yet. as always, it is just to darn fishy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-48951729264588213842007-07-03T12:32:00.000-05:002007-07-03T12:32:00.000-05:00Tim, there is one piece that doesn't fit in this s...Tim, there is one piece that doesn't fit in this story. In Suchitoto, water is in the hands of the municipal government, which has been in the hands of the FMLN for quite some time. It cannot be privatized by the Government because the community owns the service. In fact, Suchitoto is one of only three municipal governments in El Salvador which not only distributes potable water but also has a treatment plant that cleans the used water before it's dumped into the river. I just wrote a story about it. Suchitoto created a municipal corporation (grassroots based) which manages the service locally.Jorge Ávaloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08173574715366250550noreply@blogger.com