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El Salvador Today

By John Poole

At first glance, there seems to be a new, revitalized El Salvador emerging. The largest populated cities have much more to offer today's consumers compared with the wartime years and modern housing developments abound. With minor modifications, a tourist could easily be reminded of being in the United States.

With a deeper look into the situation, the reality becomes apparent. The people who can afford the consumer goods and the housing comprise a very small percentage of the population. The prices are astronomically high for Salvadorans.

Maybe the most significant observation of the current conditions in El Salvador is that the country is generally much calmer than it was before the signing of the Peace Accords in January of 1992. There is no more military presence and the leading problem these days is crime, such as groups of young men robbing people. There has been a partial re-emergence of death squad activity, but even the president of the country is denouncing it publicly, and perpetrators are being identified.

In rural sectors of the country that had been under FMLN protection, some of the smaller towns are doing appreciably better. The people now have running water and the beginnings of electricity. In the smaller areas where the ARENA Party still controls the local government, the people are still steeped in poverty. However, some political space is being created. Organizations with projects that have at least partial international support are evolving well. One group even received U.S AID money without the usual oppressive strings being attached.

While one week isn't long enough to get a complete sense of what's going on in the country, it was easy enough to get a sense of some of the changes that have occurred when compared with observations from a number of previous trips. The Salvadoran people and we in the solidarity movement need to continue to accompany one another. It's wonderful to see projects such as childrens' centers and small-scale, appropriate technological development doing well. And they will continue to do well as long as we remember to contribute our part to the effort.