Archive for February, 2011

4-6 de febrero 2011: La Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador, a través del Centro de Investigación de la Opinión Publica de El Salvador hizo una encuesta de las opiniones sobre aspectos políticos, económicos, y sociales.

La encuesta toca diferentes temas, aquí veremos solo unos de ellos:
Sobre la pregunta de la delincuencia, 72% de la gente Salvadoreña dicen que la delincuencia que existe mas es la delincuencia juvenil, los hurtos y robos, y el cobro de la renta. Hay una paradoja en las respuestas entre la mayoría de los salvadoreños. Aunque solo 28% de la gente han sido victimas de algún tipo de delincuencia, 82% dicen que la sociedad de El Salvador esta dominada por la delincuencia.

Sobre la pregunta de “qué institución le tenía mayor confianza para el combate a la delincuencia?” (la PNC o la Fuerza Armada) la gente Salvadoreña estaba 30% por la Fuerza Armada y 30% por ambas. Así que la gente le tiene mas confianza a la Fuerza Armada que en solamente la PNC.

Sobre el desempleo, 58% de hogares tienen por lo menos una persona de edad que no esta trabajando, y 58% de ellos no han trabajado por mas de un año. Según 45.5% de los entrevistados, la delincuencia y la situación económica de la gente son las problemas mas preocupantes.
¿Qué piensan la gente de Mauricio Funes como presidente? Aunque 71% considera que el presidente es popular por su estilo de gobernar y por su independencia a los lineamentos del partido, solo hay un 10% de diferencia entre los que van a votar por alcaldes y diputados de ARENA contra FMLN.

Para leer más sobre esta encuesta, visita el sitio del Centro de Investigacion de la Opinion Publica de El Salvador

The University of Technology in El Salvador has conducted its public opinion poll through the Center of Investigations covering political, economic, and social aspects (February 4-6, 2011)


According to the opinion polls taken this month in El Salvador, about 70% of the population agrees that the most typical forms of crime are juvenile delinquency, theft, and extortion. However, even though a large portion of the population believes the country is dominated by crime (82.3%), only 30% of the population has ever been a victim of such crimes. Another pressing issue for the Salvadoran community is their economic situation. 58% of families have at least one person of age that is currently unemployed, and of those 58%, 58% have not held a job in over a year. Most Salvadorans agree that crime and their economic status are the most difficult situations they currently facing.
When dealing with these crimes, the Salvadoran community chooses to trust more in the Armed Forces for protection that the PNC alone. 60% of the population agrees that either the Armed Forces alone, or the Armed Forces patrolling along side of the PNC is more favorable to the PNC patrolling on their own. This shows that the Salvadoran community is responding well to suggestions made by President Mauricio Funes.
As to who Salvadorans will vote for in upcoming elections, 70% of the population agrees that Mauricio Funes is popular due to his style of governing. However, when asked whether he is taking the country in the right direction, almost half say yes and the other half say he is not. When looking at who the population will potentially vote for during the elections for mayor and other representatives, there is about a 10% difference in favor of FMLN over ARENA.

To read this opinion poll and for more information, please visit the Center of Investigations for the Public Opinion of El Salvador

Cesar Villalona, a prestigious international economist, gives us a breakdown of the reports done by CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin American, of the United Nations) covering the social panorama in Latin America for 2010. 

The report discusses the changing rates of poverty in Latin America, the factors leading to these changes, and the economic effects these changes are having. The growing inequality between countries is one of the biggest findings in this report. As one will notice, graph 1.2 (p. 4) shows the variation in the cost of food increase, which has been relatively low for El Salvador, and relatively high in countries like Bolivia and Chile. However, when we compare the rates of poverty change from 2002 to 2009 on graph 1.3 (p. 9), countries like Chile, Bolivia, but especially those of Argentina and Venezuela have been able to decrease their poverty levels by large percentages. In 2002, Argentina’s poverty rates were about 45%, whereas now in 2009 they are at a low of only about 11%. 
El Salvador, on the other hand, has only decreased its poverty rates by 1% (48.9% in 2002 to 47.9% in 2009); the lowest change in all of Latina America! So we can see that, even though the cost of food has not increased dramatically in El Salvador, the rates of poverty are also not changing, but are in fact staying relatively high in comparison to other countries. 

To read the report and for more information please click HERE

Cesar Villalona, Economista de prestigio internacional, nos remite una direccion de los informes de la CEPAL (Comision Economica para America Latina, de las Naciones Unidas); sobre el panorama social en America Latina.

Tras este informe, se da a conocer la incidencia de la pobreza, cuanto ha aumentado o caído, los efectos de estos cambios, y los factores por los cuales han cambiado en los países de Latino América hasta el año 2010. Por ejemplo, se puede ver en el gráfico 1.2 (página 4) que entre los años 2006 y 2009, los precios de alimentos en países como El Salvador y Argentina no han aumentado tanto. En comparación, los países de Chile y Bolivia han aumentado sus precios mucho mas.

Estos datos están en conflicto con los que se encuentran en el gráfico 1.3 (pagina 9) en donde se ve los cambios en la pobreza en cada país entre 2002 y 2009. Viendo que Chile y Bolivia han aumentado sus precios de alimento, la razón nos sugiere pensar que la pobreza en estos países no ha caído tanto. Pero esto no es cierto. Como podemos ver en este gráfico, los países de Chile, Bolivia, y especialmente los de Argentina y Venezuela, han caído mucho relativamente.En 2002 la pobreza en Argentina era casi 48% y bajo hasta 11%! Al contrario, El Salvador no ha bajado mas que 1% en los siete años de estar bajo el gobierno de ARENA, al 48% en 2002 a 47% en 2009.

Por mas información y para leer este informe, visita ESTA pagina.

Our allies in the Cabañas environmental movement as well as the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining (the Mesa) are very concerned about a recent wave of death threats and crimes against members of El Salvador’s anti-mining movement as well as other violent crimes recently committed in Cabañas.  Similar crimes in 2009 that went uninvestigated, including robberies, kidnappings, and death threats against members of Radio Victoria, ADES, ASIC, and the CAC – all active organizations in Cabañas’ mining resistance –were a prelude to the murders of three activists, Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos. Please read more in-depth reports here and here.

Therefore, our allies are extremely concerned that the on-going state of impunity not only encourages the recent threats and crimes but could lead to more violence and murders in the near future.

Current situation:
•    In the middle of the night on January 11, a written death threat was pushed under the front door of community radio station Radio Victoria despite supposed 24-hour police security.  The authors claim to be an “extermination group” and offer large sums of money to the radio if they “stop making trouble,” including to stop reporting on mining.  If they don’t, the group says they will murder the radio’s three “loudest mouths,” Elvis Zavala, Pablo Ayala, and Manuel Navarrete.

•    On January 23, Mesa member and activist from MUFRAS-32 Hector Berríos received phone calls to his home and his cell phone from an unidentified person who claimed to have been hired to kill Hector or a member of his family. Read More »

For the first few weeks of 2011, SHARE received a delegation from the Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey. Nine students and two professors spent two weeks learning about communities express their faith here in El Salvador.  Listed below are some of their favorite quotes taken from the various individuals and groups we met with while they were here.

“People are not looking for the American dream, they are fleeing the Central American nightmare.”-Dean Brackley S.J. about immigration Read More »