tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91777452024-03-17T22:03:48.939-05:00El Salvador PerspectivesNews, history, culture and analysis of El Salvador and the Salvadoran people.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.comBlogger3266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-21104954119229740232024-03-16T21:04:00.000-05:002024-03-16T21:04:53.896-05:00A Bitcoin update from El Salvador<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH05hTsNVms3906CfYYhlFPjQ9lfa6F01XSlEdf7l5I1bFAn9EKeOgIEghl9JGNqahzQlOnlH_KQKOW3RDb-catzh8S7sB_yzVeXQUNzUexwK_8BL-rEL19YLDdeQY5rTwl8IxQTkNjNiP7Q5Hy44nW3ohpUXweLSc-J5f-9lUTH8kcfuuLHdG/s907/Bitcoin%20flag.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="907" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH05hTsNVms3906CfYYhlFPjQ9lfa6F01XSlEdf7l5I1bFAn9EKeOgIEghl9JGNqahzQlOnlH_KQKOW3RDb-catzh8S7sB_yzVeXQUNzUexwK_8BL-rEL19YLDdeQY5rTwl8IxQTkNjNiP7Q5Hy44nW3ohpUXweLSc-J5f-9lUTH8kcfuuLHdG/s320/Bitcoin%20flag.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>A recent run-up of the price of Bitcoin has Nayib Bukele and all his supporters wanting to say "I told you so." The price of Bitcoin today is $65,335USD, up 26% from September 6, 2021 when El Salvador's Bitcoin law went into effect. In between those dates, however, the price had dropped below $17,000 in December 2022, increasing the skepticism around Bukele's Bitcoin gambit. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfc1jx-f4ZiPWqnyKVbgfhcDsYSSEfEHpyGOFHZ0XUom_JlcGTtsXoFPmsEDrGM6ctGXO_xmOuZoAUoCvhuXl7QsxOpVcAxnNuiroEww3yFH-BfoLjsa13gVWo9Imbmwk4LlJXh51jm3q1gFTe69CCvtFSvvSwkzVXXF42ZEH9QwW8HBttrk_/s1837/2024.03.16%20BTC%20prices%20since%20Sept%202021.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1837" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfc1jx-f4ZiPWqnyKVbgfhcDsYSSEfEHpyGOFHZ0XUom_JlcGTtsXoFPmsEDrGM6ctGXO_xmOuZoAUoCvhuXl7QsxOpVcAxnNuiroEww3yFH-BfoLjsa13gVWo9Imbmwk4LlJXh51jm3q1gFTe69CCvtFSvvSwkzVXXF42ZEH9QwW8HBttrk_/w640-h358/2024.03.16%20BTC%20prices%20since%20Sept%202021.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bitcoin price history since El Salvador Bitcoin law went into effect</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>As the volatile price of Bitcoin started surging again beginning in November 2023, Bukele repetitively posted that he was "<a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1764711900141527470?s=20">still waiting</a>" for the critics of his Bitcoin strategy to admit they were wrong. Skeptics, <a href="https://x.com/TimMuth/status/1765905029087523238?s=20">myself included</a>, wanted to see the actual financial records and evidence of income and expenses for the Bitcoin project.</p><p>On March 14, 2024, Bukele went on X.com to post a screen shot showing 5690 BTC worth $406 million USD that day, being received at specific address on the blockchain. Bukele announced that these were a "big chunk" of El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings and were being put in a "<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/030515/what-cold-storage-bitcoin.asp">cold wallet</a>." That wallet would be stored in a secure vault somewhere inside El Salvador.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1768425845163503738" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1483" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwTz21pWRnx0n6gnmMOKrKms6EpgPCTWgnTCNFcsXWqV2REhV3FBXAUlZPF7npknqu1fd5tTNo7bd69qsOpHVqiRfkIP2cm99YIPYrdMhIhC561zo5uble4QklNGL7Lvu98Ycbi7GzG8PTp54H4SfuSPzwvMbpSO4dsP3P3rVYXwGZavV6cg5/w400-h264/2024.03.14%20BTC%20cold%20wallet%20tweet.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>(The value of those Bitcoin has slipped to $372M USD as of the time of this writing as Bitcoin slips down from its all time high earlier in the month). <br /><p>Bukele also promised that El Salvador would <a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1768797894977450413?s=20">continue buying</a> 1 Bitcoin per day which he had announced they were commencing in November 2022.</p><p>But the bragging about Bitcoin gains led opponents of the regime to ask why the government was putting all that money aside, when schools are in disrepair, when the government owes the national university $52 million, or when the healthcare system is underfunded.</p><p>Internet tools let you easily see the holdings at that <a href="https://bitref.com/32ixEdVJWo3kmvJGMTZq5jAQVZZeuwnqzo">Bitcoin address</a> and observe movements of Bitcoin into and out of it. </p><p>Closer analysis of Bukele's announcements on X, however, raises a number of questions. First, 2824 more Bitcoin have now been transferred into that wallet than the cumulative total being tracked by this <a href="https://nayibtracker.com/">portfolio tracker</a>. The portfolio tracker accumulated all of the purchases of Bitcoin mentioned in Bukele tweets since 2021 including daily 1 BTC purchases since November 2022, and Bukele <a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1767323587071947195?s=20">referred to it multiple times</a> as evidence of the Bitcoin profits he was accumulating. Why did the amount suddenly almost double? </p><p>El Diario de Hoy performed an <a href="https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/negocios/bitcoin-criptomonedas-el-salvador-nayib-bukele/1129858/2024/">in depth analysis</a> of the transactions that funded the address publicized by Bukele, and found that 1121 BTC arrived from the "ecosystem of Chivo Wallet" and 4569 came from the company Bitfinex. Bitfinex is one of the largest virtual currency exchanges and has been closely tied to El Salvador's promotion of a Bitcoin economy. Bitfinex <a href="https://blog.bitfinex.com/media-releases/bitfinex-securities-launches-in-el-salvador-offering-new-opportunities-in-digital-asset-services/">opened operations</a> in El Salvador in January 2024 to operate under the country's new Digital Securities Law. </p><p>The EDH analysis which shows 80% of the Bitcoin arriving via Bitfinex raises more questions than it answers. What was the relationship between Bitfinex and El Salvador that gave rise to this transfer? What was the source of the funds for originally obtaining these assets? While we know the amount of Bitcoin at this address on the blockchain, who actually owns the Bitcoin? Were the Bitcoin sent as part of a loan from Bitfinex to El Salvador? As usual with this government, we have no transparency into these matters, other than we can all see a Bitcoin address with 5690 BTC which Nayib Bukele says represents the country's Bitcoin holdings.</p><p>Meanwhile, the country is <a href="https://x.com/TimMuth/status/1765123136561848425?s=20">borrowing money</a> from its pension system at an increasing rate and is incurring more and more debt.</p><p>Some of the true believers in Bukele's Bitcoin gambit can be found in Bitcoin Beach. Recently I went on the podcast <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kHh-6oGx2E">Live From Bitcoin Beach</a> to have an extended conversation with its founder, Mike Peterson, about some of the reasons I am skeptical and the anti-democratic path the country is on.</p><p><br /></p>
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<p><br /></p><p> </p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-64912079819961485512024-03-12T16:04:00.005-05:002024-03-12T16:05:43.394-05:00The minimum wage in El Salvador<i> This article was originally published at El Salvador Info under the title <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/minimum-wage-in-el-salvador/">Minimum Wage in El Salvador in 2024: Understanding the Economic Realities of Salvadorans</a> and is reprinted here with permission of the author.</i><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbfN2XfS6ory7N59wOMeglAyb3hAsXb-nRVIhHFLg-TESoEyjCXt2mULvSaty38JBHxBVs6hPCiizA4azPsPDZR5B_U5nvc8joM3pnnyKIMqH2eLKqWUdyhHDAGL4jQ5NukqK-jG_XN7eX2Kv6CkTh4MxVtBebv-QDloFufD_tH3BkkG2m2EC/s640/5437286361_f9095d4a52_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbfN2XfS6ory7N59wOMeglAyb3hAsXb-nRVIhHFLg-TESoEyjCXt2mULvSaty38JBHxBVs6hPCiizA4azPsPDZR5B_U5nvc8joM3pnnyKIMqH2eLKqWUdyhHDAGL4jQ5NukqK-jG_XN7eX2Kv6CkTh4MxVtBebv-QDloFufD_tH3BkkG2m2EC/s320/5437286361_f9095d4a52_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><header class="entry-header" style="background-color: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19.008px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div class="clearfix" id="info-meta-galdy" style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, Candara, Segoe, "Segoe UI", Optima, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1px 0px 10px 2.625px; padding: 0px;"><i><a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/eddie-galdamez/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #555555; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">By Eddie Galdamez</a></i></div><div class="clearfix" id="info-meta-galdy" style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, Candara, Segoe, "Segoe UI", Optima, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1px 0px 10px 2.625px; padding: 0px;"><i>Updated on Jan 29, 2024</i></div></header><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><b><i>The monthly minimum wage in El Salvador in 2024 is $365.00 for commerce, industrial, service, and sugar mill workers; $359.16 for maquila workers that manufacture textiles and clothing; $272.66 for coffee mill and sugar cane harvesting workers; and $243.46 for agriculture, fishing, and coffee harvesting workers.</i></b><br /><br />The last minimum wage increase occurred in <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Minimum-wages-in-El-Salvador.pdf">August 2021</a> during the Nayib Bukele administration; before that, it happened in 2018, under the Salvador Sanchez Ceren presidency.<br /><br />In 2024, the Salvadoran minimum wage is divided into four sectors, with two specifically designated for urban areas and two for rural regions.<br /><b><br /></b></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_0-wnXK6jQKYOG9Po_81D1HQOxLdIejRtl-sRX1GQfCDIg2-aoNkshTRthrIFtkjh6oooEWdKjArU59nM7nXlZvicxOn_dKcwM9BFh8XzoVFeiznX6zn9p6Kc4X7ZIXPraDt4ir3vfyaN2DsBhSAIck-HjWqpH1pQ8YHq4FTtTDqwtB8mQYy/s2226/Minimum%20wage%20chart.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="2226" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_0-wnXK6jQKYOG9Po_81D1HQOxLdIejRtl-sRX1GQfCDIg2-aoNkshTRthrIFtkjh6oooEWdKjArU59nM7nXlZvicxOn_dKcwM9BFh8XzoVFeiznX6zn9p6Kc4X7ZIXPraDt4ir3vfyaN2DsBhSAIck-HjWqpH1pQ8YHq4FTtTDqwtB8mQYy/w640-h130/Minimum%20wage%20chart.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Commerce, Services, Industry, and Sugar Mills Wages</b><br /><br />The minimum wage rate for workers in the fields of commerce, services, industry, sugar mills, and other agribusiness activities is $365.00 per month, $1.50 per hour or $12.00 per day.<br /><br />The commerce and services sector includes workers in call centers, retail, restaurants, hotels, secretarial work, bank tellers, and many other types of professional work.<br /></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Textile and Clothing Maquila Workers Wages</b><br /><br />Workers in the textile and clothing maquila sectors receive a minimum wage of $359.16 per month, equivalent to $1.48 per hour or $11.81 per day.<br /><br />El Salvador’s maquila, manufacturing, and textile sectors appear as key contributors to job creation. This industry encompasses the production of diverse items, including shirts, pants, shoes, and various other products.<br /><br />The bulk of products manufactured by this sector are exported to the United States, Canada, and Europe.</div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><b>Sugar Cane Harvesting and Coffee Mills Wages</b><br /><br />Workers engaged in sugar cane harvesting and coffee mills receive a monthly minimum wage of $272.66, equivalent to $1.12 per hour or $8.96 per day.<br /><br /></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Agricultural Sector, Fishing, and Coffee Harvesting Wages</b><br /><br />The minimum wage rate for agricultural work, fishing, and coffee harvesting is $243.46 per month, regardless of the number of days in the month. It is $1.00 per hour or $8.00 per day.<br /><br />Like industry which has much higher salaries, these sectors employ a significant portion of the Salvadoran population; nevertheless, they receive the lowest minimum wage in the country.<br /><br />An issue with employers in this sector, especially agriculture, is that most do business informally. Therefore, many workers in these areas get paid even less than the minimum wage assigned to this sector.</div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><div id="gphoto" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19.008px; margin: 0px 0px 13px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-46073" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_46073" style="clear: both; margin: 0px auto 0.65em; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 840px;"><img alt="Minimum Wage in El Salvador" class="size-full wp-image-46073 ezlazyloaded" data-ezsrc="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3" data-ezsrcset="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 900w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-300x169.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 300w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-587x330.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 587w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-250x140.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 250w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-768x432.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 768w" data-sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" decoding="async" ezimgfmt="ng ngcb3 src srcset" ezoid="0.29347718686365587" height="225" src="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3" srcset="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 900w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-300x169.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 300w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-587x330.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 587w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-250x140.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 250w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rural-Work-in-El-Salvador-768x432.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 768w" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; vertical-align: bottom;" width="400" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-46073" style="font-size: 11px; opacity: 0.8; padding-top: 5px;">Work in Rural El Salvador. <a class="code1" href="https://www.facebook.com/AlcaldiaSensuntepeque" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #3a3a3a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Image by Alcaldia de Sensuntepeque.</a></figcaption></figure></div><br /><b>Salvadoran Wages in the Informal Sector</b></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br />El Salvador’s informal sector does not have a minimum wage. Therefore, workers in this area get paid whatever the employers feel is correct for the work being done. It can be more or less than the appointed minimum wage for the specific industry.<br /><br />El Salvador has laws protecting workers, intended to ensure they get paid at least the minimum wage. However, these laws are rarely enforced in the informal sector due to the prevalence of informal businesses, the difficulty of maintaining precise records, such as worker’s earnings or working hours, creating a lack of accurate information.</div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Many of the businesses that operate informally are in the agricultural sector. Also, small businesses that sell goods and services in smaller towns are known for conducting business informally. Undoubtedly, El Salvador’s actual minimum wages are lower in the informal sector than the lowest established minimum wage by the Salvadoran government.<br /><br /><b>Increasing the Minimum Wage in El Salvador</b><br /></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Increasing the minimum wage in the country is not an easy thing to do. Workers want an increase that covers at least the essential cost of living in El Salvador; however, businesses oppose a significant increment as it would reduce their profit margin.<br /><br />Article 144 of the Salvadoran labor laws says the following: “Every worker, including the home workers, has the right to earn a minimum wage that sufficiently covers the common needs of their home, in the material, moral and cultural order, which will be set periodically.” <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/codigo-laboral.pdf#page=42">El Salvador Labor Code.</a><br /><br />The current minimum wage is not enough to cover the essential <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/cost-of-living-in-el-salvador/">cost of living in El Salvador</a>. The last minimum wage increase was done in 2021 by the <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/nayib-bukele/">Nayib Bukele</a> administration.<br /><br /><b>How Often is the Minimum Wage in El Salvador Reviewed?<br /></b><br />According to the country’s Labor Code, El Salvador’s minimum wage must be evaluated every three years. This is done to verify whether it is feasible to make any increase.<br /><br />The analysis looks at the overall economic aspect of the country, <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/el-salvadors-economy-el-salvador-gross-domestic-product-gdp/">the economy</a>, <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/inflation-rate-in-el-salvador/">inflation</a>, cost of essential items, and business environment.<br /><br />The analysis is done by the minimum wage council; it includes 2 representatives from the labor sector, 2 from the employer sector, and 3 from the government. After the review, they decide if an increase is necessary and recommend it to the Salvadoran congress.</div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><div id="gphoto" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Lyon, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19.008px; margin: 0px 0px 13px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-44691" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_44691" style="clear: both; margin: 0px auto 0.65em; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 840px;"><img alt="Wages in El Salvador" class="size-full wp-image-44691 ezlazyloaded" data-ezsrc="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3" data-ezsrcset="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 900w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-300x168.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 300w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-589x330.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 589w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-250x140.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 250w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-768x430.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 768w" data-sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" decoding="async" ezimgfmt="ng ngcb3 src srcset" ezoid="0.24373604187377884" height="224" src="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3" srcset="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 900w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-300x168.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 300w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-589x330.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 589w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-250x140.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 250w,https://elsalvadorinfo.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/El-Salvador-National-Palace-768x430.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3 768w" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; vertical-align: bottom;" width="400" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-44691" style="font-size: 11px; opacity: 0.8; padding-top: 5px;">El Salvador National Palace. <a class="code1" href="https://twitter.com/elsalvadornewSV/status/1724152080351351203" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #3a3a3a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Image by ElSalvadorNews.</a></figcaption></figure></div><br /><b>El Salvador’s Minimum Wage is Not Enough for Salvadorans<br /></b><br />One significant factor contributing to <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/poverty-in-el-salvador/">poverty in El Salvador</a> and prompting many citizens to seek opportunities elsewhere is the country’s minimum wage.<br /><br />The El Salvadoran minimum wage is insufficient, and fails to support a decent lifestyle or elevate the living standards of workers and their families. Furthermore, it falls far short of covering the <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/cost-of-living-in-el-salvador/">overall cost of living in the country</a>.<br /><br />In 2024, the <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/el-salvadors-challenges-and-concerns/">primary concern for Salvadorans</a> revolves around the economy, particularly wages. The combination of a high cost of living and low incomes stands as the foremost reasons driving many Salvadorans into poverty.</div></div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">***</div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; counter-reset: footnotes 0; margin: 0.7em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><i>This article was originally published at El Salvador Info under the title <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/minimum-wage-in-el-salvador/">Minimum Wage in El Salvador in 2024: Understanding the Economic Realities of Salvadorans</a>. Some edits made for clarity.</i></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-11105812454571760562024-03-10T17:19:00.000-05:002024-03-10T17:19:33.013-05:00The Maquilishuat: El Salvador's national tree<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53TBELXw2DTm0dJvjAmoUXeCjV9MyXRyGC1x4J5hgYOXdwqCxr3UV3J0V9pLzgts95pPGX06pJ7ddhWsNgGjo6-WPADo7KetJ6uGOh2VTZlInCyaeT77qxHd8FyYzllXcaf7Oy6sscv1GQiL7oOnJdbVIHfxUPqrwq0eX89gLtj1Q36AZBSKc/s3390/IMG_5423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3390" data-original-width="2850" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53TBELXw2DTm0dJvjAmoUXeCjV9MyXRyGC1x4J5hgYOXdwqCxr3UV3J0V9pLzgts95pPGX06pJ7ddhWsNgGjo6-WPADo7KetJ6uGOh2VTZlInCyaeT77qxHd8FyYzllXcaf7Oy6sscv1GQiL7oOnJdbVIHfxUPqrwq0eX89gLtj1Q36AZBSKc/w538-h640/IMG_5423.jpg" width="538" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Maquilishuat tree</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">During the last week of February, El Salvador's national tree, the maquilishuat, burst into bloom all around the country. Its pink and white flowers adorned yards and roadsides and parks. In the depths of the dry season when the countryside is dry and brown, the maquilishuat brings a splash of beauty in the weeks leading up to Semana Santa.</div><p>The scientific name of the maquilishuat is <i>Tabebuia rosea</i>. In other parts of the world it is known as the "pink poui", and "rosy trumpet tree" and "roble de sabana". The tree is predominantly found in subtropical dry forests, is common in Central America, and can grow to a height of 30 meters. </p><p>According to <a href="https://twitter.com/MedioAmbienteSV/status/1765764587364741527">El Salvador's environment ministry</a>, the maquilishuat has ecosystem relevance since its flowers attract a variety of pollinators, such as bees and hummingbirds. Its seeds are a source of food for various species of birds and mammals.</p><p>Some maquilishuat trees along the streets in San Salvador:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_4ScRE145IYG0wBylDr_wyBFBehrm4OzAPTLksbU8EGKziFredAX-zZ6sKZUnhyphenhyphenkjSs5qPyIxxyqa8mITP-D4Ak0kWM1OFMCbUSOtGHdWddtqY23_P_rlr_7-UPnguMtUSLuWlMfACgi0Xot2b7FJwRaRqUMQKHIEjLwViv8LDnwltAaEubl/s3182/IMG_5335.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1734" data-original-width="3182" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_4ScRE145IYG0wBylDr_wyBFBehrm4OzAPTLksbU8EGKziFredAX-zZ6sKZUnhyphenhyphenkjSs5qPyIxxyqa8mITP-D4Ak0kWM1OFMCbUSOtGHdWddtqY23_P_rlr_7-UPnguMtUSLuWlMfACgi0Xot2b7FJwRaRqUMQKHIEjLwViv8LDnwltAaEubl/w400-h217/IMG_5335.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvcN5-Na2wvrqfomM_88ZhV14jdYeNVdIzmIr7ZGutD_08gvbBBejniEdiu3BWuJRIPdNu2NRuP4Gn_VMcudjOkNddbDpiHd_qjfdKKyNbAzKwlOha_qQ6tjwjmE1Nb_5cm9d0BzV5IPH3tJujr-Mf8SjNN7bzqrU9dFPCCD78fAfOSlGtWb0/s4032/IMG_5439-EDIT.jpg"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvcN5-Na2wvrqfomM_88ZhV14jdYeNVdIzmIr7ZGutD_08gvbBBejniEdiu3BWuJRIPdNu2NRuP4Gn_VMcudjOkNddbDpiHd_qjfdKKyNbAzKwlOha_qQ6tjwjmE1Nb_5cm9d0BzV5IPH3tJujr-Mf8SjNN7bzqrU9dFPCCD78fAfOSlGtWb0/w400-h300/IMG_5439-EDIT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhLt55UMBHtc3zqVPiVV8rAvH6MgGU9G9oUO6AlLaBVUn34JDGmz_myxXQQg1Wo5jCdxCVvmnhRlCSqGNd34eq9uf-GLWcSfqYXGVhP7f9MK4IjctgUViesZIJas7F65DLoU11kVH0gJs3YGX_0w6vffi7uw0jpXcJR9fEIrqUeLq_us-_T2s/s2442/IMG_5424.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1319" data-original-width="2442" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhLt55UMBHtc3zqVPiVV8rAvH6MgGU9G9oUO6AlLaBVUn34JDGmz_myxXQQg1Wo5jCdxCVvmnhRlCSqGNd34eq9uf-GLWcSfqYXGVhP7f9MK4IjctgUViesZIJas7F65DLoU11kVH0gJs3YGX_0w6vffi7uw0jpXcJR9fEIrqUeLq_us-_T2s/w400-h216/IMG_5424.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credits: Linda Muth 2024</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhLt55UMBHtc3zqVPiVV8rAvH6MgGU9G9oUO6AlLaBVUn34JDGmz_myxXQQg1Wo5jCdxCVvmnhRlCSqGNd34eq9uf-GLWcSfqYXGVhP7f9MK4IjctgUViesZIJas7F65DLoU11kVH0gJs3YGX_0w6vffi7uw0jpXcJR9fEIrqUeLq_us-_T2s/s2442/IMG_5424.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The exuberance of the trees this year caught the attention of President Nayib Bukele, prompting him to tweet:</div><p><br />
</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">El Maquilishuat<br /><br />Nunca he entendido por qué la ciudad no está llena de estos árboles.<br /><br />Es nuestro árbol nacional, una especie nativa; además es bonito y encaja perfectamente en el ecosistema.<br /><br />Ministro <a href="https://twitter.com/RomeoHerrera1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RomeoHerrera1</a>, deberíamos llenar la ciudad de estos árboles. <a href="https://t.co/J7UP800F6I">pic.twitter.com/J7UP800F6I</a></p>— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1764038247359910321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><i></i></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The Maquilishuat.<br /> I have never understood why the city is not full of these trees. It is our national tree, a native species; It is also beautiful and fits perfectly into the ecosystem. <br />Minister @RomeoHerrera1, we should fill the city with these trees.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p>And because presidential tweets must be complied with immediately:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Hemos iniciado con el traslado de árboles de Maquilishuat🌳🇸🇻 <a href="https://t.co/JYWPOGSFxP">pic.twitter.com/JYWPOGSFxP</a></p>— Romeo Rodríguez 🇸🇻 (@RomeoHerrera1) <a href="https://twitter.com/RomeoHerrera1/status/1764386131871773034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><i><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">We have begun the transfer of Maquilishuat trees.</span></i></blockquote><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-6172504107330959772024-03-04T07:55:00.003-06:002024-03-04T18:13:01.217-06:00Nuevas Ideas' underwhelming showing in municipal elections<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPd7ybaLXr1l-L1St8W9n5Vr_MyqP9t5LQAnDn3BaCosWfqQAv3T3i5SnuRSj2UNc1kVgpBson7DfNjW3hJCoqU3l2E7itlX3UDysyqxOaFE1GM7V5WS5Xtq5YwaGKdReai1M42FavMZcyymtsPdgGIKLx8ch1MB414rBX4tbdajcmV4NG41O/s4032/PXL_20240304_010855133.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPd7ybaLXr1l-L1St8W9n5Vr_MyqP9t5LQAnDn3BaCosWfqQAv3T3i5SnuRSj2UNc1kVgpBson7DfNjW3hJCoqU3l2E7itlX3UDysyqxOaFE1GM7V5WS5Xtq5YwaGKdReai1M42FavMZcyymtsPdgGIKLx8ch1MB414rBX4tbdajcmV4NG41O/w400-h225/PXL_20240304_010855133.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Counting votes in Antiguo Cuscatlán</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In yesterday's election of mayors, Nuevas Ideas appears to have captured 28 municipal governments out of 44 in the newly-gerrymandered maps. (Two of those in coalition with CD). This total probably came as a surprise to many, in light of Nuevas Ideas dominating showing in last month's presidential and Legislative Assembly elections. With 78% of the vote nationally <a href="https://preliminar.tse.gob.sv/dashboard-index-4.html">counted</a> as of 7:30 Monday morning, other parties in the lead to win municipalities included GANA(6), PDC (4), PCN (3), Fuerza Solidaria (1), ARENA (1) and a coalition of PDC/PCN (1). The FMLN was left out of control of any municipality for the first time since it became a political party at the end of the civil war in 1992.</p><p>Turnout at the polls was <a href="https://x.com/RevistaFactum/status/1764504937361297492?s=20">low</a>. Perhaps the reason was that people felt disconnected from the new mega-municipalities. Or these elections may have had less energy without the charismatic energy of Nayib Bukele. Bukele did not use his vast social media presence to call for his supporters to go out and vote in the municipal elections. </p><p>Sunday morning started out with multiple reports of Nuevas Ideas persons supplanting citizens who had been trained and credentialed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. For example, there were complaints that at the Albert Einstein University voting site in Antiguo Cuscatlán, Nuevas Ideas teams had arrived at 3:00 in the morning and were <a href="https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Reportan-disturbios-en-instalacion-de-Juntas-Receptoras-de-Votos-en-Antiguo-Cuscatlan-20240303-0009.html">already seated at the voting tables</a> (juntas receptoras de votos) with their positions signed and sealed by the time that other party teams and independent poll workers arrived.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Journalists pointed out the role of different Nuevas Ideas persons at that site.</p><p>
</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elecciones2024sv?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#elecciones2024sv</a> En una mesa de la JRV 4234 de la Universidad Albert Einstein coinciden tres empleados del área de comunicaciones de la <a href="https://twitter.com/BancadaCyan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BancadaCyan</a> de <a href="https://twitter.com/nuevasideas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuevasideas</a> <a href="https://t.co/q8ayKNZNIz">pic.twitter.com/q8ayKNZNIz</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Voz Pública (@VozPublicaVP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VozPublicaVP/status/1764339599931818162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2024</a></div></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Three employees from the communications area of the [Nuevas Ideas faction in the Legislative Assembly] appear at the table of JRV 4234 of the Albert Einstein University.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">As in the presidential elections a month ago, there were <a href="https://twitter.com/rdefensoras/status/1764388041806754274/photo/1">various reports</a> of the press being blocked from doing its job or being harassed by party activists. When votes were being counted, the OAS observer mission <a href="https://x.com/IsabelStMalo/status/1764456894427509150?s=20">denounced</a> the TSE for issuing a statement that press should be excluded from voting sites after 6:30 pm. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjPpQ-PVYPkQKx5w_Fxyek8TH0cbbjw-gBHZOT5wpmejkYse8qN-_rR7D0NO29m5cn230maEh_vRZIctzDmXPi7i3-5cOfr0VMeg-uh3cXdRPGjT7kIWPghcIRJddJRLF1N9MJPFsIQc2r-Kt_o4cFca5I7O0RPqrRnTMK_pRfnZPNoWA0GDHQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="1579" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjPpQ-PVYPkQKx5w_Fxyek8TH0cbbjw-gBHZOT5wpmejkYse8qN-_rR7D0NO29m5cn230maEh_vRZIctzDmXPi7i3-5cOfr0VMeg-uh3cXdRPGjT7kIWPghcIRJddJRLF1N9MJPFsIQc2r-Kt_o4cFca5I7O0RPqrRnTMK_pRfnZPNoWA0GDHQ=w202-h196" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Milagro Navas</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>In the much-watched election between Milagro Navas of ARENA and Michelle Sol of Nuevas Ideas, Navas easily won the election. Without any official election results in, but with reports from party poll watchers throughout the municipality, Navas <a href="https://twitter.com/milagro__navas/status/1764465698384826386">declared victory at 7:40</a> p.m., and Sol conceded in a <a href="https://x.com/misol140/status/1764472891117076984?s=20">tweet</a> a half hour later.</p><p>Nayib Bukele <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1764473353752949131">went on X</a> (Twitter) to blame the current Nuevas Ideas mayors for not winning elections:</p><p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">IN EL SALVADOR WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE'S DECISION IS RESPECTED It is clear that in many municipalities people have voted for mayors who are not from New Ideas; This is the vote of punishment for the terrible efforts that some of them have made. For this reason, as everyone could notice, I did not speak out supporting any candidate for mayor. However, the people are wise and the new mayors belong to parties that are indisputable allies of our project; parties that have always been there to support all the changes that our country has needed, since before winning the presidency in 2019 </span></i></blockquote><p></p><p>Bukele said only one mayor out of 44 (Milagro Navas of ARENA) did not support him. She replied to the contrary:</p><p>
</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Cuente con nosotros Sr. Presidente <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nayibbukele</a> no son 43 seremos 44 alcaldías que buscarán el bienestar de todos los Salvadoreños 🥰 <a href="https://t.co/JRDyV3Fg0b">https://t.co/JRDyV3Fg0b</a></p>— Milagro Navas Quintanilla (@milagro__navas) <a href="https://twitter.com/milagro__navas/status/1764474352148369612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><i><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Count on us Mr. President @nayibbukele there are not 43, we will be 44 mayors that will seek the well-being of all Salvadorans.</span></blockquote></i><div><br /></div>She repeated her willingness to work with Bukele in her <a href="https://x.com/_elfaro_/status/1764495898522861606?s=20">victory speech</a> at a celebration in Antiguo Cuscatlán where she has been mayor for 36 years. (A savvy politician who has survived for that long does not distance herself from a president with a 90% approval rating).<div><br /></div><div>In the newly created mega-municipality of San Salvador Centro, Mario Duran, the current may of San Salvador, won election. Bukele's signature Surf City tourism project and Bitcoin Beach are located in the new municipality of La Libertad Coast. The Nuevas Ideas candidate there lost, however, to a candidate from GANA.</div><div><br /></div><div>The election results show that the Nuevas Ideas brand is not all powerful. People are able to recognize when local governments are doing a bad job, regardless of whether their mayor sports a jacket with a big white N on a cyan background. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>*Corrected March 4 to reflect that the OAS statement criticized a directive from TSE to exclude press. The TSE later reversed this directive in response to OAS. </b></div><div><p></p></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-87737828855183430372024-03-01T21:04:00.007-06:002024-03-01T21:04:59.163-06:00Sunday's municipal elections<p>On Sunday March 3, Salvadorans will go to the polls for the second set of national elections in a month. In these elections, Salvadorans will elect their mayors and will elect deputies of the Central American Parliament. (PARLACEN).</p><p>Three years ago Salvadorans elected mayors in 262 different municipalities. However, in a measure passed 8 months ago, the Legislative Assembly <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2023/06/changing-rules-of-game.html">consolidated</a> those 262 municipalities into only 44 municipalities at the directive of Nayib Bukele. The old municipalities are now "districts" within the 44 new mega-municipalities which have memorable names like San Salvador East and La Libertad South. </p><p>The new municipalities and the districts which make them up are shown at <a href="https://twitter.com/PresidenciaSV/status/1666273120238313473">this link</a>. </p><p>This reduction in the number of local government bodies was gerrymandering on a dramatic scale. One analyst portrayed the impact of the change using results from the last elections in 2021.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/manuelmlndzs/status/1666299416058163200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="1204" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHjD-pYdDo-h4V7Wc9aZcelu5vCdKNt_G--o-6ctPk_yI_w3TFBsSpXccMnnJvp5qKCox__JgACR7OLoCoi2NSO10CxZP3xjpOj6gjnK3nKlzQo2zppRdW-p7eCGeNABV-2EuohvKYdG4VnQavD7KbZm0hUOwKh4ddACBUPRNAHqPDm8oWxzBT=w392-h400" width="392" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Using the votes cast for mayors in 2021, and grouping them according to the new municipal maps, Nuevas Ideas would go from controlling 152 out of 262 municipalities (58%), to 41 out of 44 municipalities (93%). <p></p><p>But there is a counter-vailing force in this weekend's elections -- the Salvadoran public is broadly dissatisfied with the performance of their current municipal governments. An <a href="https://www.fundaungo.org.sv/products/evaluacion-ciudadana-del-ano-2023-y-percepciones-en-torno-a-las-elecciones-de-2024/817">opinion poll by FundaUngo</a> in November 2023, published in January 2024, made this quite clear.</p><p><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">57.6% of respondents rated the work of their local governments as bad or very bad:</span></b><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGnXXhDjFgcseZT3ZYjZl_-I2wSz39NfaVHuEOtNriN67JLSMKs5VGwAqUqE57qkDTmMUk1gW_t04FYDt31_zYJ7I2rRq7rEwOxFJSDcd118OggxSsk0vmDwfascsDA3888qdAGATkg00dMN4UKiQwFvOOtgSGYZ_gHqMOQ6rS6Y-RawSryT8t" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1771" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGnXXhDjFgcseZT3ZYjZl_-I2wSz39NfaVHuEOtNriN67JLSMKs5VGwAqUqE57qkDTmMUk1gW_t04FYDt31_zYJ7I2rRq7rEwOxFJSDcd118OggxSsk0vmDwfascsDA3888qdAGATkg00dMN4UKiQwFvOOtgSGYZ_gHqMOQ6rS6Y-RawSryT8t=w640-h278" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">And 48.9% wanted a different party to be in control of their municipality:</span></b></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJozXc1a2BL2ppxYktj-nRX2y6Kg9c9HYPZ8gxBsJdcdAH4fF7o4VQjPtrXkF01jYdPuLVfcYA0JzlvDAGf5Oj9mGkQmfiiWIUayM0F55u11Eir3yJ_5NkMg6TEngX74Fy5XPYuCfHz5kITtER0oZuNVOyMCsBRNhiQTog4ELoOCxgZnfOPGhr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="2053" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJozXc1a2BL2ppxYktj-nRX2y6Kg9c9HYPZ8gxBsJdcdAH4fF7o4VQjPtrXkF01jYdPuLVfcYA0JzlvDAGf5Oj9mGkQmfiiWIUayM0F55u11Eir3yJ_5NkMg6TEngX74Fy5XPYuCfHz5kITtER0oZuNVOyMCsBRNhiQTog4ELoOCxgZnfOPGhr=w640-h256" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>These poll results are telling when you realize that 58% of the local governments are headed by Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party. The dissatisfaction revealed in the poll results may indicate that, when it comes to the very local things which touch people's daily lives in their communities, the powerful publicity machine of Nuevas Ideas may not be as effective as in the national elections.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PIElrPTxAoK_6T5IVD5GYuwwbz9O6ciYzAq3MigVBcKWdlJb5QbdR4P8CcsFJEou5oUqelwnY4pZCgANRn5H0waoBh5sYlpyrhNc1tkFp_vUznZYZBU4-ZXxklHwfKnGHo6Dt5O9Z_iotsHsEE7l1qEB2t0sMY7nDoZ7D-LsQP4gYd6Tapvt/s1470/2024%20Navas-Sol%20Posters.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="1470" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PIElrPTxAoK_6T5IVD5GYuwwbz9O6ciYzAq3MigVBcKWdlJb5QbdR4P8CcsFJEou5oUqelwnY4pZCgANRn5H0waoBh5sYlpyrhNc1tkFp_vUznZYZBU4-ZXxklHwfKnGHo6Dt5O9Z_iotsHsEE7l1qEB2t0sMY7nDoZ7D-LsQP4gYd6Tapvt/s320/2024%20Navas-Sol%20Posters.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>One of the more interesting municipal elections on Sunday matches Milagro Navas, the long-time ARENA mayor of Antiguo Cuscatlán, a suburb of San Salvador, against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Sol">Michelle Sol</a>, Bukele's Minister of Housing. They are competing for the seat of mayor of La Libertad East, a new municipality composed of Antiguo Cuscatlán, Nuevo Cuscatlán, Zaragoza, Huizucar and San Jose Villanueva. Milagro Navas, who uses pink as her color as a female mayor (even the garbage trucks are painted pink) has long kept the business community and her middle and upper class residents happy by making sure things work. Michelle Sol is one half of a power couple in Salvadoran politics -- she is married to the president of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro. A long time associate of Bukele, she became the FMLN mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán in 2015 after Bukele left that position to become mayor of San Salvador. Sol won re-election, again as an FMLN candidate in 2018, and then joined Bukele's cabinet as Minister of Housing in 2019. (Sol today campaigns as a candidate of Nuevas Ideas).</p><p>Navas has been campaigning hard, and appears to have a well-financed campaign. Sol refused Navas' challenge to debate, claiming debates were part of the "politics of the past." It's not clear how much clout Navas will have outside of Antiguo Cuscatlán -- after all, Nayib Bukele lives in Nuevo Cuscatlán, another important part of this new mega-municipality.</p><p>Another aspect to watch in the municipal elections is whether or not the Supreme Electoral Tribunal ("TSE") can actually manage to pull off an election without system failures and chaos. The presidential and legislative elections a month ago were widely criticized by independent observers for the domination of the process by Nuevas Ideas, for failures in the system for tallying and communicating preliminary results, and for two weeks of scrutinizing legislative ballots which uncovered scores of irregularities. Despite this, the president of the TSE <a href="https://x.com/GatoEncerradoSV/status/1763349040903663767?s=20">proclaimed</a>, in a formal event this week where she delivered a certificate of election to Bukele, that everything in the February 4 electoral process was "normal and organized" and in full compliance with the law. The TSE has never publicly explained why its system for early election results failed on February 4, why March 3 will be different, or how it evaluated all of the irregularities complained of in the final vote count for Legislative Assembly.</p><p>I almost forgot. There is also the election of deputies to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American_Parliament">PARLACEN</a>. In 20 years of covering El Salvador, I have never seen the Central America parliament do anything noteworthy. As far as I can tell, the main reason to aspire to a seat in PARLACEN is to obtain immunity from prosecution while you hold the seat. (That will be the extent of my writing about PARLACEN for this year).</p><p><br /></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-90639162416995621162024-02-25T19:44:00.000-06:002024-02-25T19:44:35.742-06:00Bukele and the MAGA movement<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhbWEleKpVgkbOVUv69ZfLW5XXnUy_gwmM7427YFFW4EMYnd4MmJJUYS2gZjWc6-OS0FHwwLXeU5qEwy7GVAOOQRZHRHrcFA5ztf15KSDBXTVnYN0B0njmEDPq_gdoXIQni6qKR96d5pkazoFowgYNJoj6otcgtUBpDDQl3pgaRwu4T4t8V6N/s3332/2024.02.22%20Bukele%20at%20CPAC.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1968" data-original-width="3332" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhbWEleKpVgkbOVUv69ZfLW5XXnUy_gwmM7427YFFW4EMYnd4MmJJUYS2gZjWc6-OS0FHwwLXeU5qEwy7GVAOOQRZHRHrcFA5ztf15KSDBXTVnYN0B0njmEDPq_gdoXIQni6qKR96d5pkazoFowgYNJoj6otcgtUBpDDQl3pgaRwu4T4t8V6N/w400-h236/2024.02.22%20Bukele%20at%20CPAC.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> In 2019, after he was elected president in El Salvador for the first time, Nayib Bukele made his <a href="https://www.heritage.org/americas/event/new-era-el-salvador">first public appearance</a> not in El Salvador, but at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. <p>On Thursday, Bukele made a return trip to speak to conservatives in Washington, this time as a featured speaker at <a href="https://www.digital.cpac.org/us/events-dc2024">CPAC</a>, the Conservative Political Action Conference. The conference is attended by pundits, activists and politicians from the Trump wing (which is almost the entirety) of the Republican party.</p><p>The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68377406">summarized</a> some of Bukele's remarks:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>Mr. Bukele told the conference that the next US president must have the will and courage to do "whatever it takes" to overcome the "dark forces" that he said were trying to control the US.</p><p>He received loud applause for when he attacked institutions including what he called "corrupt judges" and fake news in both his country and the US.</p><p>He also repeatedly cast an undefined group of "global elites" as an oppressive enemy with power over the media and politics.</p><p>"The people of El Salvador have woken up, and so can you," he said. "The global elites, they hate our success and they fear yours."</p><p>He said many of the US's big cities were "in decline" and had become "places where crime and drugs have become the daily norm."</p><p>"How many young people have you lost on the streets of Philadelphia or San Francisco to fentanyl?" he said. "Can you imagine how we will be in the next five, 10, 15 years?"</p><p>He urged the enthusiastic audience: "Put up a fight because in the end it will be worth it. You will have your country back."</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Bukele's complete speech to the CPAC crowd can be seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOFErQLbd8k">here</a>.</p><p>Bukele's appearance had ultra-conservative pundits falling all over themselves with praise for Bukele's discourse against "globalists" and "institutionalists" and "traditional media." Among the others, Elon Musk forwarded a post from "End Wokeness" and joined in with "He's right":<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1760822924829958235" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1261" data-original-width="1216" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8FPwNlYU81JPqrOhhGlBaveKMy05HEJyMvtkOhZwQXvsfaaIlKI6v7M9cl6sb_HI2Yz-Tw7f5bWrljxKdw1_xHlJNMfAMNvRJFti8TUIO0Dre74ksrhpnIktSml-HtedmeKMmLCAAnnT56xKlIvorNSCe0CvArx00SobpWu0BWXKVYnHokGt/w386-h400/Tweet1.JPG" width="386" /></a></div><br /><p>Also speaking this year at CPAC was Argentine president Javier Milei. The new president of that South American country calls himself an "anarcho-capitalist" and loves to launch attacks on social media. Like Bukele, he won his election in a populist assault on an existing two party system. Milei's appearance along with Bukele at CPAC lends support to the idea of "a pro-Donald Trump coalition of support coming from Latin America," which Roberta Braga of the Digital Democracy Institute of the America <a href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-online-reach-and-expat-votes-el-salvadors-election">says is spreading</a> through social media networks throughout the region. (<a href="https://x.com/DanScavino/status/1761491962874483026?s=20">Video of Trump greeting Milei at CPAC</a>).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHMugSVWkAE2UZ2?format=jpg&name=small" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHMugSVWkAE2UZ2?format=jpg&name=small" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://twitter.com/BenedinD/status/1761803015206428758/photo/1">Image circulating on Twitter</a> of Milei, Bukele and Trump</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In his first year in office, Bukele met with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Bukele called the US president "<a href="https://sv.usembassy.gov/remarks-president-trump-bukele-bilat-meeting/">nice and cool</a>." (This despite Trump calling El Salvador a "shithole country" when Trump attempted to cancel TPS for almost 200,000 Salvadorans in the US).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWxh-p7AJrVeBf5pUSTW1PZDmzYgM3v3sIWVAkiq4Xie1Z8ApGAhHG2nI3TZLwzOuJ4PIx-n04y-jMyqMHOCeNNuSuvz9d3us8uyhfJBGs6rJPC5xJXnZDPxPOvEmK3cBBUnpsXnu1NQbe7mtnVeT36oWkT4C_Fo3ZISQbayNinfR4jb2G2Vk/s1140/Trump_Bukele.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1140" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWxh-p7AJrVeBf5pUSTW1PZDmzYgM3v3sIWVAkiq4Xie1Z8ApGAhHG2nI3TZLwzOuJ4PIx-n04y-jMyqMHOCeNNuSuvz9d3us8uyhfJBGs6rJPC5xJXnZDPxPOvEmK3cBBUnpsXnu1NQbe7mtnVeT36oWkT4C_Fo3ZISQbayNinfR4jb2G2Vk/s320/Trump_Bukele.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When Trump turned himself in last year to be booked on criminal charges in New York City, the overwhelming majority of world leaders were silent, but Bukele was quick to label it an undemocratic attack on a leading opposition candidate: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1643334584082345986" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="1188" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3Z-DzaOqcUXJx8BPAt0vyXw7hR4ajPMepraK2Ev0NPHKv3D-xqTUZXSqd7I9F6jYRaZXlWSiVFbY3SUpxpq8iq52zi5fnG826qPzz6d9b4vOxG6KOirZVU5Yvkpr1DamNZil6aDTsCZSAaFt6Zfd_z2KbLVh8Q-bwXiunWKzqs1wAo8F4f4-/w470-h640/2023.04.04%20Bukele%20tweet%20re%20Trump%20arrest.JPG" width="470" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div>In an article titled <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/4/8/23653324/nayib-bukele-trump-american-right-crime">Meet the MAGA Movement's New Favorite Autocrat</a>, Vox looked at how the Trump-backers in the US have been holding up Bukele as a model:</div><p></p><blockquote><p>Conservative commentators’ praise for Bukele has been even more effusive.</p><p>“‘He’s ‘authoritarian’? He’s wielding authority to do good, to get the bad guys and help the good guys. We should be doing that too,” the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles said in a late February monologue. “‘Authoritarian’ is just a word that liberals use when conservatives wield political power.”...</p><p>[Bukele's] PR campaign, which includes striking videos showing Bukele’s new mega-prison and mass arrests, has captured the imagination of many on the American New Right and extended MAGA universe.</p><p>Gavin Wax, the president of the New York Young Republicans Club, writes, “Americans could ... look to El Salvador, a small but proud nation, as a blueprint for governance and public safety.”</p><p>Rod Dreher, one of [Hungarian president] Viktor Orbán’s biggest boosters in the American media, wrote a piece titled “Nayib Bukele: Serious about Saving Civilization,” in which he argued, “[W]e are going to need a politician like that to de-wokify the US Government and, to the extent that it is legally possible, American society.”</p></blockquote><div><br /></div>One of Bukele's big fans among the MAGA crowd is <a href="https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec">Jack Posobiec</a>, a conservative influencer with 2 million Twitter followers. One of his typical posts about Bukele:<br /><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bukele won the biggest landslide in the history of representative government and the media isn't even talking about it bc he won by locking up criminals and thugs and cleaning up his country</p>— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1755592806368772301?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><div>In January, Posobiec praised the Donald Trump campaign for "<a href="https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1744331982262194507?s=20">going Full Bukele</a>" when the campaign released an attack ad against Nikki Haley accusing Haley of being soft on undocumented immigration, an ad which labeled migrants "drug traffickers and rapists." Apparently Posobiec was referring to Bukele's penchant for attacking his opposition with dark images of frightening criminal figures. Of course, in so doing, Posobiec was labeling as drug traffickers and rapists the 66,000 Salvadorans apprehended at the US border in 2023. This is one of the contradictions of Bukele's coziness with Trump's MAGA movement -- they despise Salvadorans crossing the US southern border looking for safety and a better life, and they want to deport hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans living in the US without valid immigration status. </div><div><br /></div>And Posobiec is the hard right activist who showed his true colors at CPAC announcing “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it.”<div></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jack Posobiec at CPAC: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it.”<br /><br />Trump’s Republican Party openly wants to end democracy. We must stop them. <a href="https://t.co/UITxEth0im">pic.twitter.com/UITxEth0im</a></p>— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1760761957437599856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>The Southern Poverty Law Center has a <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/jack-posobiec">long dossier</a> on Posobiec and says of him: <div><blockquote>Jack Posobiec is a political operative and internet performer of the anti-democracy hard right, known primarily for creating and amplifying viral disinformation campaigns. His disinformation typically focuses on making his political opponents seem dangerous or criminal, while ignoring or downplaying the corruption of authoritarians....He has also collaborated with white nationalists, antigovernment extremists, members of the Proud Boys, and neo-Nazis in his capacity as an operative. </blockquote><div>But Bukele appeared happy to get the thumbs up from this American anti-democracy white nationalist. After Bukele spoke at CPAC, Bukele re-posted 3 separate tweets from Posobiec where the extremist praised the words of the Salvadoran president. </div><div>
<br />
<div>Vox <a href="https://www.vox.com/2024/2/24/24081448/cpac-trump-republicans-bukele-milei">summed up</a> the meaning of Bukele and Milei's appearance with the MAGA crowd at CPAC this week:<br /><blockquote>Ultimately, US conservatives like Bukele and Milei because they are hardliners who are using extreme tactics to deal with society’s problems — and are willing to thumb their noses at institutions to get there. As [Michigan State professor of political science Erica] Frantz told Vox, their presence at CPAC is “an effort to cue the conservative base to see authoritarian rhetoric as ‘normal’ and strongman rule as the only solution to society’s problems.” In other words, the message is that not only is there nothing to fear from Trump’s more anti-democratic tendencies, but there’s much to gain from them.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-68445480338988250742024-02-21T17:20:00.003-06:002024-02-21T17:20:42.912-06:00Deported back to El Salvador - 8 years of data<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5OsmAnjDFVTka0cZu988_iA3tRkVLBJrM_3SIIWFy9xdzD0CbuEt6c3kVIHDYl98vZiP8VV2wd0Yj1aNRXCkAy_6ohaKxraLXIGuRq2pZZwN-Go4UNKbIV2dr-0gDYHn9kJrfKnXW5a1dWPdwPNyJ2l9UzyFHA-RervHnrQSqOzrfK9mdZXM/s1001/Deportees.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1001" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5OsmAnjDFVTka0cZu988_iA3tRkVLBJrM_3SIIWFy9xdzD0CbuEt6c3kVIHDYl98vZiP8VV2wd0Yj1aNRXCkAy_6ohaKxraLXIGuRq2pZZwN-Go4UNKbIV2dr-0gDYHn9kJrfKnXW5a1dWPdwPNyJ2l9UzyFHA-RervHnrQSqOzrfK9mdZXM/w400-h233/Deportees.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>It has been a long time since I've shared numbers on deportations back to El Salvador on El Salvador Perspectives, so it is time for an update.</p><p>The International Office of Migration for the UN (IOM) has a <a href="https://infounitnca.iom.int/">valuable website</a> with statistics for migration flows from the Northern Triangle of Central America through Mexico to the United States. The following graph, from IOM data, shows the number of persons officially removed from the United States and Mexico back to El Salvador. I say "officially removed" because these statistics do not include people who gave up along the route north and returned home to El Salvador of their own volition, or persons who "self-deported" back to El Salvador from the US or Mexico after living in either country.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX3-iJKBiLNyWcTLQDrokbzNIWX26Y8P8AYglLVZZR1519FCoB-yn6ThlbiUI8iz2cSZtGlhyphenhyphenfIgKC2LLWHDzB_H8C7NJMWV2XpWvXdcLQSEPuG8_mfNEfFwVXrOM8qt_3cideqhgFH3-2u5mMRCKBou_jJjz3YRa7pceig_aML8lbSy6h80I/s3008/Removals%202016-2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1592" data-original-width="3008" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX3-iJKBiLNyWcTLQDrokbzNIWX26Y8P8AYglLVZZR1519FCoB-yn6ThlbiUI8iz2cSZtGlhyphenhyphenfIgKC2LLWHDzB_H8C7NJMWV2XpWvXdcLQSEPuG8_mfNEfFwVXrOM8qt_3cideqhgFH3-2u5mMRCKBou_jJjz3YRa7pceig_aML8lbSy6h80I/w640-h338/Removals%202016-2023.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The graph shows calendar year data going back to 2016. Over those eight years, the highest totals for deportations from both Mexico and the US was 2016, the final year of the Obama administration. The second highest total was in 2019, the third year of the Trump administration. The lowest totals have been in the past four years, recognizing the impact of both the COVID-19 pandemic on migration flows and immigration court operations, as well as the changing policies under the Biden administration.</p><p>Persons returned to El Salvador face significant challenges in reintegrating into life in the country. Very often they return penniless, perhaps with significant debt from acquiring the services of a human smuggler (<i>coyote</i>), without a job, and often having experienced significant trauma in their migration journeys. The organization Cuentanos.org has a <a href="https://elsalvador.cuentanos.org/es/categories/7447654872093">recently updated website</a> which lists resources and information for returnees.</p><p>The flow of deportations back to El Salvador is unlikely to stop anytime soon. There are currently almost <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/backlog/">145,000 pending deportation cases</a> in US immigration court involving Salvadoran citizens, according to the Syracuse University TRAC immigration database. And if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he threatens a massive increase.</p><p>Very often the headlines focus on the number of people leaving and apprehended at the US border. But we should also focus on the more than 1000 people per month currently being sent back to El Salvador in need of support and reintegration services.</p><p><br /></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-8117258280048179082024-02-18T21:19:00.001-06:002024-02-18T21:19:50.677-06:00Having changed law in its favor, Nuevas Ideas walks away with 90% of Legislative Assembly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRxRbcbTXVrQLp6tfFbHw7x3PKwPGzkuid3nRBijMklro9_1VnWva_hAtlolpGw5r1n1YRiYAUh6tw50NiDCWTctVPoi70i9MGqK2jgSu1gegVHKgVeP-ZR3If7RvEleH_WwA9u-wm7SkwBM3f8ZVkJdiQEJU8XNccJNlIAD9Q8qUsTPyRa7J/s880/2021.03.05%20N%20over%20Salvador.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="880" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRxRbcbTXVrQLp6tfFbHw7x3PKwPGzkuid3nRBijMklro9_1VnWva_hAtlolpGw5r1n1YRiYAUh6tw50NiDCWTctVPoi70i9MGqK2jgSu1gegVHKgVeP-ZR3If7RvEleH_WwA9u-wm7SkwBM3f8ZVkJdiQEJU8XNccJNlIAD9Q8qUsTPyRa7J/s320/2021.03.05%20N%20over%20Salvador.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The troubled vote count for Legislative Assembly in El Salvador ended today. Nayib Bukele's absolute control over the legislature was solidified as a product of elections conducted under rules changed for the express purpose of benefitting Nuevas Ideas. Results are <a href="https://divulgacion.tse.gob.sv/resultados/index">here</a>.</p><p>In the Legislative Assembly elections, on a nationwide basis, Nuevas Ideas was not as popular as its leader Bukele. The party received 71% of the popular vote compared to his 83% in the presidential election. However, because of a series of election law changes passed at the last minute in June 2023, the party will obtain 54 seats, equal to 90% of the 60 seat Legislative Assembly. </p><p>How did 71% of the votes turn into 90% of the deputies? It's a matter of election engineering through changing mathematical formulas. Let me explain. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">A year ago, Salvadorans thought they knew the rules of the game for the coming national elections. After all, the country had a law on the books which stated that changes in the electoral process could not be implemented in the final 12 months before an election.</span></p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">But on March 15, 2023, the Legislative Assembl</span>y <a href="https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/el-salvador-deroga-prohibicion-cambiar-reglas-electorales-antes-de-las-elecciones/7007650.html">repealed</a> th<span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">at provision in the election law to allow changes to El Salvador’s electoral process to be made right up until election day. </span></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">The Legislative Assembly controlled by Nuevas Ideas then took advantage of its new power to change the rules in its favor by adopting major modifications to the election of deputies to the Legislative Assembly, less than seven months before the first ballots would be cast. The law changes were enacted on June 6, 2023</span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">, with little debate and no advance hearings, study or public input on the matter. </span><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">There were two primary changes for the Legislative Assembly. First, they reduced the number of seats in the legislature from 84 to 60, cutting back the number of seats available for smaller parties. </span></span></div><br />The second change altered the method by which the vote totals translate into the number of seats allocated to each party. The prior method used in El Salvador is known as the "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_quota">Hare quota method</a>", and tends to produce results where the allocation among parties will roughly equal the percentage of votes obtained by each party. But in June, the Nuevas Ideas-controlled Assembly declared that future elections would be governed by the "D’Hondt method" (named for a Belgian mathematician). In El Salvador, the change is described as changing from a system of “quotients and residuals” to one without residuals. The difference between the two methods is too complicated to describe here, but there is a lengthy description of the D'Hondt method in the article at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Hondt_method">this link</a>, which concludes that this method offers an advantage to larger parties like Nuevas Ideas. <div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">With the conclusion of vote counting, we now know how big an impact this change in method had. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">The disparity between percentage of votes won and the seats awarded under the new rules is glaring. Although Nuevas Ideas won <b>71% </b>of the votes on a nationwide basis, it will now have <b>90%</b> of the seats in the Legislative Assembly. Under the Hare method, Nuevas Ideas would have captured <b>45</b> of the seats, but with the new D'Hondt method it was awarded <b>54</b> seats. (Some analysts say the Hare method total would be only 44 seats).</span></div><div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">The publication Disruptiva from the Francisco Gavidia University put together these two graphics to show the projected results under the two methods. The top graphic is the previous Hare method and the lower is D'Hondt:</span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yTrBmXk3BiShCyijYKmk86HdrCuF3Hf5fhqMpOsQJma98vGuzYACYbwmK-j3irwPV8iyoCnWUeRk_2ROH6VcnbwH47OezLvtIF_nUA_S-gFeJ5cF3L1lRvSTjLE7YLCdmLTlmBEHaUh2_K8k68Qar1-09wm-LGMGAaHXmEL0cVO6q32Gvpnz/s1080/Hare.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yTrBmXk3BiShCyijYKmk86HdrCuF3Hf5fhqMpOsQJma98vGuzYACYbwmK-j3irwPV8iyoCnWUeRk_2ROH6VcnbwH47OezLvtIF_nUA_S-gFeJ5cF3L1lRvSTjLE7YLCdmLTlmBEHaUh2_K8k68Qar1-09wm-LGMGAaHXmEL0cVO6q32Gvpnz/s320/Hare.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Seats awarded to parties under Hare method</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUY-uCC6sw1k4RTyLR1qHIPPt8vxn5tY7CVQlOYuNIaQynz0JJX3peNQiz1gWl2F9-wURHp7Nwoz6wXPKPngOFQSppKv0QjyFtiCcgpbGuXTJINRqDaOvJHowolfM2g342owlcdrQBs-adE_iYgPgO24bF2ytEoPPWqtmObuk-sWGmImq8bz0/s1080/Dhondt.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUY-uCC6sw1k4RTyLR1qHIPPt8vxn5tY7CVQlOYuNIaQynz0JJX3peNQiz1gWl2F9-wURHp7Nwoz6wXPKPngOFQSppKv0QjyFtiCcgpbGuXTJINRqDaOvJHowolfM2g342owlcdrQBs-adE_iYgPgO24bF2ytEoPPWqtmObuk-sWGmImq8bz0/s320/Dhondt.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Seats awarded to parties under D'Hondt method</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">In the new Legislative Assembly, Bukele and Nuevas Ideas will not need votes from allies. Anything can be passed, even amendments to the Constitution, just with the votes of Nuevas Ideas party legislators.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">The new method had its biggest impact on </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">the fortunes of the FMLN. The party of the former guerrilla movement in El Salvador's civil war was the standard bearer of the left in El Salvador. In fact, Nayib Bukele was a member of the FMLN during his time as mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán and then San Salvador. If the old Hare method was still in place in 2024, the FMLN would have garnered 5 seats in the Assembly, but the law change leaves the FMLN out in the cold without a seat. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">The other big loser was the GANA party. In 2019, GANA welcomed Bukele to be its presidential candidate after he left the FMLN, since Nuevas Ideas had not yet been legally registered as a party. The GANA deputies in the Assembly from 2021-2024, especially the party leader Guillermo Gallegos, were loyal supporters of Bukele on every vote. Today, however, Gallegos and his party are completely shut out of the Legislative Assembly.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;">Remaining in the Legislative Assembly for another term is <a href="https://twitter.com/ClaudiaOrtizSV">Claudia Ortiz</a> of the small VAMOS party, who won a seat from the San Salvador department. Ortiz is perhaps the most visible face of the opposition to Bukele and Nuevas Ideas. She expresses her criticisms frequently and coherently, raising her points on the floor of the Assembly as well as in frequent interviews with the press. </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div>Although ARENA and VAMOS are calling for the elections to be voided and re-done, that outcome seems extremely unlikely with a Supreme Electoral Tribunal which is more interested in appearing competent than correct and a Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Court which is filled with Bukele allies who approved his unconstitutional re-election.</div></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-87972289770796359812024-02-17T11:40:00.001-06:002024-02-17T11:40:39.999-06:00A highly troubled scrutiny of Legislative Assembly votes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Aza8QbNHNQprfuY5mHZOuMyUUQ4xUYEmAFNd0S8TdvcBdoY-u22zwcvJZSkxTI6-yVBRZsawRom9sabGdgbmu3pwJYxS5Xloovju5Ny98baMgRqynbcB4viulJOMJATbNcmz5_Di6KaB5ukeCNZhKheUFNZ5E_7KNEADPe9-atExoONEcop1/s2048/Scrutinio.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Aza8QbNHNQprfuY5mHZOuMyUUQ4xUYEmAFNd0S8TdvcBdoY-u22zwcvJZSkxTI6-yVBRZsawRom9sabGdgbmu3pwJYxS5Xloovju5Ny98baMgRqynbcB4viulJOMJATbNcmz5_Di6KaB5ukeCNZhKheUFNZ5E_7KNEADPe9-atExoONEcop1/w400-h266/Scrutinio.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>In El Salvador's Adolfo Pineda National Gymnasium, 300 work tables have been set up to tabulate results for the election of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Boxes of ballots from all over the country are brought to the facility, where ballots are reviewed and the results "digitized" to produce <a href="https://divulgacion.tse.gob.sv/resultados/index">election results</a> through a process called the "escrutinio final" or "final scrutiny." </p><p>However, election observers, the press, and opposition party representatives have been denouncing a <a href="https://x.com/RevistaFactum/status/1757244238440337900?s=20">wide variety</a> of anomalies and discrepancies in the process. </p><p>Each position in the gym works to tabulate the results from individual votes placed into the ballot box at a "Junta Receptora de Votos" or JRV. Citizens throughout the country were assigned in groups of 700 for each JRV to cast their votes. (This does not apply to voting from abroad for the diaspora which was a different process, and for which we do not know how those votes are going to be verified).</p><p>Some of the problems being identified include:</p><p><i><b>Vote reviews which reported a JRV having 800 ballots rather than the 700 maximum:</b></i></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EscrutinioFinal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EscrutinioFinal</a>| En la mesa 104 de la Sala B, el paquete de papeletas contenía 800. <br /><br />Vigilantes de partidos políticos manifiestan que el acta no contenía está observación. <br /><br />📽️Informa: Reiny Ponce. <a href="https://t.co/UWWzkc9htp">pic.twitter.com/UWWzkc9htp</a></p>— Revista La Brújula (@labrujula_rev) <a href="https://twitter.com/labrujula_rev/status/1757892385554534733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">At table 104 in Room B, the package of ballots contained 800. Political party watchers state that the record did not contain this observation.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p><i><b><br /></b></i></p><p><i><b>JRVs where more ballots were voted than the number of voter signatures on the election registry.</b></i></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">From the vote counting for Legislative Assembly. At this JRV, there were only 137 voters, but 265 ballots in the ballot box. Just one example of irregularities being discovered, but little indication that TSE will act. <a href="https://t.co/eixGSzL1vO">https://t.co/eixGSzL1vO</a></p>— Tim Muth (@TimMuth) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimMuth/status/1757241626890579984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><br /></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Noche larga en las mesas de escrutinio. Más denuncias desde las mesas. JRV 1913, Ciudad Delgado: 643 votos válidos de los cuales 454 son para Nuevas Ideas pero padrón de firmas muestra que solo 423 personas votaron y además que había 234 papeletas sobrantes. Caso se envió a TSE.</p>— Gabriel Labrador (@glabrador) <a href="https://twitter.com/glabrador/status/1758845055094161693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><i></i></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Long night at the counting tables. More complaints from the tables. JRV 1913, Ciudad Delgado: 643 valid votes, of which 454 are for Nuevas Ideas, but the signature registry shows that only 423 people voted and also that there were 234 leftover ballots. Case was sent to TSE.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p><i><b><br /></b></i></p><p><i><b>Ballots appearing with no traces of having been folded to fit through the slot in a ballot box.</b></i></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">It is very hard to imagine that the ballots being counted in this video were ever folded by a voter and deposited into the cardboard ballot boxes. Compare the ballot with clear fold marks against these smooth and flat ballots marked for NI candidates. <a href="https://t.co/9oz7BeR4hx">https://t.co/9oz7BeR4hx</a></p>— Tim Muth (@TimMuth) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimMuth/status/1758523480172020092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><br /></p><p><i><b>Ballots which appear to have been marked with a marker rather than the crayon which is given to each voter to mark their ballot.</b></i></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Ahora salen estas papeletas bien “nítidas y marcadas a favor de <a href="https://twitter.com/nuevasideas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuevasideas</a> con plumón y no con crayón.<br /><br />¿Pueden explicar esto? <a href="https://twitter.com/TSEElSalvador?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSEElSalvador</a> <a href="https://t.co/UrPkc1Orzl">pic.twitter.com/UrPkc1Orzl</a></p>— Antonio Salazar (@antoasb) <a href="https://twitter.com/antoasb/status/1757471815020995038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Now these ballots come out very “clear and marked in favor of @nuevasideas with marker and not with crayon. Can you explain this?</span></i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>The director of one group of international election observers, the CIS, wrote on X:<br /></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Debe solicitar auditoria de la OEA de papeletes sobrantes, cuadrar votos con el padron de firma, papaletas marcado con plumones, planchadas. Debe de solicitar investigacion de la FBI, otros sobre el corto del sistema 4 FEB y la desaparacion de papel de seguridad para las actas</p>— CIS Directora (@CisDirector) <a href="https://twitter.com/CisDirector/status/1758616604818936008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">An audit should be requested from the OAS of excess ballots, matching votes with the signature register, of ballots marked with markers, ironed. An investigation should be requested from the FBI, others about the short-out of the 4 FEB system [on election night] and the disappearance of security paper for the vote tally sheets.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Throughout the process, the Nuevas Ideas party of Nayib Bukele has been inserting itself everywhere. Officials from the Bukele government have been seen in the ballot counting zones, and the cyan colored vests of party workers are everywhere as this video illustrates:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p dir="ltr" lang="es"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Elecciones2024sv?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Elecciones2024sv</a> |🔴En la mesa 62 del salón A se disputan marcas de votos en papeletas de Nuevas Ideas. ➡️A la discusión de la mesa se acercaron varios vigilantes de NI, entre ellos Edwin Núñez, presidente de ETESAL. <a href="https://t.co/u1cNhFmBIw">pic.twitter.com/u1cNhFmBIw</a></p>— Revista Factum (@RevistaFactum) <a href="https://twitter.com/RevistaFactum/status/1757564774483677688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><br /></p><p>On Thursday of this week, there was a notable increase in the presence of uniformed police officers at the National Gymnasium. Fifty or more members of the PNC ringed the rooms where votes were being tallied, which some viewed as a form of intimidation. </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">El conteo de papeletas de la votación legislativa 2024 del departamento de La Libertad, en la sala C, inició bajo presencia de casi 50 agentes de la PNC. En días anteriores, lo delegados permanecieron en la puerta de la sala. Video LPG/L. Mondragón. <a href="https://t.co/zf7saYcK69">pic.twitter.com/zf7saYcK69</a></p>— La Prensa Gráfica (@prensagrafica) <a href="https://twitter.com/prensagrafica/status/1758516475738947975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The counting of ballots for the 2024 legislative vote in the department of La Libertad, in room C, began in the presence of almost 50 PNC agents. In previous days, the agents remained at the door of the room.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Some reporters stated they were being blocked from their work to monitor the development of the final scrutiny. The Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES) issued a <a href="https://twitter.com/apeselsalvador/status/1758549218472382610?s=46&t=rsdkMnsAJSJ1M6KHI5JU4w">statement</a> directed towards the TSE which included the following: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><li>We reject the constant blockade of the work of journalists at the counting tables of the legislative vote, taking place in the Adolfo Pineda Gymnasium, while people without any accreditation enter the premises without any restrictions and even influence the count, as as the press has documented.</li><li>We denounce the physical monitoring to which journalists from Focos, El Diario de Hoy, Factum and La Brújula have been subjected in the scrutiny areas of the Adolfo Pineda Gymnasium by security guards from the official Nuevas Ideas party. These episodes have occurred after journalists have documented and reported signs of anomalies in the counting of voting ballots. In all cases, the monitoring has ended with the expulsion of the journalists from the counting table area, which reflects that the TSE does not seem committed to the transparency of the electoral process.</li></blockquote></ul><p></p><p>The TSE responded in a <a href="https://x.com/TSEElSalvador/status/1758625903897112798?s=20">tweet</a>, claiming it had "guaranteed" complete coverage to the media and content creators.</p><p>The pending question is whether the TSE or the courts will do anything to resolve the doubts created by these anomalies. One of the members of the TSE, Julio Olivo, issued a letter to his fellow magistrates on the Tribunal stating that the TSE should take steps to review and rule on the problems being identified.</p><p><br /></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Para garantizar apego a la legalidad del proceso de escrutinio final, he presentado al organismo colegiado las siguientes consideraciones: <a href="https://t.co/3NJjIAW6yO">pic.twitter.com/3NJjIAW6yO</a></p>— Julio Olivo (@juliolivo2018) <a href="https://twitter.com/juliolivo2018/status/1757435889599279554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: medium;">To guarantee adherence to the legality of the final scrutiny process, I have presented the following considerations to the entire body.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Olivo called for the TSE to meet as a full body to discuss each "report of data manipulation" or "interference" or "alteration" made by data entry operators, vigilantes or others.</p><p>But it is not clear at this point whether the TSE will act as Olivo and the opposition parties have requested. The TSE seems more interested in preserving its image of competence and rejecting the idea that it might not have overseen a clean election. It will face intense pressure from the Bukele regime not to undercut the legitimacy of election results which favor Bukele and Nuevas Ideas.</p><p>In 2015, the TSE also faced a situation where discrepancies were found in the process of tallying votes for the Legislative Assembly. In that year, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Court looked at evidence of anomalies in the vote count and <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2015/04/a-court-ordered-vote-recount-in-san.html">ordered the TSE</a> to do a ballot-by-ballot recount of all votes cast in San Salvador, prolonging the election process for weeks more. </p><p>But that was a much different Constitutional Chamber, independent of the political parties and other branches of government. The same cannot be said of that court in 2024.</p><p>In my next post, the winners of seats in the Legislative Assembly being announced by the TSE, and why the real manipulation of this election actually happened months ago.</p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-81740397979481510412024-02-16T12:02:00.001-06:002024-02-16T13:57:16.767-06:00Government fails to keep promises to El Salvador's 183 year old public university<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4JNVoySS2aM_22Yvm6PaDn6obHn2NdtlkZ12FzJXTD4IU4yMiGRy9IV78UxDLkvkxe9OpCiLiX2FlwaLTujYd270863Ofk3GlKkKp78ohA0BOUxSNQT-nk3PqeiyXqdh4pTSdgeyh5yye8cRJQqhL6J9oz_jAVnT1s_5wysKXGxKklaR8urW/s1491/UES_Logo.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1491" data-original-width="1212" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4JNVoySS2aM_22Yvm6PaDn6obHn2NdtlkZ12FzJXTD4IU4yMiGRy9IV78UxDLkvkxe9OpCiLiX2FlwaLTujYd270863Ofk3GlKkKp78ohA0BOUxSNQT-nk3PqeiyXqdh4pTSdgeyh5yye8cRJQqhL6J9oz_jAVnT1s_5wysKXGxKklaR8urW/w163-h200/UES_Logo.JPG" width="163" /></a></div><br /><p>February 16 is the 183rd anniversary of the founding of the <a href="https://www.ues.edu.sv/">University of El Salvador</a>. The University, known locally as either "the National" or "UES," is the oldest and only public university in El Salvador. The UES enrolls more than <a href="https://saa.ues.edu.sv/estadisticas">50,000 students</a> at its central campus in San Salvador, with additional students taking classes at 3 small locations around the country. Today, however, the university is struggling as the government fails to deliver millions in budgeted funding and usurps university facilities for other purposes. </p><p>Throughout much of its 183 years the University has had a precarious existence. During the turbulent 1970s and the civil war of the 1980s, the school was shut down for years at a time as the military governments saw students and faculty as left-wing agitators. In 1986, the earthquake which hit San Salvador damaged much of the university infrastructure. Following the civil war, the university gradually got back on its feet, although demonstrations and protests would still occasionally rock the campus as in <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2005/11/closing-of-university-of-el-salvador.html">2005</a> and <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2010/03/protesters-take-over-university-of-el.html">2010</a> when protesters seized the university campus for periods of time. </p><p>Sadly, university education in El Salvador does not fare well in rankings of universities in Latin America. According to one ranking, the UES <a href="https://edurank.org/geo/sv/">ranked 269th</a> among universities in Latin America. Another ranking placed the UES <a href="https://www.webometrics.info/es/Latin_America_es?page=3">378th</a> in Latin America. (The UES is either ranked first or second in El Salvador, with the Jesuit-run <a href="https://www.uca.edu.sv">Central American University José Simeón Cañas</a> as the other top school). </p><p>Given that the country's president, Nayib Bukele, talks about making the country a <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/el-salvadors-president-inks-deal-with-google-for-central-american-tech-hub">technology and innovation hub</a>, one would expect to see vigorous efforts to improve these rankings with investment towards top-notch higher education to produce a qualified workforce. But several recent events show exactly the opposite.</p><p>Most critical for the UES has been the failure of the Bukele government to supply its budgeted funding in the past three years. As the one and only public university in the country, the UES partially depends on budgeted money from the national government to pay its bills. <a href="https://www.ues.edu.sv/blog/post/pronunciamiento-agu-en-relacion-la-crisis-presupuestaria-ues">According to the university</a>, the government is in default of paying money due the UES totaling $48 million for the years 2022, 2023 and the start of 2024. As a consequence, the university states that it is in default with suppliers to the tune of $19 million and is at risk of being cut off from water, electricity and the internet, imperiling its ability to function as the country's only public university. According to a <a href="https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Universidad-Nacional-operara-con-lo-minimo-por-deuda-del-Gobierno-salvadoreno-20240212-0073.html">report in La Prensa Grafica</a>, the UES has ordered a hiring freeze and cutbacks throughout all its operations, to attempt to deal with the fiscal crisis.</p><p>The rector of the University, Juan Rosa Quintanilla has <a href="https://radioyskl.com/2024/02/15/ues-no-contempla-cobrar-por-la-educacion-superior-a-pesar-de-afrontar-crisis-por-falta-de-fondos/">stated</a> that he is seeking out a meeting with the Minister of Education in the government to address the budgetary crisis, but has also stated that the university does not intend to change its practice of offering a free university education to the students who enroll.</p><p>The government also <a href="https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/UES-iniciara-el-ano-con-clases-virtuales-por-Juegos-Centroamericanos-20230112-0091.html">pre-empted UES operations</a> during 2023 in order to hold the Central American and Caribbean games. Classes at the central campus of the UES in San Salvador were forced to go online during the entire year so that the government could convert buildings to house and feed athletes, and then delayed in returning the facilities to classroom use. At the end of the year, the government used the university to <a href="https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Universidad-de-El-Salvador-autoriza-al-Gobierno-usar-instalaciones-para-alojar-a-periodistas-que-cubren-Miss-Universo-20231110-0024.html">house journalists</a> from around the world who were covering the Miss Universe pageant. Even as of today, the rector <a href="https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Rector-sobre-uso-de-UES-para-juegos-Tuvo-mas-costo-que-beneficios-20240215-0072.html">indicates</a> that not all of the UES central campus has been restored from its use during the Games in June 2023.</p><p>The most recent usurpation of the university for non-educational reasons happened this week as Nuevas Ideas was housing individuals involved as "vigilantes" or observers for the election ballot counting going on in San Salvador. Nuevas Ideas held a rally on University grounds for its sympathizers. which <a href="https://www.ues.edu.sv/blog/post/ante-los-hechos-acontecidos-el-fin-de-semana-en-la-villa-universitaria">the University protested</a> as contrary to its policy of not allowing any partisan political activity on the campus as inconsistent with its role as an educational institution.</p><p>When he campaigned for president in 2018, Nayib Bukele made a <a href="https://noticias.uca.edu.sv/articulos/las-promesas-de-bukele-a-la-universidad-de-el-salvador">series of promises</a> regarding the UES to establish it as the "best university in Central America." Those promises have gone unfulfilled. (Nayib Bukele himself dropped out of college without completing a degree). As an <a href="https://noticias.uca.edu.sv/articulos/las-promesas-de-bukele-a-la-universidad-de-el-salvador">editorial</a> from the UCA noted:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote>After the military dictatorships, civilian governments inherited a practice that has been continued intact to the present: access to free higher education of high academic quality is not a priority. It is not due to lack of awareness of the great benefits of investing in science or higher education. It is due to a lack of political will, based on myopic electoral calculations and not on a long-term plan for the country.</blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-83055257381333807762024-02-10T14:30:00.007-06:002024-02-10T20:44:43.139-06:00With important rights indefinitely suspended, 83% voted for Bukele<p>On Friday, February 9, El Salvador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal <a href="https://info2024.tse.gob.sv/noticia/2024/El-Organismo-Colegiado-informa-los-resultados-oficiales-de-la-elecci%C3%B3n-presidencial-2024">announced</a> the final results of the presidential election. We already knew Bukele had won in a landslide, the only real question was the exact margin of victory. With turnout around 52%, Nayib Bukele won with 82.7% of the votes:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bgKy4xAGIauFo9WeExuBYSuimXTBxCURtC3Xj-nHMwhnKcbyUmBmnZLYdRp4Z5_xg8rwosFnLk7H73crbFNyVzx8bo-vah6uJbn0wfy-3rfik5X3rIoUc7yqSWrps5cf_kAB7Pp36keLHk6VWERKJBo9yShAX5Jum7djMLG61Qwfb2t-uey7/s1406/2024%20Presidential%20Election%20Results.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1406" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bgKy4xAGIauFo9WeExuBYSuimXTBxCURtC3Xj-nHMwhnKcbyUmBmnZLYdRp4Z5_xg8rwosFnLk7H73crbFNyVzx8bo-vah6uJbn0wfy-3rfik5X3rIoUc7yqSWrps5cf_kAB7Pp36keLHk6VWERKJBo9yShAX5Jum7djMLG61Qwfb2t-uey7/w640-h364/2024%20Presidential%20Election%20Results.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><span style="color: red;"><b>The votes for Legislative Assembly have not yet been counted</b></span>.</p><p>The announcement of the final results in Bukele's unconstitutional reelection came on the 4th anniversary of Bukele's first major step towards asserting authoritarian power in the county. On February 9, 2020, Nayib Bukele <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2020/02/bukele-sends-armed-troops-before-him.html">sent armed troops ahead of himself</a> into the Legislative Assembly. He was demanding that the Assembly, then controlled by parties other than Nuevas Ideas, approve a loan package to buy military equipment. As Bukele sat himself down at the place of the president of the Assembly, with his troops ringing the legislative chamber, Bukele sent a clear message that he wanted an Assembly subservient to his will. The move foreshadowed what was to come when Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party swept into power in June 2021, and promptly placed allies in the supreme court and attorney general's offices, and ten months later placed the country under the emergency State of Exception.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9ag9jgH6_TZsEudcMq4X7M88Va0STidbiWhxTspnQcN0RUPH7N_vXCZVBlLFCmqWf5Lit3JNHtQRMixdKlPcdMtX5fOvGUJ6O_E63kb3YzvIrgeJKB5T22wLNHRiV3HjIEqNpez7EZWXnrJNc6zNI1JTh1TiN5SJqpsN7pXYfOvQlRMwIOIB/s900/9f%20image2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9ag9jgH6_TZsEudcMq4X7M88Va0STidbiWhxTspnQcN0RUPH7N_vXCZVBlLFCmqWf5Lit3JNHtQRMixdKlPcdMtX5fOvGUJ6O_E63kb3YzvIrgeJKB5T22wLNHRiV3HjIEqNpez7EZWXnrJNc6zNI1JTh1TiN5SJqpsN7pXYfOvQlRMwIOIB/w400-h225/9f%20image2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Troops in Legislative Assembly, Feb. 9, 2020.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Friday also saw the Legislative Assembly pass the 23rd extension of the State of Exception in El Salvador, which has been in place <a href="https://x.com/RevistaFactum/status/1508003895968215040?s=20">since March 27, 2022</a>. Justified as a necessary measure for Bukele's war on gangs, the State of Exception has seen more than 76,000 persons imprisoned, with <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/el-salvador-policies-practices-legislation-violate-human-rights/">credible allegations</a> of thousands of arbitrary arrests, torture, and deaths inside the prisons.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY37ag5lIxp_C9wtTZDruvC9i177Q8c18sCNMab3L9aqrd79MsxgZB7i5xSTBvjN4rp8CYnlTeLW7pESZ2nbB3vk36sH9TU2Y-sDYz5FxvgtUga2XmVfraGKfoCu07eTInIAub_P0eiUbokH8Wxku4tvtCRYADEMWKLtADwGn-whaMkugqL3e/s1600/State%20of%20Exception%20Army.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY37ag5lIxp_C9wtTZDruvC9i177Q8c18sCNMab3L9aqrd79MsxgZB7i5xSTBvjN4rp8CYnlTeLW7pESZ2nbB3vk36sH9TU2Y-sDYz5FxvgtUga2XmVfraGKfoCu07eTInIAub_P0eiUbokH8Wxku4tvtCRYADEMWKLtADwGn-whaMkugqL3e/w400-h266/State%20of%20Exception%20Army.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>These are the rights under El Salvador's constitution which have been suspended for almost two years under the State of Exception:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Art. 7 <b>RIGHT SUSPENDED</b>:<br />The inhabitants of El Salvador have the right to associate freely and to meet peacefully, without arms, for any lawful purpose. Nobody shall be obligated to belong to an association. </p><p>Art. 12 <b>RIGHT SUSPENDED</b>:<br />The detained person shall be immediately and clearly informed of his rights and of the reasons for his detention, and cannot be compelled to make a declaration. The detained is guaranteed the assistance of a defense lawyer (defensor) during the proceedings of the auxiliary organs of the administration of justice and in judicial proceedings, in the terms established by the law. </p><p>Art. 13 <b>RIGHT SUSPENDED</b>:<br />Administrative detention shall not exceed seventy-two hours, within which the detained must be consigned to the order of a competent judge, with the diligences that he may have practiced. </p><p>Art. 24 <b>RIGHT SUSPENDED</b>:<br />Correspondence of every kind is inviolable; if intercepted, it shall not be given credence nor accepted as evidence in any legal action, except in cases of insolvency proceedings and bankruptcy. The interference in and intervention of telephone conversations is prohibited. </p></blockquote><p></p><p>Or to summarize, under the State of Exception today, there is no constitutional protection against the government (1) arresting and holding people without charge, without a prompt judicial hearing and denying them a lawyer, (2) intercepting anyone's mail, (3) listening to their telephone conversations, or (4) prohibiting any group of persons from associating.</p><p>Did 83% of the voters realize they were voting to continue giving up their rights to due process and privacy? Perhaps not, but the president who marched with armed troops into the Legislative Assembly four years ago, has given no indication he plans to return those rights to the Salvadoran public. </p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-23022650422170521812024-02-07T20:30:00.001-06:002024-02-08T11:26:44.897-06:00Still waiting for election results<p>Just a short post today with links to election observation reports from multiple organizations which provided election observers during Sunday's elections and the process leading up to it. As of Wednesday night, a recount had commenced for all of the ballots for Legislative Assembly as well as a portion of the presidential ballots where vote tallies had not been previously completed.</p><p>There are growing concerns about the ability of the TSE to guarantee the credibility of final results when they do appear. An <a href="https://elfaro.net/es/202402/el_salvador/27239/presidenta-tse-no-descartamos-hayan-intervenido-para-que-las-cosas-sucedieran-como-sucedieron">audio recording</a> of a private meeting between the TSE and political party leaders obtained by El Faro included a suggestion by the chair fo the TSE that there might have been internal sabotage of the computer systems to tally and transmit votes. Meanwhile the start of the recount of presidential ballots finally got underway hours late at a hotel in San Salvador.</p><p>Some are now calling for the election to be redone on March 3, when national elections for municipal governments are already scheduled. </p><p>Organizations which have made public their election observation reports include:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Organization of American States - <a href="https://www.oas.org/fpdb/press/INFORME-PRELIMINAR---Informe-preliminar-de-la-Mision-de-Observacion-Electoral-de-la-OEA-en-El-Salvador.pdf">Preliminary Report of Observation Mission</a>.</li><li>Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad (CIS) - <a href="https://x.com/TimMuth/status/1754996792960102793?s=20">Preliminary observations press release</a>.</li><li>Iniciativa Social para la Democracia (ISD) -- <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=783752463790878&set=pcb.783753043790820">Preliminary observation report</a>.</li><li>Observa El Salvador 2024 <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BWnZLzb2KGcnL-kOs3t5jSxWcP0GS72B/view">Observation Report</a> </li><li> Statement of Acción Ciudadana and TRACODA <a href="https://twitter.com/CiudadanaAccio1/status/1755362053152243775/photo/1">link</a>.</li><li>Statement of Cristosal <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristosal/status/1755368939364721067/photo/1">link</a>. (English version <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristosal/status/1755636390061081002">here</a>).</li><li>Statement of Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristosal/status/1755368939364721067/photo/1">link</a>.</li></ul><p></p><div>For updates throughout the day, follow me on X (Twitter)</div><div><br /></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-18867438503221846442024-02-05T21:21:00.003-06:002024-02-05T21:21:20.877-06:00Scorn for Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Congratulations for Bukele<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgydX82yEgxMApgCbE6L5HlVpJVoGDye_XykugphVXl27RQCRIlkZX_F6Pd06x_P_1irR48giJW6X0LfBz58XBJSiXUwO1UV2fXS0ctSUglgdtge5YjyZAvvh2AVgXljafsn0FEkFmUWK-2b8Zhjpzv6AmGNRmqfjcfSVHlQk_iSvU77p7LnC8/s868/Tweet9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="868" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgydX82yEgxMApgCbE6L5HlVpJVoGDye_XykugphVXl27RQCRIlkZX_F6Pd06x_P_1irR48giJW6X0LfBz58XBJSiXUwO1UV2fXS0ctSUglgdtge5YjyZAvvh2AVgXljafsn0FEkFmUWK-2b8Zhjpzv6AmGNRmqfjcfSVHlQk_iSvU77p7LnC8/s320/Tweet9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Tweny-four hours after polls closed in El Salvador's national elections, criticism is mounting for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) after an ongoing breakdown in its ability to provide preliminary election results. Results published on the <a href="https://preliminar.tse.gob.sv/resultados/index">site of the TSE</a> were last updated at 5:34 in the morning El Salvador time, showing Bukele garnering 83% of the votes after 70% of the voting table results had been processed. Almost none of the Legislative Assembly results had been processed. While there is still no doubt that Bukele won in a landslide, the exact size of his victory and the number of seats his Nuevas Ideas party will hold are still not known.</p><p>The vote tallies displayed on the TSE website had inconsistencies which led most observers to doubt their credibility. During the course of the day Monday, the TSE issued a <a href="https://x.com/TSEElSalvador/status/1754530574532837397?s=20">communique</a> asking the election boards in each department to promptly deliver all the ballots and election materials to the central facilities of the TSE. In response, the election board (JED) of San Salvador, the largest department, issued a <a href="https://twitter.com/ysuca91siete/status/1754609761356570757/photo/1">statement</a> saying that it had not received those materials, blaming the TSE for numerous failures, and basically saying the JED did not know where the ballots were. </p><p>This afternoon the TSE <a href="https://twitter.com/TSEElSalvador/status/1754603224114307085">convened the parties and press to state</a> that said it was going to need to count all the ballots for legislative deputy, voting table by voting table, starting from zero. For the presidential election, the TSE will just do a new count of ballots for which tally sheets had not been able to be processed by the electronic system (approximately 30% of the total).</p><p>Opposition party candidates then <a href="https://twitter.com/_elfaro_/status/1754647183473742279">went before the press</a> to demand that the TSE provide guarantees of the chain of custody of the ballots. In other words, demanding that the TSE show where the ballots were and who had handled them since the moment the ballots were placed in the ballot box.</p><p>As if that was not enough, on election night, members of the Salvadoran diaspora who were waiting to vote at some of the voting sites around the US, were turned away before they could vote. </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">El <a href="https://twitter.com/TSEElSalvador?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSEElSalvador</a> y la empresa <a href="https://twitter.com/IndraCompany?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndraCompany</a> están cerrando los centros de votación, sin dejar entrar salvadoreños que ya estaban en la fila.<br /><br />Este es un delito en nuestro país y los responsables deberán ser procesados. <a href="https://t.co/At1brnJSjV">pic.twitter.com/At1brnJSjV</a></p>— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1754289635579113607?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>The @TSEElSalvador and the company @IndraCompany They are closing the voting centers, not letting in Salvadorans who were already in line. This is a crime in our country and those responsible must be prosecuted.</i></p><p></p></blockquote><p>Apparently the lease on the space at some sites where voting was occurring expired, and facility owners were unwilling to extend the time. The TSE <a href="https://x.com/TSEElSalvador/status/1754353154391515332?s=20">said it would announce</a> when citizens who had been denied the opportunity to vote would get a new chance. Meaning the election is not yet done?????</p><p>Meanwhile, world leaders have been congratulating Bukele on his re-election and pledged to work with him. China was one of the first to congratulate Bukele last night in a tweet:</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/EmbajadaChinaSV/status/1754326396459970891" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1462" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvDBoZCdz8gN2DuWGsfwle2yVfZ90U_FF5BF6wBu011yt-lUwb7-Hsg-W5rscWiMykasL5zKfAS5cLcTRrH4F4dOoZ5mpLH8-ajH5finAdmoAbFGcsNvQ7EnhyGMhWQqDHedcaKL8KvpoDCIr6TKJaT3QuOJRWf4lNjr_C4o6iVnkGAPFQoSW/w400-h205/Tweet8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>We extend our most sincere congratulations</i></div><i><div style="text-align: left;"><i> to President @nayibbukele and his party</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>@nuevasideas, for the historic victory in</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>these elections. From now on, we make ourselves</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>available to strengthen ties of friendship</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i> and bilateral cooperation between both countries.</i></div></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><br /><p><br />China's gift to El Salvador of a new national library became one of the highlight reels in Bukele's re-election campaign videos, and LED lights over the exterior of that library became part of the backdrop of Bukele's victory speech last night.</p><p>Central American leaders also congratulated Bukele, with Guatemala's new president Bernard Arevalo adding his voice to those of leaders from Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama who all recognized the election results. The Ortega-Murillo dictatorship in Nicaragua also saluted the Salvadoran president. </p><p>Congratulations came in from <a href="https://www.state.gov/congratulations-to-el-salvadors-president-elect-nayib-bukele/">US Secretary of State Andrew Blinken</a>:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>I congratulate Nayib Bukele on his electoral victory as President of El Salvador. The United States commends the work of electoral observers and looks forward to working with President-elect Bukele and Vice President-elect Felix Ulloa following their inauguration in June. </i></p><p><i>The United States values our strong relationship with the people of El Salvador, forged over 160 years and built on shared values, regional ties, and family connections. Events in El Salvador have a direct impact on U.S. interests at home and abroad. Only by working together can we achieve our full potential and overcome the greatest obstacles in our hemisphere and globally.</i></p><p><i>Looking ahead, the United States will continue to prioritize good governance, inclusive economic prosperity, fair trial guarantees, and human rights in El Salvador under our Root Causes Strategy. </i></p></blockquote><p>Within the US Congress, praise, or words of caution fell along party lines. Democratic Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/dem/release/cardin-durbin-kaine-merkley-statement-on-elections-in-el-salvador">wrote</a>:<br /></p><blockquote><i>We congratulate the people of El Salvador and those in the Salvadoran diaspora who exercised their democratic right to vote over the weekend. While people exercised their right to vote, we are troubled by the unconstitutional moves that strongly influenced the outcome of Sunday’s election and statements by the Vice President about “eliminating” and “replacing” democracy. While we acknowledge the government’s progress on combatting the violent crime that has plagued El Salvador for too long, we remain concerned about weakened transparency and oversight mechanisms and the rapid undermining of the rule of law and human rights protections.</i></blockquote><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Republican Senators <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMarcoRubio/status/1754615839053971799">Marco Rubio</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1754605660107424145">Ted Cruz</a> both offered congratulatory statements.</p><p>The TSE does not have much time to get its act together. There are elections for municipal governments in the country's 44 municipalities on March 3.</p><p><br /></p><p></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-43000531856146992432024-02-04T23:00:00.003-06:002024-02-05T11:04:18.232-06:00One Man, Single Party Rule, Confirmed by Elections in El Salvador<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYXHHd23LK4tBx2xFOz-MJQ0uNcmDtliYeRVMk8vbZkeMCzuAebR9mL3p6Bun1wYdzrk3VA7jyAYYam5Am6LphfWSzufn35O0KxJ4rLSWCW54DW5AvzMxKT2p7GhKjfL5Q6dn_yfqWshuPh5_AxKmwM3goiJx65chacEL0_eH1J_OjMWQeaa4/s2365/2024%20election%20night%20rally2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1703" data-original-width="2365" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYXHHd23LK4tBx2xFOz-MJQ0uNcmDtliYeRVMk8vbZkeMCzuAebR9mL3p6Bun1wYdzrk3VA7jyAYYam5Am6LphfWSzufn35O0KxJ4rLSWCW54DW5AvzMxKT2p7GhKjfL5Q6dn_yfqWshuPh5_AxKmwM3goiJx65chacEL0_eH1J_OjMWQeaa4/w640-h460/2024%20election%20night%20rally2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>El Salvador held elections on Sunday for president and for deputies to the country's Legislative Assembly. Easily cruising to reelection was Nayib Bukele, the country's millennial president, first elected to a five year term in 2019. He was re-elected despite six provisions in the constitution which prohibit a president of El Salvador from serving two successive terms. High court judges, put in place by Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party when it got control of the country's congress in 2021, gave him a path to ignore those constitutional prohibitions. </p><p>At the time of writing this post, 31.5% of the <a href="https://preliminar.tse.gob.sv/resultados/dashboard-index-1">votes for president</a> had been counted, and Bukele led with 83% of the votes. The next closet candidate was Chino Flores from the FMLN with 7.1% of the vote.</p><p><b>[UPDATE: As of 7:15 Monday morning El Salvador time, there are no preliminary results in the elections after the system for transmitting results from voting centers to the TSE was producing anomalous results].</b></p><p>Bukele proclaimed himself the winner just before 7 p.m. El Salvador time, claiming this was the biggest victory in the history of world democracy:<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1754307883586494722" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1466" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBX9zLpthvZUcdpwERBK-hRIOJPt0ea5a01cptxsOBvsd05rY4LzhlNyiq2O7R8rjQYfd4GwwsWuYQEIaU-Bidnugn57SrP9NSX33j2n6IFXx2CwxPDhFGUqY4_GT6wsgJ8Ve27AYeitgSXpyVdy5KFP6pU8aUn9cKL6-R6tfVZuzOJ2NcaH4r/w400-h241/Tweet5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote><p><i>According to our numbers, we have won the presidential election with more than 85% of the votes and a minimum of 58 of 60 deputies in the Assembly.</i></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><i>The record in the entire democratic history of the world.</i></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><i>See you at 9pm in front of the National Palace.</i></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><i>God bless El Salvador.</i></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Bukele's election night victory speech before a crowd of supporters in Plaza Barrios, repeated his claim of the largest victory in democratic history, and followed with minutes of railing against his critics in the international press and human rights organizations.</p><p>This election occurred under an ongoing set of emergency decrees called the State of Exception. The State of Exception, since March 27, 2022, has suspended a variety of due process rights for persons arrested, allowing jailing without judicial orders, jailing without informing persons of the charges, suspending rights to talk with a lawyer, and indefinite detentions without trial. To date more than 76,000 people have been arrested and thrown in prison without trials according to unverifiable social media reports from security forces. Despite Bukele declaring his country to be the safest in Latin America, he has declined to return these constitutional protections to the citizens of the country, declaring that every last gang member must be hunted down and removed. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlR_4PS9Ld-_T-nvsbjLTMP7guzcxBe-WQNlkqdTm4-T1K7auyseWuiNCx1xO8XsIqLbz2O0wqIpv6m6xcusewgbc4kCrNJGN586sUwKHmggp0zKjFcKlOA__MgCudLyyXsUYY-rJsnuzdgdC0kRKeZHB5hQZM4Bhbu2h8shBDzoHf1UgBBfM7/s1958/CECOT%20prisoners.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1958" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlR_4PS9Ld-_T-nvsbjLTMP7guzcxBe-WQNlkqdTm4-T1K7auyseWuiNCx1xO8XsIqLbz2O0wqIpv6m6xcusewgbc4kCrNJGN586sUwKHmggp0zKjFcKlOA__MgCudLyyXsUYY-rJsnuzdgdC0kRKeZHB5hQZM4Bhbu2h8shBDzoHf1UgBBfM7/w400-h266/CECOT%20prisoners.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Salvadoran press office of inmates in new prison</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Bukele's victory came as a surprise to no one. His approval rating in public opinion polls has been as high as 90% with Salvadorans giving him credit with dismantling the street gangs in the country and reducing homicide levels to historic lows for a country which only 9 years ago was the murder capital of the world. </p><p> Bukele's support is driven by perceptions of substantial improvement in the security situation in the country, along with a polished publicity machine which portrays the president as author of a glimmering new El Salvador. The work of the publicity machine reached its apex this year in the Miss Universe pageant broadcast from San Salvador, and the meeting of international soccer star Lionel Messi with Bukele in his office. It does not seem to matter that the images in the slick videos do not match the realities in most communities around the country.</p><p>The cult of personality which surrounds Bukele seems impervious to <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2024/01/investigative-journalism-in-el-salvador.html">documented revelations</a> of corruption and wrongdoing in his government published by independent journalists in the country.</p><p>Bukele's single-handed control of all the branches of government in the country and the imposition of an ongoing State of Exception confirms in the minds of many his description as a "populist autocrat." Those evaluations were solidified by an interview his Vice President Felix Ulloa gave to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/world/americas/el-salvador-bukele-election.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Sk0.RxGS.7uaadE7Hwqb_&bgrp=t&smid=url-share">New York Times</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>“To these people who say democracy is being dismantled, my answer is yes — we are not dismantling it, we are eliminating it, we are replacing it with something new,” said Félix Ulloa, who is running for re-election as vice president alongside Mr. Bukele.</p><p>The democratic system that existed for years in El Salvador, Mr. Ulloa said, only benefited crooked politicians and left the country with tens of thousands murdered. “It was rotten, it was corrupt, it was bloody,” he said....</p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote>Mr. Ulloa said the vast majority of the country actually wants Mr. Bukele to be president “for life.” </blockquote><p></p><p><b>Voting by the Salvadoran diaspora</b></p><p>This was the first election in El Salvador which let Salvadorans living abroad to vote over the Internet. Going into the final days of the election, more than 140,000 Salvadorans abroad had voted in this fashion. </p><p></p><p>Only Salvadorans who had a national identity card (DUI) with a residential address abroad were eligible to vote over the internet. If you live abroad and your DUI still had an address in El Salvador, or if you had a Salvadoran passport (even an expired one) you could vote only on Sunday at one of <a href="http://www.tse.gob.sv/elecciones-2024/sufragio-en-el-extranjero">81 sites</a> set up at consulates, embassies and other sites around the world. </p><p>Social media posts portrayed long lines of Salvadorans waiting to vote at these sites around the US:<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MilenaMayorga/status/1754162875239662036" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1488" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzjxNDIwWekAFQtQwxIWxBbSb2814pVu0UyVYofiT2st6WAvskrUSbGno7RoB9eYYNKxBVvBy2DXhyXcJ-tIAqAP72Rhn4JooPzyeZKIq2pndiNPsFzfd-JDs57-pXBeZ8r_Io2iOG-m0sK7D-nFs18wrEO2JfXJi0CgLEesu_hWXVpiBQq43/w400-h309/Tweet4.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><i>Overflowing....Long Island, NY voting</i></div><br /><p>At the time of this writing, the TSE has not revealed the number of internet votes from abroad. I'll analyze local and internet turnout in a future post. The new internet voting law allocates all the internet votes to San Salvador, regardless of where the voter lives or lived before. The law also allocates the votes of any Salvadoran who uses their passport as identification for voting abroad to San Salvador.</p><div>There were also members of the diaspora who came back to El Salvador to cast their vote in person and to experience the Bukele phenomenon. </div><p><b>The election campaigns</b></p><p>Although Bukele dominated public perceptions of this election, he did not himself make appearances at campaign rallies, or give interviews, or participate in debates. His campaigning consisted of highly produced videos accompanied by an army of promoters on all the different channels of social media.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzenGbFhAQCvX-ZVA8VfDjE2zBzfhRWwkNfv4v_FmuDity7dbnyAoLI75st7mneL9rXP3_CRooY_7gHYtNXPoMb76wH06NRdOCq4z_6avXnGDcWrzSoUNVVdaGBHRSd7vPQbvENr2qNZyBbCoYndgWF2AQxQTh0OLxnD3uiUYOnYrqDPlfe1O/s1781/2024.02%20Ernestro%20Castro%20campaign%20sign.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1781" data-original-width="866" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzenGbFhAQCvX-ZVA8VfDjE2zBzfhRWwkNfv4v_FmuDity7dbnyAoLI75st7mneL9rXP3_CRooY_7gHYtNXPoMb76wH06NRdOCq4z_6avXnGDcWrzSoUNVVdaGBHRSd7vPQbvENr2qNZyBbCoYndgWF2AQxQTh0OLxnD3uiUYOnYrqDPlfe1O/s320/2024.02%20Ernestro%20Castro%20campaign%20sign.JPG" width="156" /></a></div><p>Throughout the country, election billboards did not promote candidates for president. Assured of victory, Bukele had no need to spend funds on something as traditional as billboard advertising. With negligible chance of victory and little funding, opposition parties did not try.</p><p>Instead, the billboard advertising which did exist promoted candidates for the Legislative Assembly. While Nuevas Ideas dominated the outdoor advertising landscape, you could still find ARENA and a few of the smaller parties advertising their highest profile candidates. </p>Bukele and Nuevas Ideas framed the election for the Legislative Assembly as one of "governability" by which they meant the elimination of any obstacle that might get in the way of Nayib Bukele governing however he wants to govern. Their messaging often contained an explicit threat that, if opposition parties kept Nuevas Ideas from obtaining a super majority, the State of Exception would be ended and gang members would be returned to the streets of the country. <p></p><p>Nuevas Ideas and Bukele took full advantage of being in control of the government and its resources. A prime example were the deliveries of boxes of groceries to households all across the country in the two weeks leading up to Election Day prominently emblazoned with the logo of the "Presidential Program of Food Assistance."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/rhina_guidos/status/1753156983341854871" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1459" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YZ94liY72VngYn0rmFYpf2j4VzzGXx1iwhFtrWz2vw22JC6l1LQhZAoEp_OpEuiguaodD3IWpNG4ux6RjrX_ffcXUWgza3iLcn30UnWOi3GZlB2ObhoVOEIQcXAyfsGWWMAf8uIeDYMGsG915vTjJm7e1sG8fEUHvi-1Kuc8Sgn-Q_cyWF5W/w395-h400/Tweet2.JPG" width="395" /></a></div><br /><p>The weeks leading up to the election also saw an increased presence of armed soldiers patrolling streets and neighborhoods throughout the country. While some commentators saw the message of the military presence as one of intimidation, the more likely symbolism was to remind the population of the highly popular involvement of the military in Bukele's war on gangs. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://x.com/DefensaSV/status/1753570236702310451?s=20" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1471" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MJt2fOH73z6qMJuTPOp9c9rQUhfbnFh2WLIQLNBDKpO3_jUr5oQ0K-To8_duv-GyaHIrEd6SBIb3_BVZQnkpI1Rmk_r6edrOP0LWGJqjO3KBXomqYO6QecH6LycBFVUeHijCMLYsyjwHhkhTDkWkHL_weFIswmW_uknXVHqqzX81Kw7rYWdF/w400-h293/Tweet1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>As part of the actions of the Territorial Control Plan<br />elements of the Armed Forces patrol plazas and parks<br />to guarantee the tranquility of visitors.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Opposition parties garnered tiny percentages of the presidential vote. At the time of this writing, the previous major parties, the FMLN and ARENA, had garnered 7% and 6% of the vote respectively.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCntGuF_7WskfxkFmtn2CsQHiABRNqFfiQShN5e4Wsehg1oRbhJYnW_eBPjHKohZEHAyOX3Z6HkxMznPtYiVxr3IrcyLT-iL8LBP1Jw0uign5NC6xWAajGwznuapaGVh9anrT7DDX_cRueoAxdRLr0mV6q8QW9b5uToawUO3f_RnAmMGvaGfki/s2499/Tweet3.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="2499" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCntGuF_7WskfxkFmtn2CsQHiABRNqFfiQShN5e4Wsehg1oRbhJYnW_eBPjHKohZEHAyOX3Z6HkxMznPtYiVxr3IrcyLT-iL8LBP1Jw0uign5NC6xWAajGwznuapaGVh9anrT7DDX_cRueoAxdRLr0mV6q8QW9b5uToawUO3f_RnAmMGvaGfki/w400-h181/Tweet3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ARENA party caravan a week before the election<br /> looked pretty lonely</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>Elimination of opposition in the Legislative Assembly</b></p><p>No preliminary returns for the Legislative Assembly have been released as of the time of this article. However, assuming those votes track reasonably closely to the votes for Bukele, Nuevas Ideas would capture as many as 58 of the 60 seats in the Legislative Assembly, giving Bukele's party a super majority without the need of any coalition partners in the legislature. Many parties which formerly had a few seats in the Assembly will be left outside.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7An93mcQi-o1HCYkkmF3Ar1rQh3tHpIVHHUk0uvdY5ETUc4jZcpCNhj0cZ8yJZIdHBqOLaATiNVoKnPGzwjKpgpFYW5R4CH77NUCtzXmch_YrJ0KHCurM0M2Q8NI-9WyfgfypkOwBZhBjiAyyvv65cmKr8ryn3g5O_LjuSDUh-v3BUMG9xeqp/s3344/SalonAzul%20Interior.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="3344" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7An93mcQi-o1HCYkkmF3Ar1rQh3tHpIVHHUk0uvdY5ETUc4jZcpCNhj0cZ8yJZIdHBqOLaATiNVoKnPGzwjKpgpFYW5R4CH77NUCtzXmch_YrJ0KHCurM0M2Q8NI-9WyfgfypkOwBZhBjiAyyvv65cmKr8ryn3g5O_LjuSDUh-v3BUMG9xeqp/w400-h180/SalonAzul%20Interior.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chambers of Legislative Assembly</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The elimination of opposition party deputies from the Legislative Assembly will have been accomplished both by the popularity of Bukele, and by association his political party, but also by "election engineering" in the year leading up to these elections. The Nuevas Ideas controlled congress changed Salvadoran laws in several respects to give Bukele's party an even stronger hand. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It reduced the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly from 84 to 60, meaning a small party would need a greater share of votes to capture a single seat. </li><li>It changed the mathematical formula for allocating seats to parties to a method which favors large parties at the expense of smaller ones. (For more on this change from the Hare quota method to the D'Hondt method, see my <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2023/06/changing-rules-of-game.html">earlier post</a>). </li><li>It directed that all votes over the Internet, and all votes cast from abroad by Salvadorans using a passport as identification, should be allocated to the Department of San Salvador, presuming that diaspora votes would overwhelmingly favor Nuevas Ideas and swamping the Department where opposition parties have much of a base.</li></ul><p></p><p>With sole super-majority control of the Legislative Assembly, Bukele can now continue to operate in a government which has no checks and balances on his exercise of power. He can extend indefinitely the State of Exception with its power to arrest anyone without question. He can modify any or all provisions of the Salvadoran constitution, including any limitations on further re-elections. (Bukele and his vice president claim to have no intention to do this, but.....).</p><p>When there are more complete results for the Legislative Assembly elections, I'll analyze them more closely.</p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-12109350693726018752024-02-02T21:43:00.001-06:002024-02-03T14:40:20.164-06:00On the eve of the election<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EVY_CReEbQUBPUDVAc18D0KGX8sYoAa_x7BGxW5ClPGZcDCHszWm-Pc61Jm7CjCwpXJIEofJ5eqgiyA_cTarprYrbQLddxOBmUhMw5W8zCDqPNjNaTF7a0xLjp03FMM-59mkuLI_qkmPbbqdFkpfY8cd4TMTfbFYxiWi6e3BekvL6Rrb1-yi/s679/Bukele%20at%20podium.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="679" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EVY_CReEbQUBPUDVAc18D0KGX8sYoAa_x7BGxW5ClPGZcDCHszWm-Pc61Jm7CjCwpXJIEofJ5eqgiyA_cTarprYrbQLddxOBmUhMw5W8zCDqPNjNaTF7a0xLjp03FMM-59mkuLI_qkmPbbqdFkpfY8cd4TMTfbFYxiWi6e3BekvL6Rrb1-yi/s320/Bukele%20at%20podium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>The international press has turned its attention to little El Salvador, despite everything else going on in the world. My newsfeed is overflowing with articles discussing the Bukele phenomenon in the days before Sunday's election. Here is just a selection:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-02-02/el-salvador-election-bukele-seeks-second-term-on-popular-crime-policy">A Brutal Crime Crackdown Is Emboldening Leaders Across Latin America</a> (Bloomberg)</li><li><a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/02/1228345606/nayib-bukele-el-salvador-election-policies">Why the 'world's coolest dictator' is on course for a landslide win in El Salvador</a> (NPR)</li><li><a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/02/02/gangsters-in-el-salvador-are-terrified-of-strongman-nayib-bukele">Gangsters in El Salvador are terrified of strongman Nayib Bukele</a> (The Economist)</li><li><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9ec562bd-4aef-4867-9ff0-3bd3194dca3d">The ‘cult’ of Bukele: El Salvador’s bitcoin-loving strongman heads for second term</a> (Financial Times)</li><li><a href="https://apnews.com/article/bukele-el-salvador-election-gangs-constitution-5a1bb03b65d74349e1617260555f9018">El Salvador’s Bukele has everyone’s attention as he seeks reelection in spite of the constitution</a> (AP)</li><li><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/el-salvadors-vice-president-discusses-controversial-crackdown-on-gangs-upcoming-election">El Salvador’s vice president discusses controversial crackdown on gangs, upcoming election</a> (PBS NewsHour)</li><li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/trapped-in-this-hell-how-one-el-salvador-town-transformed-under-bukele">‘Trapped in this hell’: How one El Salvador town transformed under Bukele</a> (AlJazeera)</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/world/americas/el-salvador-bukele-election.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Sk0.RxGS.7uaadE7Hwqb_&bgrp=t&smid=url-share">He Cracked Down on Gangs and Rights. Now He’s Set to Win a Landslide.</a> (New York Times)</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-70324885013886634292024-01-31T21:19:00.000-06:002024-01-31T21:19:40.568-06:00Investigative Journalism in El Salvador<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoayuu6dqjdLjvzqi_rbp41yMMnF14XxWPehp-edAqd8Y2nadZJOfxZVsQrdP37jSkCNV9fi6CFGuSCAE5f8CpobuR5c_-BzSE5NgjdqjtZMI76bP_xZBSCc-8ykf_Lbd-uPH/s878/2020.10+Periodistas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="878" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoayuu6dqjdLjvzqi_rbp41yMMnF14XxWPehp-edAqd8Y2nadZJOfxZVsQrdP37jSkCNV9fi6CFGuSCAE5f8CpobuR5c_-BzSE5NgjdqjtZMI76bP_xZBSCc-8ykf_Lbd-uPH/w400-h238/2020.10+Periodistas.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>From his campaign for president until today, the most frequent target of social media attacks and diatribes by Nayib Bukele has been the independent press in the country, especially when they are in the middle of revealing uncomfortable truths about his administration. That strategy, of denigrating the press as "fake news" which is "biased" and "part of the opposition", has appeared to work. Bukele's popularity remains sky high with a public unwilling to hear any criticism of their "cool dictator."</p><p>Despite this, the journalism being produced by investigative journalists in El Salvador in recent years has actually been getting stronger. As a student of the Salvadoran press for more than 20 years, I feel comfortable saying that the reporting now may be the best it has ever been, with reporters for multiple online media sites showing significant courage and fortitude knowing that all power in the country rests in the hands of those they are investigating. </p><p>Set out below is a list of those Salvadoran independent journalism sites that I follow. For each, I have included a link to a recent important report which is representative of its work. In addition, all of these sites publish information about who is behind the publication and their source of funding. I have linked to those pages for each publication, because it is an important piece of transparency which is lacking for the entire network of "news" sites established to broadcast the pro-Bukele regime spin on the news.</p><p>I did not include traditional newspapers like La Prensa Grafica, El Diario de Hoy and El Mundo in this list. Those papers do produce excellent investigations from time to time as well, but here I am highlighting the work of independent non-profit press outlets. </p><p>For the most part, other than the English version of El Faro, these sites only publish in Spanish. But online tools like Google Translate have gotten so good, that this content can be easily accessed by my English speaking readers.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://elfaro.net/es?rf=inicio"><span style="color: red;"><b>El Faro</b></span></a>. You already know about El Faro. This is the award-winning and longest-running independent site for investigative journalism in El Salvador. They are increasingly translating much of their content into English on the <a href="https://elfaro.net/en?rf=home">El Faro English site</a>. (<a href="https://elfaro.net/en/info/about">About</a>).</li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://elfaro.net/en/202401/el_salvador/27225/salvadoran-government-conspired-with-gang-leader-to-recapture-lsquo-crook-rsquo-with-help-from-jalisco-cartel">Salvadoran Government Conspired with Gang Leader to Recapture ‘Crook’ through Jalisco Cartel</a></li></ul></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.revistafactum.com/"><span style="color: red;"><b>Revista Factum</b></span></a>. Just behind El Faro in terms of longevity is Revista Factum whose team of journalists have published important stories about gangs and corruption and politicians. (<a href="https://www.revistafactum.com/quienes-somos/">About</a>). </li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://www.revistafactum.com/nuevas-ideas-cuota/">Nuevas Ideas forces public employees to pay a monthly charge to the party</a><br /><br /></li></ul><li><a href="https://focostv.com/"><span style="color: red;"><b>FOCOS</b></span></a>. FOCOS started as an independent television interview show which asked hard questions of its guests. It lost its space on television through pressure from the Bukele regime and now is entirely online in both text and multi-media. (<a href="https://focostv.com/quienes-somos/">About</a>).</li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://focostv.com/los-4-9-millones-en-creditos-estatales-del-banco-hipotecario-para-27-funcionarios-y-3-primos-de-bukele/">The $4.9 million in state loans from Banco Hipotecario for 27 officials and 3 cousins of Bukele</a><br /><br /></li></ul><li><a href="https://gatoencerrado.news"><span style="color: red;"><b>GatoEncerrado</b></span></a>. GatoEncerrado is a digital magazine of independent journalism founded in 2017, specialized in the environment, gender, politics, justice and verification of public discourse. (<a href="https://gatoencerrado.news/quienes-somos/">About</a>). </li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://gatoencerrado.news/2023/12/06/presidenta-interina-de-el-salvador-recibio-1-2-millones-sin-justificacion-de-la-alcaldia-de-bukele/">Interim President of El Salvador received $1.2 million without justification from Bukele's mayor's office</a></li></ul></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://vozpublica.net"><span style="color: red;"><b>VozPublica</b></span></a>. This site was founded by Wendy Monterrosa, a smart television interviewer who lost her news show through pressure by the Bukele regime which didn't like the tough questions. (<a href="https://vozpublica.net/quienes-somos/">About</a>).</li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://vozpublica.net/2024/01/24/hospital-nejapa-salud-elsalvador-factcheking/">The ten columns that portray the delay of the Nejapa hospital</a></li></ul></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://revistaelementos.net"><span style="color: red;"><b>RevistaElementos</b></span></a>: A digital magazine specialized in in-depth journalism that publishes articles and reports on the defense of democracy, freedom of expression and the press as well as justice and transparency, gender and diversity, human rights and the fight against corruption. (<a href="https://revistaelementos.net/nosotros/">About</a>).</li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://revistaelementos.net/miscelanea/recicladores-un-ejercito-de-personas-invisibles-que-ayuda-al-medio-ambiente-y-ahorra-dinero-a-las-alcaldias/">Recyclers: an army of invisible people that helps the environment and saves money for municipalities</a></li></ul></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://mala-yerba.com/nosotros/"><span style="color: red;"><b>MalaYerba</b></span></a>: This is a site devoted to reporting on threats to the environment in El Salvador founded by environmental reporter Carolina Amaya. (<a href="https://mala-yerba.com/nosotros/">About</a>)</li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://mala-yerba.com/los-desplazados-de-bukele/">Evictions and unemployment in Surf City: the reality of 25 families in El Zonte</a></li></ul></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://infodemia.com.sv/quienes-somos"><span style="color: red;"><b>Infodemia</b></span></a>. This site is dedicated to fact-checking the discourses of public officials and government propaganda. (<a href="https://infodemia.com.sv/quienes-somos">About</a>)</li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://infodemia.com.sv/es-falso-que-mayoria-de-salvadorenos-usan-chivo-wallet-para-remesas-solo-es-el-1-segun-bcr">It is false that “All Salvadorans” abroad use CHIVO wallet for remittances</a>.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.redaccionregional.com"><span style="color: red;"><b>Redacción Regiona</b></span>l</a>. A consortium of media from Central America and Mexico. (<a href="https://www.redaccionregional.com/acerca-de/">About</a>). </li><ul><li>Recent report: <a href="https://www.redaccionregional.com/749-salidas-de-pandilleros-de-zacatraz/">The 749 departures of gang members from Zacatraz</a></li></ul></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-26521518778797484252024-01-29T20:59:00.000-06:002024-01-29T20:59:53.754-06:00Report details denials of public information in El Salvador under Bukele<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tA4X1xUrCPHwHZwHtq0-O5omrw9DBU9_y9YB-wAWE8z9-ZQ0D7UOU6M7eGl5iTj7fOvurQtMO_LAWZf0LAPkZvu8pNw04lsyNc8BnM_6QgcFDWbymb2tvx3QlFGsO7ThPWUE4GQDfPpZCaJSRW74_4ZvyNPtOUKUAEOSGyXDpzIXWeGW8x2r/s1127/Access%20Denied.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1127" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tA4X1xUrCPHwHZwHtq0-O5omrw9DBU9_y9YB-wAWE8z9-ZQ0D7UOU6M7eGl5iTj7fOvurQtMO_LAWZf0LAPkZvu8pNw04lsyNc8BnM_6QgcFDWbymb2tvx3QlFGsO7ThPWUE4GQDfPpZCaJSRW74_4ZvyNPtOUKUAEOSGyXDpzIXWeGW8x2r/w400-h191/Access%20Denied.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal recently released a report detailing how the Salvadoran government under president Nayib Bukele has increasingly denied citizen requests for information about the dealings of their government. This has occurred despite a strong law which requires such transparency. The new report is titled <a href="https://cristosal.org/ES/reporte-sobre-el-estado-de-la-transparencia-la-instauracion-de-la-opacidad/">Report on the status of transparency: The establishment of opacity</a></p><p>Here are the report's conclusions:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>In the time since the implementation of the Law of Access to Public Information, this is the worst moment in terms of respect for the Right of Access to Public Information in El Salvador. Without an active controlling entity, the violation of this right will increasingly intensify, which will result in the disrespect of other rights, since the [Right of Access] is the one that opens the doors for the guarantee of others.<br /><br /></i></li><li><i>Knowing that there will be no consequences, because the [Institute for Access to Public Information] remains inoperative, government institutions arbitrarily, excessively and deliberately deny citizens information that should be public. Taking into account that access to public information is a form of control, the closure of this mechanism may result in the concealment of serious acts of corruption and, therefore, impunity. <br /><br /></i></li><li><i>Excessive prerequisites without a legal basis seek to discourage the controlling function that the media and civil society perform. This has generated an environment of hopelessness, which seriously endangers the [possibility of control from the ground up].<br /><br /></i></li><li><i>The closure of access to information, added to attacks on dissident voices and a strong state propaganda apparatus that puts all its efforts into guaranteeing the government's good image, contributes to the strengthening of a hegemonic discourse, in which whoever decides what is said and what is not said is the same government. Without access to information, that single discourse is enhanced, since the resources to verify, deny or confirm it are limited.</i></li></ul><p></p><p>In preparing the report, Cristosal reviewed 1463 public information requests submitted to the government by academics, researchers and media organizations. Of those requests, 1069 (73%) were either denied or just ignored by the government entity receiving the request. The top three reasons information was not delivered were (1) claims the information did not exist; (2) simply ignoring the request; and (3) asserting the information was confidential and could not be released.</p><p>Information which the government has declared to be confidential has included:<br /></p><blockquote><i>Information on homicides, femicides, disappearances, clandestine graves, travel by officials, communication and advertising services, hiring, vaccine acquisition processes, the National Vaccination Deployment Plan against SARS-COV-2, the National Health Plan, the Territorial Control Plan, contracting processes for selection of food service providers for prisons, information on the Health Emergency Program and a long "etcetera" is deemed confidential.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>To deny access to information is to prevent fact-checking on the discourse of the government. To deny access to information prevents journalists from uncovering irregularities and corruption in the management of the resources of the citizens. To deny access to information allows corruption to flourish in the darkness. The government which is acting according to law and dealing correctly with the public trust should have nothing to fear from the bright light of transparency. But that is not the current day government in El Salvador. <br /><br /></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-44806323521633108442024-01-27T18:13:00.001-06:002024-01-30T21:03:34.070-06:00My trip to the library<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-jppHQiy5RhNUM0r9VMRIqchjxQWaGqNJQqQhPuEo8biIIS4B-CHMpSWkEv_X8JKrIGHKcCKEl_v7uOZnX-fmmXXswq1jwC86jA8cznHdF6C8n4tHItXxMhAcr2l6zNB2JZsT14vtPJZQI6Bg0Rb37aSuprg-3S3pZbBYdBFouALffOhdPW4/s3592/PXL_20240108_165655085~2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2020" data-original-width="3592" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-jppHQiy5RhNUM0r9VMRIqchjxQWaGqNJQqQhPuEo8biIIS4B-CHMpSWkEv_X8JKrIGHKcCKEl_v7uOZnX-fmmXXswq1jwC86jA8cznHdF6C8n4tHItXxMhAcr2l6zNB2JZsT14vtPJZQI6Bg0Rb37aSuprg-3S3pZbBYdBFouALffOhdPW4/w640-h360/PXL_20240108_165655085~2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div>El Salvador now has a gleaming new national library in the center of San Salvador, courtesy of a donation by China. The modern structure is located on Plaza Barrios in the historic center of the capital city, next to the old National Palace and directly across from the Metropolitan Cathedral. President Nayib Bukele holds the building up as a symbol of the new El Salvador under his rule. </div><p></p><p>I had a tour of the library during the second week of January. Although seven weeks had passed since the opening of the library to the general public, visitors still needed to wait outside on a weekday morning in a long queue to gain admittance through a guided tour. Tours were given by smiling young people with internships, including tours given in English to foreign tourists who might want to see Bukele's library. </p><p>The first floors you encounter in the library are dedicated to children's books and learning from the earliest ages. In addition to play areas, learning toys and children's books, there are areas for children on the autism spectrum and children who are visually impaired. These floors of the library are brightly colored and inviting for the young learner.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkPqrYLFvwnAoIt6P9qwZ11253OVM8XB7rOIfIx2tQvlLgkgpdbh17Xqs4dHwSxsut9BrHgxP8I1tBCyOn23moEwdqiBrrTv1y8mFHDVQyu3xyiGLjXNCLZQX6yxqBZXwAe6sjHPH2zFkpwlGSHOEXZInjE7kFq6hNE2LDO6x-aCteTrqgJCz/s4032/PXL_20240108_171839917.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkPqrYLFvwnAoIt6P9qwZ11253OVM8XB7rOIfIx2tQvlLgkgpdbh17Xqs4dHwSxsut9BrHgxP8I1tBCyOn23moEwdqiBrrTv1y8mFHDVQyu3xyiGLjXNCLZQX6yxqBZXwAe6sjHPH2zFkpwlGSHOEXZInjE7kFq6hNE2LDO6x-aCteTrqgJCz/w400-h225/PXL_20240108_171839917.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />Early childhood play area</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="text-align: left;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0NlX0wSplxsFwauwH0y8UR9DFuOR7VqoDM0Sqf4L-hM73UDzuWnN07RtVxDNNVpBLioYLrRsx-5pFf7nUCQuRCODSHqNNVCQS5f6WbUgV7hOAyhXhBxZN-gvRlAXtaXrS4_05OAw2WdyRJoB8upaq0y2IZoV8BlQqLiuJT-z7q50AQOvElej/s4032/kids.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0NlX0wSplxsFwauwH0y8UR9DFuOR7VqoDM0Sqf4L-hM73UDzuWnN07RtVxDNNVpBLioYLrRsx-5pFf7nUCQuRCODSHqNNVCQS5f6WbUgV7hOAyhXhBxZN-gvRlAXtaXrS4_05OAw2WdyRJoB8upaq0y2IZoV8BlQqLiuJT-z7q50AQOvElej/w400-h225/kids.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>One cannot miss the focus in this library on popular culture. Here you will find zones of the library dedicated to the Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Marvel and DC comics, Legos and Star Wars. Kids and kids at heart can pose with life size storm troopers from Star Wars or build a model with Legos. A separate corner is dedicated to <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince">The Little Prince, (El Principito)</a></i>, whose author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had a Salvadoran wife and where many elements of the book are references to geographical features of El Salvador. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvq130b_C5lH5kIZEWGSONvnBfgG8la4mf3OezJPpIc1C3VZfqbsy3Po7fAQmckIptTj9gzGlUKpyAhoPJ4lIlO9_r7V-Vjse6SvJn5iKsMyy6WererFbsWzrNTwWgXylPLYvr60NwGEmFlkUxe8TNpxPcfsSEELIckVGojWfRYpxJ3Fy7D9N/s4032/PXL_20240108_172852799.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvq130b_C5lH5kIZEWGSONvnBfgG8la4mf3OezJPpIc1C3VZfqbsy3Po7fAQmckIptTj9gzGlUKpyAhoPJ4lIlO9_r7V-Vjse6SvJn5iKsMyy6WererFbsWzrNTwWgXylPLYvr60NwGEmFlkUxe8TNpxPcfsSEELIckVGojWfRYpxJ3Fy7D9N/w400-h225/PXL_20240108_172852799.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Little Prince area</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXNQHClAS8Qtq_Ci8v8OLaVfx0gqivo4MAlEHpq9pBS17dTYtqNDJ0DV4zbR4ykzQs9pT28YsOK-qqVsb-_HmrkVT4dZNFeJrdppHMP4cYj0LdXFfBwkVGSD5VrmQfIBONnR23C7FlW210nXjJtUbX2r9Ugtconf84zpog7TN2Ip0MBAgf-_XZ/s4032/PXL_20240108_172759635.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXNQHClAS8Qtq_Ci8v8OLaVfx0gqivo4MAlEHpq9pBS17dTYtqNDJ0DV4zbR4ykzQs9pT28YsOK-qqVsb-_HmrkVT4dZNFeJrdppHMP4cYj0LdXFfBwkVGSD5VrmQfIBONnR23C7FlW210nXjJtUbX2r9Ugtconf84zpog7TN2Ip0MBAgf-_XZ/w400-h225/PXL_20240108_172759635.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Legos</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjJDwmg1eiWgxcEsZqNAKDZcFNwF22FLnO5WnGaiPtWNzH81DgmV5lRyzvHJbTnPC5ePG4CJ1oAcRjMsURfoaGubIv8pk0EaNx74KT_XwsQzalyYJ_LdWdSYHRYjrgQAA2fxMaoTu7Fg_Yb_izQ1BR4kehiz83m3VCL6bkNS60o7MW2NmNa9O/s1942/StarWars.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="1942" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjJDwmg1eiWgxcEsZqNAKDZcFNwF22FLnO5WnGaiPtWNzH81DgmV5lRyzvHJbTnPC5ePG4CJ1oAcRjMsURfoaGubIv8pk0EaNx74KT_XwsQzalyYJ_LdWdSYHRYjrgQAA2fxMaoTu7Fg_Yb_izQ1BR4kehiz83m3VCL6bkNS60o7MW2NmNa9O/w400-h313/StarWars.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Star Wars zone</i><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSO6jG_AiKgCr0YF09NSj-Sn5FqubFwoVtC1PP1vrp0vducJZbCE2Cv1eWz3t9aAccuBZM3e6zs0iCFig0Psty_4UWzvZFaNk00TkUsDOoAXIQ6kyB6bzNzl7gBpOQRRLaK7-5XlHC-UcLBy-ku5fE7ayFgrppZ-hj0aO2KEETcmUs_37BJeGN/s4032/PXL_20240108_172653521.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSO6jG_AiKgCr0YF09NSj-Sn5FqubFwoVtC1PP1vrp0vducJZbCE2Cv1eWz3t9aAccuBZM3e6zs0iCFig0Psty_4UWzvZFaNk00TkUsDOoAXIQ6kyB6bzNzl7gBpOQRRLaK7-5XlHC-UcLBy-ku5fE7ayFgrppZ-hj0aO2KEETcmUs_37BJeGN/w400-h225/PXL_20240108_172653521.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Video gaming zone on large screens</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There is a definite emphasis on digital technology in El Salvador's new library. Computers, video games and simulators are available on different floors. The library is said to have robotics, virtual reality and 3D modelling. </p><p>Books, however, play almost no role in this library outside of children's books on the lower levels. It is not until you reach the fifth floor of the library building that you reach a collection of nonfiction books. While our tour was paused, I wandered into the stacks to check out what this national library had to offer. What I found were brand new books, with no rhyme or reason or organizational scheme or indexing. <br /><br />Take this random shelf for example: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSWMx9xO_nSjtMUbLMLyERQfBw1I_PWcJoXW8jo5-gHUZBPGWwEcQz7Zzgguer8E3gtEGxfd2PiAcpJMEFZwLOhTOVgGiey_iFtdPoT45N5S7zGtQyctfgmPFYqWjrHzeHVctUIp0jNWkpbzv4TS530bLB0T_2pb44L8UlUtNvfAx-FACWF6E/s4032/PXL_20240108_174608575.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSWMx9xO_nSjtMUbLMLyERQfBw1I_PWcJoXW8jo5-gHUZBPGWwEcQz7Zzgguer8E3gtEGxfd2PiAcpJMEFZwLOhTOVgGiey_iFtdPoT45N5S7zGtQyctfgmPFYqWjrHzeHVctUIp0jNWkpbzv4TS530bLB0T_2pb44L8UlUtNvfAx-FACWF6E/w640-h360/PXL_20240108_174608575.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On this one shelf were a strange assortment of multiple copies each of books on introduction to finance, integral calculus, illustrated orthography, Gregorian chant and a fiction work titled "The Smell of Books." Just above that group of books were copies of a history of women in Spain and Latin America shelved alongside a book titled "Hacking Science." No labels on the ends of any of the bookshelves offered a clue to what could be found in the stacks. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I was left with the overwhelming impression that the collection of books on display in the library represented simply buying out the existing inventory of a large bookstore which had gone out of business, and then uncrating the books in any order and placing them on gleaming new shelves as a backdrop for photo-ops. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I also saw no sign of the holdings one might expect in a national library. There is no indication of where one might find books and records dating back to the early years of the country's history. I saw scant evidence that this library has a purpose to promote Salvadoran literary culture in comparison to the large amount of space dedicated to global pop culture. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I asked our tour guide about the historic holdings held in the previous national library building. She gestured towards a wall with a locked door not accessible to the public, and indicated vaguely that these holdings could be found on the other side of the wall.</div><p>While the areas devoted to early childhood and primary grade children were impressive and beautiful, you also come to realize that the actual reach of this library (outside of tours by visitors to the center of the city who come to admire all the shiny objects inside) is likely to be fairly limited. It is difficult to imagine groups of more than 10 or 15 children of a given age group participating in an area at a time. Although the library is going to be open 24 hours a day year round, its location is not a place where large groups of potential users live within walking distance. Nor are there significant amounts of study space or numbers of individual computer terminals. </p><p>The cultural resources in El Salvador which are within reach of much of the population are actually being closed. The Ministry of Culture is <a href="https://ysuca.org.sv/2023/12/75-de-152-casas-de-la-cultura-a-nivel-nacional-estan-cerradas/">closing half of the 152 Casas de la Cultura ("Culture Houses")</a> in municipalities all across El Salvador. The Casas de la Cultura functioned as museums, libraries, repositories of local history and legends, sites of workshops in visual and performing arts, and more. These resources close to the people are now being abandoned in favor of the gleaming new library in the nation's capital. Meanwhile, schools throughout the country lack even the most basic library resources. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzCG9vPh3rzADXN0OmjCXMs4XUOs7AW8Fg7GLc0MmgyEA0OzjrpCXiWUWd0PSXuIBeMhNHdTyU9rp2OVpXsdAPzQApfhfXFyoZkPXpGaRBHuifGdENk-CBSIN9XCfVRzB5hmP/s4608/IMG_8823.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzCG9vPh3rzADXN0OmjCXMs4XUOs7AW8Fg7GLc0MmgyEA0OzjrpCXiWUWd0PSXuIBeMhNHdTyU9rp2OVpXsdAPzQApfhfXFyoZkPXpGaRBHuifGdENk-CBSIN9XCfVRzB5hmP/w400-h300/IMG_8823.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Casa de la Cultura in Dulce Nombre de Maria, Chalatenango</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>One initial purpose served by the new national library has been to serve as propaganda for Nayib Bukele's re-election campaign. Approximately 10 weeks before election day Bukele pre-empted television programming across the country to share this <a href="https://youtu.be/cS9ScuAT9Fg?feature=shared">video tour</a> of the gleaming new library just before it opened.</div><div><br /></div><div>The role of the national library and other works funded by China are described this week in a report by BBC News Mundo titled <a href="https://laopinion.com/2024/01/25/las-millonarias-obras-financiadas-por-china-en-el-salvador-y-que-papel-juegan-en-la-reeleccion-que-busca-bukele/">The million-dollar works financed by China in El Salvador and what role they play in the re-election that Bukele seeks</a>. The report notes:<br /><br /><div></div></div><blockquote><div><div>By design, the National Library of El Salvador would fit more in Silicon Valley or the City of London.</div><div><br /></div><div>But it is in the heart of the Salvadoran capital, in contrast to the neoclassical National Palace and cathedral.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is perhaps the most literal symbol of the renewed country of which Nayib Bukele boasts after five years in office, whose main policy has been the pacification of what was the most violent country in Latin America through his successful yet controversial war on gangs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once again a candidate to head the executive branch, Bukele, who like a good former publicist does not miss the power of a powerful image, inaugurated the library on November 14 in the middle of the campaign for the general elections on February 4</div></div><div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>It wasn't the only campaign video made using a project with China. Shortly after the opening of the library, Bukele and the Chinese ambassador held a photo-op to lay the first stone of a new $100 million soccer stadium to be donated by the Asian power. The stadium today is only a computer rendering, but Bukele the publicist knows how to market a dream. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-21290319822073913222024-01-26T17:12:00.000-06:002024-01-26T17:12:05.407-06:00What others are saying<p>Sharing a collection of articles in the English language press from the past month regarding El Salvador, the elections, and the State of Exception.</p><p><a href="https://atmos.earth/how-el-salvadors-regime-is-quashing-environmental-resistance/"> How El Salvador’s Iron-Fist Regime Is Quashing Environmental Resistance</a> -- A year ago, President Nayib Bukele’s authoritarian government detained five water defenders who orchestrated the nation’s historic mining ban. Activists fear that’s just the beginning. (Atmos, Jan. 24, 2024)</p><p><a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/organized-crime-ranked-top-political-risk-in-critical-latam-election-year/">Organized Crime Ranked Top Political Risk in Critical LatAm Election Year</a> -- In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele looks all but certain to win re-election. His first term has been defined by his tough-on-crime security measures, which started with a state of exception declared in March 2022 following a spate of gang killings. (Insight Crime, Jan. 24, 2024)</p><p><a href="https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/how-el-salvadors-2024-presidential-election-could-play-out">How El Salvador's 2024 Presidential Election Could Play Out</a> -- Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele will likely win reelection in February, after which he will seek to consolidate political power even more. He will also seek to make El Salvador a tech hub, but his efforts to boost the economy could fail amid rising authoritarianism, corruption, limited numbers of skilled workers and other challenges. (Stratfor, Jan. 24, 2024)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYWMu-6InU2eY7y59xUapxjFg8JuwhaAzKlW3G7U-r__MmDvct6xg9zscF1sHHLkoIGYYAVSlCs1qyHVvrHIAE716OPWGpQZnlCJ6Dg7q8DD5lK2Gxi9z4c78BYWf6ko24wen_BV2iwaod3KZaFbP6531x2lwEAGoYvVXQ1vffqK9OLvlr8Qv/s1472/2024.01.26%20Army%20Social%20Media.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1472" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYWMu-6InU2eY7y59xUapxjFg8JuwhaAzKlW3G7U-r__MmDvct6xg9zscF1sHHLkoIGYYAVSlCs1qyHVvrHIAE716OPWGpQZnlCJ6Dg7q8DD5lK2Gxi9z4c78BYWf6ko24wen_BV2iwaod3KZaFbP6531x2lwEAGoYvVXQ1vffqK9OLvlr8Qv/w400-h281/2024.01.26%20Army%20Social%20Media.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of the dozens of photos being posted by Salvadoran <br />armed forces to social media today with a message of the <br />army as the protector of the people.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/12/06/how-nayib-bukele-is-breaking-presidential-term-limits-in-el-salvador">How Nayib Bukele is breaking presidential term limits in El Salvador</a> -- He is the first person to run for re-election since Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, a military dictator, did in 1939. How is Mr Bukele subverting term limits, and will he succeed? Some of his stratagems are blatantly illegal. (The Economist, Dec. 6, 2023). </p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-reelection-campaign-b595e6419627adce98126d82c970da2d">El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele takes his presidential reelection campaign beyond the country’s borders</a> -- El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele took his presidential reelection campaign beyond his tiny country’s borders this week to capitalize on his rising profile across Latin America, and he affirmed that he doesn’t aspire to indefinite reelection. (AP, Jan. 4, 2024).</p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/last-salvadoran-woman-imprisoned-over-babys-death-calls-change-2024-01-18/">Last Salvadoran woman imprisoned over baby's death calls for change</a> -- The last woman imprisoned in El Salvador on charges linked to abortion on Wednesday called for people in the Central American country to stop denouncing women who suffer obstetric emergencies, in her first public comments since her release. El Salvador has one of the most draconian abortion bans in the Americas, which critics say extends to women who suffer miscarriages and stillbirths. Many women have been sentenced to decades in prison on charges of killing their children. (Reuters, Jan. 18, 2024).</p><p><br />And to watch or listen to:</p><p><a href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-online-reach-and-expat-votes-el-salvadors-election">Online Reach and Expat Votes in El Salvador's Election</a> (podcast) -- With steps taken to make voting abroad easier, and in the first three days of the one-month period voters could cast ballots, 10 times as many citizens abroad have voted than did in the last presidential contest in 2019. “This is something the Bukele government has put in place because they have support from the diaspora,” says Paarlberg, explaining why Bukele’s portrayal of the security situation specifically resonates with those who fled the country. (AS-COA, Jan 25, 2024)</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibirhCzGeLg">How Bukele Broke The Gangs</a> (YouTube video) -- A 20 minute documentary from El Faro on the history of the gangs in El Salvador and the measures Nayib Bukele took to dismantle their control in the country. (El Faro, Jan. 24, 2024).</p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-65829339061111207382024-01-24T21:36:00.002-06:002024-01-24T21:36:24.796-06:002024 national elections in El Salvador underway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfB_cBavhGVHYzcuzRJschqakX3FGQHHfOJOREryjifP1u5ZTFiEoy-vm2kf2JNaxryB8wps1u4dp0AbVGlzYu7m_xSd-J1-xK9oPUDulQFMs6uvdF2MS7sIs_gjulC79NgW7BAUr-KFWq0Rzu-MdQUuR4a62OMAR8Iu9muWAlGTWXqlK4p3E/s2210/2024.02.04%20presidential%20ballot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1565" data-original-width="2210" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfB_cBavhGVHYzcuzRJschqakX3FGQHHfOJOREryjifP1u5ZTFiEoy-vm2kf2JNaxryB8wps1u4dp0AbVGlzYu7m_xSd-J1-xK9oPUDulQFMs6uvdF2MS7sIs_gjulC79NgW7BAUr-KFWq0Rzu-MdQUuR4a62OMAR8Iu9muWAlGTWXqlK4p3E/w400-h284/2024.02.04%20presidential%20ballot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>National elections in El Salvador which could consolidate one party rule by Nayib Bukele in El Salvador have already begun. A period of internet voting for Salvadorans living in other countries has kicked off an electoral process which will likely see Nayib Bukele re-elected for an immediate second term, despite a constitutional prohibition of the same. Voters are also electing deputies to the Legislative Assembly. Because there is voting, it will be called "democracy," but at the end of the elections, the populist authoritarian ruler of El Salvador will have consolidated all political power to himself. </p><p>Internet voting for the Salvadoran diaspora outside of the country began on January 6. According to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), <a href="https://diarioelsalvador.com/120634-connacionales-han-votado-en-linea-para-la-eleccion-presidencial/453907/">120,634 Salvadorans had voted</a> in this fashion as of January 24. Their votes for deputies in the legislative assembly are being allocated as if they lived in the department of San Salvador, boosting the vote totals for this department, and increasing the number of votes necessary for any single party in San Salvador to obtain a seat in the legislature.</p><p>Recent public opinion polls from <a href="https://uca.edu.sv/iudop/publicacion/preelectoral-2024/">IUDOP</a> (81.5% will vote for Bukele) and <a href="https://www.disruptiva.media/vi-encuesta-de-humor-social-y-politico-estos-son-los-datos-no-se-enojen/">UFG</a> (70.9%) show Bukele with overwhelming support. Every opposition party is polling below 4%. (It should be noted that these polls did not include Salvadorans living outside of the country, although the common wisdom asserts that Bukele has enormous support outside of the country as well).</p><p>Bukele's support is driven by perceptions of substantial improvement in the security situation in the country, along with a polished publicity machine which portrays the president as author of a glimmering new El Salvador. It does not seem to matter that the images in the slick videos and the realities in most communities around the country do not match.</p><p>On social media, Bukele, assured of his own reelection, is engaged in a campaign of fear, claiming that opposition parties want to release gang members from the country's prisons, and that he needs to have super majority domination in the Legislative Assembly to continue that State of Exception and keep the justice system locking up criminals.</p><p><br /></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">“Por sus frutos los conoceréis”.<br /><br />Si después de todo el luto, guerra, dolor, corrupción, extorsión, subdesarrollo y sangre, que la oposición trajo a nuestro país, desde que tenemos memoria…<br /><br />Si después de ver cómo han votado en la Asamblea: en contra del Plan Control… <a href="https://t.co/2Zsf9hXPPa">pic.twitter.com/2Zsf9hXPPa</a></p>— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1749541494514446766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2024</a></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><i>“By their fruits you will know them.” If after all the grieving, war, pain, corruption, extortion, underdevelopment and blood, that the opposition brought to our country, as long as we can remember... If after seeing how they have voted in the Assembly: against the Territorial Control Plan, against the War against Gangs, against the Exception Regime, against judicial reform, against the election of the Attorney General, against the election of the Supreme Court, against anti-gang laws, and against the equipment and weapons for the police and the armed forces... If after all that, someone still believes in them, that person does not see, because they do not want to see; they won't change. Let them vote for whomever they want and let democracy decide what direction our country should take.</i></blockquote><p><br /></p><p> </p><p></p>
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<p><br /></p><p>The opinion polls show that in voting for members of the Legislative Assembly, Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party also leads with 70% or more in voter preference. But a change in the electoral rules regarding the way seats are allocated to parties, enacted by a vote in the Nuevas Ideas controlled legislature in recent months, makes it likely that Nuevas Ideas will control as many as 95% of the seats in the new legislature. (For more on this change from the Hare quota method to the D'Hondt method, see my <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2023/06/changing-rules-of-game.html">earlier post</a>). </p><p>An <a href="https://www.disruptiva.media/nuevas-ideas-estaria-sobrerrepresentada-en-la-asamblea-legislativa/">analysis by UFG</a>, based on polling data, showed that the change in method of allocating seats in the legislature, results in Nuevas Ideas capturing 57 of 60 seats under the new D'Hondt method, in comparison to 48 of 60 seats under the existing method used in the country. Most opposition parties could be left outside of the legislature, including the once-ruling leftist FMLN party.</p><p>The process of Internet voting has seen widespread violations of the rules which previously existed for the process of in-person voting on election day. For example, political parties and candidates have been prohibited from seeking votes on the day of the election and can certainly not stand next to someone watching as they cast their vote. </p><p>Yet as internet voting proceeds, vice president Felix Ulloa has been <a href="https://lanoticiasv.com/felix-ulloa-compartio-en-un-conversatorio-con-empresarios-de-la-diaspora-y-lideres-comunitarios-salvadorenos-en-virginia/">touring Salvadoran communities</a> in the US and Canada campaigning for his reelection along with Bukele. He and his party are urging eligible voters to pick up their cell phones and cast their ballots for the president. </p><p>Yet the failure to enact any rules for this month of voting around the world has resulted in scenes like this one, with the Vice President standing next to a voter with her cellphone ballot:</p><p><br /></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">¡Los salvadoreños en el exterior votamos por la Fórmula Presidencial ganadora, <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nayibbukele</a> y <a href="https://twitter.com/fulloa51?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fulloa51</a> 😎🇸🇻<br /><br />Por primera vez en la historia, podemos ejercer nuestro derecho al sufragio desde todas partes del mundo.🌎💻📱🗳️<br /><br />No vamos a regresar al pasado!<br />Vamos por <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/5mas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#5mas</a>👊🏻🩵🇸🇻🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/dr0Ow8Mi0H">pic.twitter.com/dr0Ow8Mi0H</a></p>— Wendy Clavijo (@wendykclavijo) <a href="https://twitter.com/wendykclavijo/status/1743546280867946582?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-17308133248272407932024-01-16T12:16:00.001-06:002024-01-16T13:20:35.739-06:0032nd Anniversary of 1992 Peace Accords<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOApBBaoOdfz-fFKyCr7BlH7lFyDiv7Axj_ZWT5nkLSWN0Hbw9Z38s0Z6Yne9W06XDorGy48Urc3Ec7qhly_yTDKlRHJVNnrMaCBy8jdLmbVFwwS9YmMaQ05Tcj5W3f6BhuTjpGeTXE_SFeM_07bL6PWuOIrgbQsjL7oM3rdNdIFVB_y5smnqi/s2560/2560px-Monumento_a_la_Paz_en_San_Marcos_03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOApBBaoOdfz-fFKyCr7BlH7lFyDiv7Axj_ZWT5nkLSWN0Hbw9Z38s0Z6Yne9W06XDorGy48Urc3Ec7qhly_yTDKlRHJVNnrMaCBy8jdLmbVFwwS9YmMaQ05Tcj5W3f6BhuTjpGeTXE_SFeM_07bL6PWuOIrgbQsjL7oM3rdNdIFVB_y5smnqi/w400-h300/2560px-Monumento_a_la_Paz_en_San_Marcos_03.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Monument to Peace on highway south of San Salvador</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>January 16 marks the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords which ended El Salvador's 12 year long bloody civil war. There is no official celebration of the end of that conflict by the government of Nayib Bukele, the country's president who labels the accords "a farce."</p><div><blockquote style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></blockquote>Here is what I <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2021/01/el-salvadors-1992-peace-accords-to.html">wrote</a> on the 2021 anniversary of the Accords:<br /><blockquote style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So why is Bukele attacking the Peace Accords? To celebrate the Peace Accords and the reforms they instituted would be to celebrate many of the norms which Bukele has begun to trample. He cares little for the institutions of constitutional democracy. The separation of powers checks him from acting freely. He attacks those who would champion human rights. While the Peace Accords intended to remove the military from domestic affairs, Bukele sends the military out into the country with ever more frequency to perform all sorts of internal tasks from policing to delivering food packets, to capturing grasshoppers, to enforcing sanitary quarantines of entire towns. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Moreover, one of Bukele's constant themes is to denounce his opposition as a corrupt pact between ARENA and the FMLN. Because the Peace Accords are signed by the FMLN and the government then controlled by ARENA, he attacks the peace agreement as part of their supposed corrupt bargain.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">These are the efforts of a president to deny and revise history so that the lessons of history cannot be learned by the current generations. </div></blockquote><br />In 2024, Bukele continued his denigration of the accords by ordering the destruction of the Monument to Peace and Reconciliation erected in 2017 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Accords.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">El supuesto “monumento a la reconciliación”, inaugurado por el gobierno del FMLN en 2017; que no solo era estéticamente horrible, sino que glorificaba el pacto entre los asesinos de nuestro pueblo, para repartirse el pastel; ha sido demolido.<br /><br />En su lugar, se construirá un nuevo… <a href="https://t.co/J50nDBfMyf">pic.twitter.com/J50nDBfMyf</a></p><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1742589465070092291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">January 3, 2024</a></blockquote> <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></span>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><i></i></p><blockquote style="background-color: white;"><i>The supposed “monument to reconciliation”, inaugurated by the FMLN government in 2017; -- not only was it aesthetically horrible, but it glorified the pact between the murderers of our people, made so they could "share the cake" -- has been demolished. In its place, a new public space will be built for the enjoyment of Salvadoran families.</i></blockquote><p style="background-color: white;"></p><div><br /></div><div>In recent days, the Bukele social media machine has been pushing out a campaign message that only Bukele and his security policies and the ongoing State of Exception have brought true peace to the country with the reduction of violence through the dismantling of gangs throughout the country. </div><div><br /></div><div>At the same time, Bukele is running for election to an unconstitutional second term as president. Independent democratic institutions have been subverted by one party rule and the elimination of any checks on Bukele's power. The military which had been returned to its barracks and removed from domestic security duties by the Peace Accords is now larger than ever, and patrolling the streets of the country as a parallel police force. (Bukele did not start this trend, but has greatly expanded it), As in the years before and during the civil war, innocent persons can be swept up off the street and held for months in prison without trials. There are credible reports of torture and killing within the prisons in a country which now incarcerates a greater percentage of its population than anywhere else in the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>On Sunday, January 14, hundreds of persons from civil society and opposition political groups marched through San Salvador to commemorate the Peace Accords and to protest Bukele regime policies including arbitrary arrests and detentions under the State of Exception.<br /></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="qme"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/el14marchamos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#el14marchamos</a> <a href="https://t.co/fRdeIvqlPw">pic.twitter.com/fRdeIvqlPw</a></p>— Mela (@Mela_WH) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mela_WH/status/1746615037525917797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<div>The protesters represent only a small portion of the Salvadoran population today, however, while a great majority are likely to re-elect the self-proclaimed "coolest dictator in the world."</div><div><br /></div><div>Only the foolish would assert that El Salvador has lived up to the ideals of the Peace Accords in the 32 years since. The hard work to establish democracy, to enforce the rule of law, to respect the separation of powers, and to combat corruption has fallen short repeatedly. Economic inequality, violence and violations of human rights persist. But the failure of the country to live up to those ideals embodied in the Peace Accords does not mean the Accords were a "farce" or that the ideals themselves should not be highlighted and lifted up. In fact, El Salvador three decades later needs to be reminded of those ideals more than ever.</div></div><div><br /></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-72147189337627015902024-01-05T21:21:00.000-06:002024-01-05T21:21:14.816-06:00New crypto-colonialists claim to have found freedom in El Salvador<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx14ZQWi4eL2lhB9yxU0rUu5VxHcFv46i1Dh3OPhGq68TW4Rb7UALGQNWWd3nJpq4clQiETb6ebozsOwFSczfP57UVraEQF_RSCHUiubL7BScKhGu7l32uF8S3bEG_5fieWsKTPco4OPweC1QPdbfkmFI1zIhWBIeET8nnIvaZLx6IIOPHv6Cl/s1755/Libertad1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1755" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx14ZQWi4eL2lhB9yxU0rUu5VxHcFv46i1Dh3OPhGq68TW4Rb7UALGQNWWd3nJpq4clQiETb6ebozsOwFSczfP57UVraEQF_RSCHUiubL7BScKhGu7l32uF8S3bEG_5fieWsKTPco4OPweC1QPdbfkmFI1zIhWBIeET8nnIvaZLx6IIOPHv6Cl/w400-h139/Libertad1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>The year 2023 saw increasing arrivals in El Salvador of persons declaring they had arrived in a promised land of freedom. They are persons from English-speaking countries arriving in El Salvador to escape. Whether you call them “influencers” or “youtubers” or Bitcoiners”, they go on social media to announce that they have left countries where they felt oppressed by their governments, and only by escaping to El Salvador did they find freedom. It's a freedom of the rich colonialist, not a freedom guaranteed by the government of El Salvador to all its citizens. </p><div>Typical of these exaggerated proclamations that El Salvador is a beacon of freedom is this <a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/el-salvador-bitcoin-news/beyond-bukele-sustaining-el-salvadors-orange-wave-of-freedom">article in Bitcoin Magazine</a> by William Stebbins, a retired US military officer who declares that El Salvador has transformed itself under Bukele "from impoverished vassal to budding sanctuary of freedom." Stebbins proclaims "Bitcoin’s freedom technology has offered Salvadoreños an opportunity to break the cycle of traitorous leadership, institutionalized corruption, generational poverty, endemic violence, and western fiat vassalship." This revamping of the country is all due to Bitcoin according to the arriving enthusiasts, even though the Salvadoran public has roundly rejected Bukele's initiative with the crypto-currency.</div><p>On social media, a group of these new arrivals produce videos where they enthuse over beaches, pupusas and the freedom they have found in El Salvador thanks to Bitcoin and Bukele. An example of these new residents of El Salvador is this couple from Britain, Hannah and David:</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dF9RKbtjkA8?si=VL9_fPpVaQljdFab&start=83" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><i></i></div><blockquote><div><i> “They’ve come here for a bit of freedom, you know, a little bit of life…to speak to people openly and freely about the events going on over the past couple of years."</i><i> </i></div></blockquote><blockquote><div><i>“I just see the UK becoming more and more authoritarian…2020 showed that the UK [is not a free country]”</i></div><div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>The couple complains about pandemic restrictions in the UK, asserts they lacked control over their own money, and warns about the threat of central bankers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or take this recent post on X by another Bitcoiner infatuated with El Salvador and reposted by Nayib Bukele:</div><div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">What a week living off Bitcoin in El Salvador at the <a href="https://twitter.com/Swan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@swan</a> house looks like 🌋⚡️🇸🇻<br /><br />Hint: we loved it so much we’re moving there 🙌<br /><br />“This is the land of mana, of freedom, everything in freedom is here. Freedom in money, freedom in medicine, freedom in the internet. This is… <a href="https://t.co/GKqawdHCzj">pic.twitter.com/GKqawdHCzj</a></p>— Shannen Michaela (@ShannenPill) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShannenPill/status/1730225783736586631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p><i></i></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i>This is the land of mana, of freedom, everything in freedom is here. Freedom in money, freedom in medicine, freedom in the internet...</i></blockquote><p></p></div></blockquote><div><p>Healthcare and freedom was also a theme echoed by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaB-KeozDsI">this YouTuber</a> from France, expressing his view that because El Salvador had a "voluntary" approach to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was one of his reasons for coming to the country. </p><p>Nicki and James, a Youtuber couple who moved to El Salvador from New Zealand, say they felt oppressed in their home country, and <a href="https://youtu.be/gmuxYKWprW4?feature=shared">hopeful for the lack of government mandates</a> in El Salvador. </p><p>Another person professing the freedom narrative is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy5og5A0RRg">Jeremy</a>, the founder of Escape to El Salvador. His company now helps persons outside of El Salvador seeking this free and easy lifestyle to apply for residency, or start up a business, or navigate moving to El Salvador. </p><p>You can find many more interviews of people like these on the YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LiveFromBitcoinBeach/featured">Live from Bitcoin Beach</a>, hosted by Mike Peterson, the original founder of the Bitcoin project at El Zonte.</p><p>And for those who want a faster track to Salvadoran citizenship than you would get from Escape to El Salvador, the government of El Salvador has now launched a "<a href="https://adoptingelsalvador.gob.sv/welcome">Freedom Passport</a>." Under this new fast-track citizenship program, 1000 wealthy individuals per year can obtain Salvadoran citizenship for themselves and their family with a payment of $1 million to the Salvadoran government. The website offering the Freedom Passport (which only appears in English) declares El Salvador to be the "Ark of Freedom in Central America." </p><p>Yet all of these social media influencers are either willfully ignorant or simply deceitful. They claim that a prime example of the tyranny of the US and European countries are COVID-19 policies such as vaccine mandates or masking requirements. Thank goodness they are free of those in El Salvador! Yet their comments show a complete lack of knowledge of how the Bukele government acted to impose public health controls during the pandemic. Perhaps they did not know, or do not want to know, that Nayib Bukele claimed for himself the ability to issue orders confining all but a designated household member to homes, to impose a military siege around a town when he thought too many citizens were disobeying those lockdown rules, and to prohibit in-person classes in schools throughout 2020 and 2021. For months, Bukele banned citizens of El Salvador caught abroad at the start of the pandemic from returning home. And Salvadorans who did not follow the rules could be locked up in "contention centers" for a minimum of 30 days without any trial or process.</p><p>Bukele, who once labelled himself on Twitter "the coolest dictator in the world," has not renounced any of those powers he used in 2020 and beyond.</p><p>In their love of Bitcoin, the new arrivals proclaim that a Bitcoin economy provides freedom from central government invasion of their privacy and ability to control own destiny. What better place to find that freedom than in El Salvador where Bitcoin has been made legal tender? But they seem to ignore that the Salvadoran government's version of a Bitcoin wallet, the Chivo wallet, was everything they claim to abhor. A Salvadoran citizen's Bitcoin holdings would be held by the government in this custodial wallet, every transaction through the wallet would be visible to the government, and the government held the identity of every holder of a Chivo wallet. </p><p>Their declarations of liberty show their disregard for the past 21 months under the ongoing State of Exception during which Salvadorans have lived without constitutional protections against arbitrary arrests, against detention without evidence, against arrests based on mere allegations. The new arrivals claim to simply "feel free" while living in beach communities, at the same time ignoring that this government claims the right to lock anyone up.</p><p>A group of Bitcoin industry players with ties to El Salvador have launched what they call <a href="https://blog.bitfinex.com/media-releases/documentary-dont-trustverify-premiered-at-adopting-bitcoin-conference-in-el-salvador-followed-by-endorsement-of-bitfinex-freedom-manifesto/">the Freedom Manifesto</a> which purports to "manifest their commitment to financial freedom <i>and freedom of speech</i>." The declaration in El Salvador conveniently ignores the 17 journalists who have had to go into exile from El Salvador during Bukele's regime, the two dozen journalists and human rights advocates who had their phones infected with sophisticated Pegasus spyware, or the more than 400 abuses of journalists by authorities registered by the Salvadoran association of journalists. </p><div>So what is the liberty that these new arrivals are finding in El Salvador? It is the liberty of the rich. Their dollars and pounds and euros buy more in El Salvador. Suddenly their incomes from working remotely for global companies, or being an influencer, or living off investments puts them in the very top wealth percentages of the residents of El Salvador.</div><p>Ricardo Valencia, who teaches at Cal State Fullerton and is a frequent commentator on events in El Salvador, called the new arrivals crypto-colonialists in a <a href="https://elfaro.net/es/202207/columnas/26277/Criptocolonialismo-r%C3%A9quiem-de-una-promesa-en-coma.htm">column in El Faro</a>:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">The dream of turning El Tunco, Zonte and Conchagua into Surf City, Bitcoin Beach and Bitcoin City, respectively, also requires a strong hand to keep the poor at bay from the new colonizers. The poor – like the<span> </span><a href="https://www.elsalvador.com/fotogalerias/noticias-fotogalerias/minutas-bitcoin-playa-zonte-mario-garcia-capturado/951145/2022/">snow cone vendor</a><span> </span>who accepted payment for his product with Bitcoin – continue to be captured during the state of emergency. Crypto-colonialism uses locals as cheap labor, while its elites are immune to police repression. While the crypto elite whispers in the president's ear and has gala dinners with him, the poor use social networks to shout the pain that the state of exception inflicts on them. </blockquote><p>The crypto-colonialists arrive in El Salvador to the open arms of a government which will flatter them for being there. The government says that these arriving foreigners are signs that the Bukele economic miracle must be a reality. Some will have their pictures taken with the president or have him repost their praise of El Salvador on Twitter. </p><p>These freedom lovers live in enclaves of other expatriates where they need not fear that the police will look at their tattoos and carry them off to the hells of Salvadoran prisons. They come to El Zonte / Bitcoin Beach and proclaim it the vision of the future. Meanwhile they bid up prices of real estate and development projects catering to them dislodge the poor original residents.</p><p>At the same time boutique hotels and trendy bars get built in "Bitcoin Beach," the original residents of El Zonte are getting displaced. They don't have the freedom to stay in the homes they have built up over the years. Instead, as <a href="https://mala-yerba.com/desalojos-y-desempleo-en-surf-city-la-realidad-de-25-familias-en-el-zonte/">reported in the environmental news site Mala Yerba</a>, they will be relocated to a new housing settlement away from the beach and across the street from the new sewage treatment plant built to serve the tourist establishments in the area. They are being forced to move to build a tourist project, "Bitcoin Beach Club de Playa," which will feature beach volleyball, massage salons, a shopping district, and beach access. Residents of El Zonte say their forced relocation contradicts an earlier promise by Bukele that local residents would be included in the improvements to their hometown.</p><p>(Ironically, Jeremy of Escape to El Salvador wrote an <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-financialization-of-real-estate-is-the-problem-bitcoin-is-the-solution">op ed in Bitcoin Magazine</a> claiming that the problem with real estate prices going up and displacing local residents was caused by too little supply of real estate, and too few people having become Bitcoin adopters). </p><p>Perhaps before these new arrivals declare El Salvador a paragon of freedom and opportunity, they should question why so many persons born in El Salvador still seek to emigrate from the country. Since October 1, 2018, 367,000 Salvadorans have been detained trying to enter the US across that country's southern border. Just in 2023 alone, which Nayib Bukele has declared the safest year in Salvadoran history for the safest country in Latin America, an average of 5000 Salvadorans were apprehended each month at the US border. Perhaps it is because when asked in <a href="https://uca.edu.sv/iudop/wp-content/uploads/Opinion-publica-sobre-el-bitcoin-en-el-anio-2022.pdf">opinion polls</a>, 61% of Salvadorans say that Bitcoin only benefits a privileged few -- the rich, foreign investors, and business owners. </p><p> </p></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-64189579840122581392023-11-17T22:31:00.000-06:002023-11-17T22:31:23.245-06:00Bukele's latest image-making project: Miss Universe Pageant 2023<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix3dUbmCA3ucABpGxv8nDgt-3TW9AIB3nqEhneGiq7Mm9WCBiuUAxEVmV6Vdnis318y0LF6RpdtsbTKycz64sprWo-ALe_0o6wvY44wLV1X0ikVVFnvszEITjLdkaX_DDKwkHfT8eYZqFKLSqNBp37TOU9lV-v8N4D_yRg0zIMxO1jIyA-aYcb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="1689" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix3dUbmCA3ucABpGxv8nDgt-3TW9AIB3nqEhneGiq7Mm9WCBiuUAxEVmV6Vdnis318y0LF6RpdtsbTKycz64sprWo-ALe_0o6wvY44wLV1X0ikVVFnvszEITjLdkaX_DDKwkHfT8eYZqFKLSqNBp37TOU9lV-v8N4D_yRg0zIMxO1jIyA-aYcb=w400-h160" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div>While I am not a fan of beauty pageants, clearly <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/telemundo-aims-for-big-ratings-as-the-broadcast-home-for-miss-universe-exclusive/ar-AA1k6xCL">others are</a>. This week the 2023 Miss Universe pageant is taking place in El Salvador. It is another of the sweeping image-making projects of which president Nayib Bukele is so fond.<br /><br /><div>The Miss Universe pageant came to El Salvador once before in 1975. At that time, the country was run by an unholy alliance of an oligarchy and the military. The country brought in a contest of beauties with sights of sun and beautiful beaches in an attempt to improve its image during a year which saw massacres, repressions and unrest in the lead-up to the approaching civil war.<div><br /></div><div>As the New York Post <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/inside-troubled-miss-universe-pageant-which-will-feature-two-trans-competitors/ar-AA1k5c3X">wrote</a> today:<br /><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>The last time that organizers held a Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador, in 1975, rioting students staged demonstrations that ultimately ended in a massacre and plunged the country into a brutal civil war....<br /><br />Meanwhile, San Salvador locals are protesting the national government having spent a reported $12 million in public funds to host the event in a country with rising levels of extreme poverty.</div><div><br /></div><div>The protests recall the July 1975 demonstration by a group of impoverished students who blasted the then military government of strongman Arturo Armando Molina for spending $1 million on the pageant. Less than two weeks after Miss Finland, Anne Marie Pohtamo, was crowned Miss Universe, the country’s armed forces occupied a local university and massacred more than 100 students. </div></blockquote><div></div><div>The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/10/archives/unrest-growing-in-el-salvador-demonstrations-put-down-after-protest.html?unlocked_article_code=1._Uw.7Yas.xCzCebGSMjYg&smid=url-share">coverage from 1975</a> described what was happening inside and outside the pageant hall:<br /><br /><div></div></div><blockquote><div><div>When El Salvador bid successfully to host this year's “Miss Universe” contest, the Government saw the press and television coverage as an opportunity to promote this tiny Central American republic as a Pacific Coast tourist attraction.</div><div><br /></div><div>But while a worldwide television audience saw El Salvador's, sunny beaches before the “Miss Universe” finals July 19, off camera heavily armed troops were called out to halt demonstrations by students protesting the Government's expenditure of $1‐million on the contest.</div><div><br /></div><div>A week later in the western city of Santa Ana, students took to the streets to protest the banning of the “Miss Universe” demonstration, and sevferal youths were injured and arrested during clashes with the National Guard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then on July 30 about 3,000 students demonstrating in San Salvador against repression of the two earlier marches were stopped by machine‐gun and automatic‐rifle fire from soldiers.</div></div><div></div></blockquote><div>For many in El Salvador, this week is a story of history repeating itself. Once again a government is bringing the Miss Universe pageant to town to improve its image at a time when many are criticizing it for human rights abuses and mass incarcerations under the State of Exception.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hosting the pageant is all about the branding, marketing and selling of El Salvador to a global audience. The government of Nayib Bukele is masterful at image-making, and this event gives the country the opportunity to show off its natural beauty and potentially attract tourists. The images viewers will see of El Salvador are as much choreographed and with as much makeup applied as the contestants in the pageant.</div><div><br /></div><div>The pageant is also for domestic consumption with national elections less than three months away. The promotion of the Miss Universe Pageant is everywhere in El Salvador. The airport is filled with wall to wall posters announcing the pageant and welcoming “the Misses.” It feels like every utility pole in San Salvador has a Miss Universe 2023 banner hanging from it. The airwaves are filled with stories of the event.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGehUBu6_d7XXmTRRFJi46zkiVs_filvdGZL_BqwkO8c6hdUaEs-pOM46XqLzRXSrxnYF6mCtcNheSGtsOXWAGY3ZdLIfY6-emRdHMAIR_beHG1FbMqWdyGCT2onlhul5yiRmspXXQCIMD45HgzJgT0LNZAgwwrx72lzsryYUOWmAjAPSChDDu/s4032/PXL_20231109_200020353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGehUBu6_d7XXmTRRFJi46zkiVs_filvdGZL_BqwkO8c6hdUaEs-pOM46XqLzRXSrxnYF6mCtcNheSGtsOXWAGY3ZdLIfY6-emRdHMAIR_beHG1FbMqWdyGCT2onlhul5yiRmspXXQCIMD45HgzJgT0LNZAgwwrx72lzsryYUOWmAjAPSChDDu/s320/PXL_20231109_200020353.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div> <br />But how much is El Salvador spending on the pageant? The rights to host the pageant were reportedly purchased for $12 million. El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States told an interviewer that the country was spending an extra $60 million on top of buying the rights.</div><div><br />The costs include completely remodeling the National Gymnasium to host the spectacle, changing out the remodel of that building, just completed for the <a href="https://sansalvador2023.com/en/">Central American and Caribbean Games</a> in June to make it a sporting venue, into a venue where the pageant could host thousands and broadcast to a worldwide audience in air conditioned comfort.</div><div><br /></div><div>Truly symbolic were the photos circulating on social media of Miss Universe contestants sporting "Bukele 2024" caps:</div><div><br /></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Me parece banal y hasta grosero, esto de las candidatas con gorras de Bukele.<br /><br />Pero lo que verdaderamente ofende, es haberle agregado “BITCOIN” a nuestro <br /><br />DIOS, UNION, LIBERTAD. <a href="https://t.co/Q7ziMJ5NvF">pic.twitter.com/Q7ziMJ5NvF</a></p>— Alex Kravetz (@aaKravetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/aaKravetz/status/1723744249781391677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<div>Streets in the vicinity of the National Gymnasium where the event is being held have been closed on various days. <a href="https://www.disruptiva.media/estas-calles-estaran-cerradas-durante-el-evento-de-miss-universo/">More than 1000</a> police, soldiers and traffic cops are being deployed to provide security and traffic management.</div><div><br /></div><div>Apparently the $12 million which El Salvador paid for the rights to host was not enough to keep the company which owns the pageant solvent. In the week the contestants arrived in El Salvador, the Thai company which owns the Miss Universe brand <a href="https://www.news24.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/celebrities/miss-universe-el-salvador-show-still-set-for-november-despite-a-liquidity-problem-and-bankruptcy-20231109">declared bankruptcy</a>:</div><div><blockquote>JKN Global Group made the announcement in a statement to the Thai Stock Exchange two months after it missed a deadline to repay bonds worth around $12 million. <br /><br />The company, owned by media mogul and transgender rights campaigner Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, bought the pageant - previously owned by former US president Donald Trump - in 2022 for $20 million. </blockquote></div><div>Human rights activists urged performing artist John Legend, who is scheduled to sing during the broadcast of the event Saturday night, to back out. An <a href="https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/tell-john-legend-to-cancel-his-appearance-in-miss-universe-avoid-promoting-a-dictator">online petition at Moveon.org</a> signed by more than 1400 people asked the performer and activist against mass incarceration to reconsider performing in a country which has the highest level of mass incarceration in the world and where thousands remain locked up without any due process.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Leonor Carolina Suarez, a former Miss Venezuela, summed up in a <a href="https://elfaro.net/es/202302/columnas/26690/Miss-Universo-en-El-Salvador-el-marketing-pol%C3%ADtico-en-tacones.htm">column in El Faro</a> how a politician like Bukele uses beauty pageants:<br /><br /><div></div><blockquote><div>The female body seduces, the sequin makes what it touches shine and the feathers decorate what they wear. Beauty queens, publicists and marketers know this well. Maybe that's why Nayib Bukele paid millions of dollars to fill the country with "Misses" in the middle of a pre-election year. In the face of terror and barbarism, it is normal for us to cling to beauty as an act of salvation, but when beauty is served in a show and sponsored by a politician, we must also question his intentions and pull back the curtain to see the trick.... </div><div><br /></div><div>Beauty – traditionally associated with the feminine – is power. Divine grace to guide the way out of barbarism and perverse mirage to move perceptions. Buying the attention caused by more than 80 made-up and decked-out women parading and competing in feathers and sequins (or in swimsuits) is a well-known advertising strategy: using the female image as bait. Brands of all kinds do it to sell their products or decorate their businesses: air conditioners, alcoholic beverages and Donald Trump himself.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div>El Salvador's current ambassador to the United States, Milena Mayorga, was a former Miss El Salvador in the 1996 pageant, where <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-el-salvador-media-nayib-bukele-social-media-e62c16155b8685f37daf718df5ae3a90">she met Donald Trump</a>, owner of the pageant at that time. Trump would go on to be the US president when she arrived in Washington as ambassador. </div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Milena Mayorga junto a Miss Guatemala y Miss Estados Unidos, y entre ellas, el ex dueño de la franquicia de Miss Universo, Donald Trump (actual presidente de Estados Unidos), 1996. <a href="https://t.co/jkG4DRO1tZ">pic.twitter.com/jkG4DRO1tZ</a></p>— HistoriadeElSalvador (@EShistoria32) <a href="https://twitter.com/EShistoria32/status/1021555365824090112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<div><br /></div><div>Today Mayorga is tweeting about Miss El Salvador in this year's pageant:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">Soberbios volcanes 🌋 ¡Arriba El Salvador! 🇸🇻🤩<br /><br />📍Gimnasio Nacional <a href="https://twitter.com/MissUniverse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MissUniverse</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NationalCostume?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NationalCostume</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IsabellaManzoSV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsabellaManzoSV</a> <a href="https://t.co/u8mMEL8ZzY">pic.twitter.com/u8mMEL8ZzY</a></p>— Milena Mayorga (@MilenaMayorga) <a href="https://twitter.com/MilenaMayorga/status/1725343996057153661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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Despite the critiques, the show goes on. The final competition and crowning of Miss Universe will happen Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. El Salvador time.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="zxx"><a href="https://t.co/EDV6BWwBI5">pic.twitter.com/EDV6BWwBI5</a></p>— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) <a href="https://twitter.com/MissUniverse/status/1724974245984305288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-15643608501980281652023-11-15T17:51:00.001-06:002023-11-15T17:51:46.184-06:00Facing the challenge of food insecurity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzxlseK1Z8yvKNVKxngTpxSID__4OqDBxotuZ5_9Pj5VQjOTkPJW8Z87j07QPF3gPIYhoKHesr8O-KRPklNl8Nz3hhmPcQDnCtHxq80z9K9oaxT6RdMrOYK_cK2cLi9UZlPiPqgSMMGPpt_a0TD93PPy5mJ6_vYDmDYoPVP4KNLmcJJIpf1YI/s2292/drought.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="2292" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzxlseK1Z8yvKNVKxngTpxSID__4OqDBxotuZ5_9Pj5VQjOTkPJW8Z87j07QPF3gPIYhoKHesr8O-KRPklNl8Nz3hhmPcQDnCtHxq80z9K9oaxT6RdMrOYK_cK2cLi9UZlPiPqgSMMGPpt_a0TD93PPy5mJ6_vYDmDYoPVP4KNLmcJJIpf1YI/w400-h140/drought.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>For a significant percentage of families in El Salvador, putting food on the table continues to get more difficult. Prices for food climbed after the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained high, and climate change and natural disasters put at risk the basic foodstuffs which can be grown locally. </p><p>Five UN agencies just released their <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/CC8514EN">2023 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean</a>. The UN report describes ranges of food insecurity countries may face:</p><p></p><blockquote>The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), is an estimate of the proportion of the population facing moderate or severe constraints on their ability to obtain sufficient food over the course of a year. People face moderate food insecurity when they are uncertain of their ability to obtain food and have been forced to reduce, at times over the year, the quality and/ or quantity of food they consume due to lack of money or other resources. Severe food insecurity means that individuals have likely run out of food, experienced hunger and, at the most extreme, have gone for days without eating, putting their health and well-being at serious risk.</blockquote><p>For El Salvador, the UN found that the percentage of Salvadorans with moderate to severe food insecurity increased in the most recent three years from 2020-2022 in comparison to the the period 2014-2016. More than 48% of Salvadoran families fall in this category, while more than 16% face severe food insecurity.</p><p>The reasons for food insecurity in El Salvador are varied, but center on poverty and crop losses in the basic foodstuffs of corn and beans as a result of climate change and weather patterns.</p><p>According to the most recent Salvadoran <a href="https://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2023/04/el-salvador-government-report-on-well.html">government survey</a>, the percentage of the population living in poverty in 2022 was 26.6%, while the percentage living in extreme poverty was 8.6%. Poverty was at the highest level in the past 4 years. Meanwhile, corn and bean prices in 2022-2023 were <a href="https://fews.net/sites/default/files/2023-11/PB_SV_202310_EN.pdf">considerably higher</a> than the average price over the preceding 5 years. </p><p>Thus one part of food security is simply rising costs to feed a family while incomes are not keeping pace. The United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-humanitarian-response-plan-2023">noted in April</a> that 1.1 million Salvadorans, or one sixth of the population, have humanitarian needs, and highlighted food insecurity exacerbated by the country's need to import food at the mercy of world commodity prices.</p><div>A second key factor in food insecurity is the impact of changing weather patterns, and natural disasters ranging from drought to flooding which destroy crops or reduce their yield.</div><div><br /></div><div>From Honduras through eastern El Salvador and Guatemala lies a region known as the "dry corridor" where prolonged drought periods of reduced rainfall in recent years have decimated small farmers who raise little fields of corn or beans. Revista Factum recently published a <a href="https://www.revistafactum.com/region-evaporada/">multi-part series</a> on drought and hunger in the dry corridor which illustrated these impacts.</div><p></p><p></p><p>Agriculture experts warn that the effects of climate change will have a <a href="https://www.eleconomista.net/economia/El-Salvador-necesita-invertir-el-5.3--del-PIB-para-compensar-perdidas-por-cambio-climatico-20230923-0008.html">steady negative impact</a> on the harvests of basic foodstuffs like corn and beans for El Salvador and other countries in the dry corridor. </p><p>Compounding these factors in the very short term, a weather phenomenon known as El Niño may have profound impacts over the next twelve months. A September 2023 <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/acaps-anticipatory-note-el-salvador-anticipation-food-insecurity-02-september-2023">report from ACAPS</a> predicts increased food challenges as a result of the current El Niño weather pattern:</p><p></p><blockquote>The impact of El Niño will particularly affect urban poor and rural households, with food, water, and livelihoods being the main needs. As at August 2023, food prices had risen above the five-year average. The 2015 El Niño event also resulted in almost a 60% loss of crops in the country, mostly maize. As at 2020, around 58% of people in rural areas of El Salvador also lacked access to drinking water. At the same time, the expected below-average rainfall will severely affect rural communities’ livelihoods, likely resulting in migration into urban areas.</blockquote><p></p><p>Climate change can produce more frequent severe weather events. Last month El Salvador was swamped by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tropical-storm-pilar-el-salvador-38a552531f6da41da9f8ac7fd48c0127">Tropical Storm Pilar</a>, which swirled off the country's Pacific coast dropping flooding rains. More than $20 million in crop losses were <a href="https://www.eleconomista.net/economia/Tormenta-Pilar-afecto-el-45-de-los-cultivos-de-productores-de-subsistencia-en-El-Salvador-20231107-0003.html">reported</a>, with some s<a href="https://actalliance.org/alerts/act-alliance-alert-el-salvador-tropical-storm-pilar-2023/">mall farmers</a> losing 45-70% of their crops. </p><p>These challenges facing El Salvador will require the current government to work in several areas:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Helping farmers transition to farming methods and crops which are more resistant to impacts of climate change.</li><li>Working to strengthen the agricultural sector to reduce reliance on imported food.</li><li>Providing supports to families in poverty to enable them to obtain needed levels of food.</li><li>Working on measures to mitigate climate change and severe weather risk.</li></ul><p></p><p>These areas of focus are not as headline grabbing as Bitcoin and surfing and beauty pageants, but much more important.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9177745.post-75453729819954214082023-11-12T21:47:00.004-06:002023-11-12T21:47:41.353-06:00Salvadoran government raises tax for Africans and Indians transiting airport<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-Q3_u_nduqa0t32wL3j2A-BqsuJezr2LEkwwvogILBu-KqC7h6shXOgfPeko3t1ERNSgH0Dcvyh38eKSqS-3Oau0swrKPkS3tgFjHZ8puQX7oB85X7Jpq-dx4R0R9AYxxQUScoCD2_ZIFlY9ZnJzpMHAyltpd1rxBlro8vR-dTCRrvCpwus1y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1067" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-Q3_u_nduqa0t32wL3j2A-BqsuJezr2LEkwwvogILBu-KqC7h6shXOgfPeko3t1ERNSgH0Dcvyh38eKSqS-3Oau0swrKPkS3tgFjHZ8puQX7oB85X7Jpq-dx4R0R9AYxxQUScoCD2_ZIFlY9ZnJzpMHAyltpd1rxBlro8vR-dTCRrvCpwus1y=w400-h253" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>The United States is facing a record number of migrants from all across the world making their way to the southern US border to attempt to enter. With hundreds of thousands passing through Central America, the US wants to enlist countries in the region to help stem that flow. A new tax on certain travelers from Africa and India who pass through El Salvador's airport, may be a part of that cooperation sought by the US. </p><p>The United Nations <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141557">noted</a> in September of this year a dramatic increase during 2023 in persons from Cuba, Haiti and Africa flying into Central America as part of trying to migrate towards the US. Whereas before, thousands of Africans arrived in Central America on their route north after passing through the treacherous Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, many now avoid those dangers by catching flights into Central America. </p><p></p><blockquote><p>IOM said the most significant trend has been the shift by Cuban migrants and those coming from African countries who are increasingly flying to Central America, thus sidestepping the Darién route altogether.</p>Meanwhile, only 4,100 migrants from Africa crossed the Darién between January and July of this year, a 65 per cent decrease from the same period in 2022. <br /><br />Conversely, Honduras saw a staggering 553 per cent increase in arrivals from Africa, 19,412 people, through its southern border. Similarly, only 524 Cubans were reported in the Darién during this period, compared to the 17,157 arriving by land in Honduras. <p></p></blockquote><p>In response to this new migration flow, the Salvadoran government hopes to dissuade those African migrants from coming through the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport. In an <a href="https://www.cepa.gob.sv/tarifa-de-mejoras-aeroportuarias-del-aeropuerto-internacional-de-el-salvador/">announcement</a> on October 20, El Salvador's airport authority stated there would be a new $1130 tax on all transit passengers from more than 50 African nations plus India who are connecting at the airport to flights elsewhere. The fee went into effect on flights starting October 28.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUAF27CPSeM9mHg9bteUUikAbqfovwxGVoPS_vPkY8S-gykPhAlNY1Bgl7SY_w3c2DdECbVWFSDjD6FP9tEd-jnFa_pXae0xLq1AaXyh7pRLFsQeiuxxSs2wbL-kVJdf7P_wxq1aIeud1VrNo4GDc_Hglj5YFjTURH3lRCuD2P_CzR2O-GsY2P" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="2048" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUAF27CPSeM9mHg9bteUUikAbqfovwxGVoPS_vPkY8S-gykPhAlNY1Bgl7SY_w3c2DdECbVWFSDjD6FP9tEd-jnFa_pXae0xLq1AaXyh7pRLFsQeiuxxSs2wbL-kVJdf7P_wxq1aIeud1VrNo4GDc_Hglj5YFjTURH3lRCuD2P_CzR2O-GsY2P" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Countries subject to new transit tax</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The airline Avianca, which has the greatest number of international arrivals and departures at the El Salvador airport, advised passengers on its <a href="https://ayuda.avianca.com/hc/en-us/articles/19744371443355-Airport-Improvement-Tariff-at-El-Salvador-International-Airport">website</a>:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">This [fee] must be paid by passengers prior the boarding of the flight.</p>It is important to know that, even if you pay the fee, there is a possibility that, upon arrival at El Salvador, the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreigners will deny your transit through the country in accordance with its legal powers. <br /><br />Remember that the authorization of entry, transit, transfer, stay and departure in El Salvador depends 100% on the immigration authority. </blockquote><p>The government claimed that the new tax was adopted in order to finance modernization and improvements at the airport, but the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article281210623.html">Miami Herald noted</a> the probable actual motivation:</p><p></p><blockquote>[E]xperts say the tariffs could be meant to keep migrants who want to reach the U.S.-Mexico border from traveling through El Salvador. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration recently noted that more African migrants are flying directly into Central America to bypass the dangerous Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, which over 400,000 migrants have used this year as they begin their travel north. “This could be an attempt to reduce secondary travel of travelers coming to El Salvador who then could potentially try to make it to the United States,” said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.</blockquote><p></p><p></p><blockquote></blockquote>The African migrants are headed first towards Nicaragua, the only country in Central America where they could enter without a prior visa solely by paying an entrance fee. The independent Nicaraguan news outlet La Prensa <a href="https://www.laprensani.com/2023/11/04/economia/3233036-cruce-de-africanos-hacia-ee-uu-colapsa-las-ventas-de-boletos-de-avianca-desde-europa-y-sudamerica-hacia-managua">reported</a> that flights by Avianca have been filled to overflowing with such travelers:<br /><blockquote><p>The airline Avianca has restricted flights departing from Europe, South America and some Central American countries to Managua due to the overdemand by people from Africa and other countries who arrive in Nicaragua to begin their trip towards the United States. </p><p>According to a source linked to flight ticket sales, “they are restricting some routes because Avianca's capacities are exceeded due to the migration that arrives from Africa to Nicaragua, the only country that asks only that they pay to enter without asking for a visa, so the flights are overcrowded. Until this is fixed, we cannot sell seats because there are no spaces and there is no capacity. Everything is already bought by Africans and countries with high migration looking for a way to get to the United States.”</p><p> “This weekend Avianca had to restrict the sale of tickets because they simply already had flights full,” he said. Regarding commercial flights, mainly Avianca, “<i><b>70 or 80 percent of the people on each Avianca San Salvador – Managua commercial flight are occupied by people from Africa</b></i>. In El Salvador they have put the flights to Managua in consecutive departures to concentrate them all in one place and prevent them from wandering throughout the El Salvador airport,” said the source.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/african-migrants-bound-us-use-nicaragua-bypass-darien-perils-2023-09-26/">described</a> the new Nicaragua migration route:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>African migrants and asylum seekers heading to the United States are flying into Nicaragua to bypass the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle isthmus connecting Panama and Colombia, according to migrants interviewed by Reuters and exclusive U.N. data.</p><p>A dozen migrants recently arrived in the Mexican northern border city of Tijuana and the southern city of Oaxaca said they had flown into the Central American country, where many African nationalities can obtain a low-cost visa.</p><p>The migrants hailed from Mali, Angola, Guinea and Senegal, and almost all said they knew about the dangers of Darien, which can only be traversed on foot.</p><p>Several said they had gone to Nicaragua after hearing macabre stories of people who had faced Darien's deadly perils.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>As an example, an August <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/thousands-mauritanians-making-us-route-spread-social-media-102388590">piece by the AP</a> describes how the route through Nicaragua attracted a surge from the African nation of Mauritania this year:</p><p class="Ekqk nlgH yuUa lqtk TjIX aGjv" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TiemposText; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-p-marginBottom-regular,32px); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><blockquote>The spike in migration was made possible by the discovery this year of a new route through Nicaragua, where relaxed entry requirements allow Mauritanians and a handful of other foreign nationals to purchase a low-cost visa without proof of onward travel.<br /><br />As word of the entry point spreads, travel agencies and paid influencers have taken to TikTok to promote the trip, selling packages of flights that leave from Mauritania, then connect through Turkey, Colombia and El Salvador, and wind up in Managua, Nicaragua. From there, the migrants, along with asylum seekers from other nations, are whisked north by bus with the help of smugglers.</blockquote>The new tax in El Salvador on transit passengers went into effect the week that Brian Nichols, the US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs came to El Salvador where he met with president Nayib Bukele. Nichols noted that one of the topics of their conversation was "mutual efforts to reduce irregular migration."<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Had an excellent meeting with <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nayibbukele</a>. We discussed El Salvador’s support for the international mission in Haiti, efforts to promote foreign direct investment in El Salvador, bilateral cooperation on rule of law, and mutual efforts to address irregular migration. -BAN <a href="https://t.co/cLcCOHYlAT">pic.twitter.com/cLcCOHYlAT</a></p>— Brian A. Nichols (@WHAAsstSecty) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHAAsstSecty/status/1717349638133498174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p>A report this week by Human Rights Watch titled "<a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2023/11/09/hell-was-my-only-option/abuses-against-migrants-and-asylum-seekers-pushed-cross">This Hell Was My Only Option</a>" documents the dangers and abuses suffered by the tens of thousands of migrants transiting through the Darién Gap. As the US pushes El Salvador and other countries to erect barriers to travel, those barriers push desperate migrants to take ever more dangerous routes. With the new tax, migrants may seek other ways to get flights to visa-free Nicaragua that do not pass through El Salvador, or they may return to making their way from transit points in South American and up through Darién. </p><p><br /></p><p></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com0