El Salvador: Brief History and Context
Contents:
Thank you for coming and on behalf of the SHARE Foundation , welcome to El Salvador!
A Bit of Background
Poverty in El Salvador is perhaps best understood in the context of the testimonies of those who lived and died in their struggle for justice. That struggle has deep roots in the faith communities in El Salvador and the United States. During the 1970s many in the Catholic Church made important changes in their commitment to the poor. Progressive priests began to follow the lead of the 1968 Latin American Bishops Conference in Medellin, Columbia, in which the Bishops stated that their pastoral work and accompaniment would begin to take a “preferential option for the poor.” In El Salvador, Christians began to form “Ecclesial Base Communities” to study the Bible and reflect on their own reality. Through this process of reading, reflecting, acting, and evaluating, thousands of poor farmers who had been oppressed for years began to find hope in the Gospel’s message. The Christian Base Communities led the way in the struggle for social and economic justice and for the creation of God’s Kingdom on Earth.
During the 1970s, El Salvador still had a near feudal land system. Only two percent of the country’s population controlled 60 percent of the arable land. The economy was based on exporting cotton, sugar cane and coffee, and these crops were grown on the very best land. The poor were relegated to grow corn on hillsides or were given small plots of land on the haciendas where they worked cash crops. At the end of each harvest, they were required to give a portion of their crop to the landowner. The gross injustices produced by this system created a tension that resulted in civil war.
Before and during the civil war, terror reigned, as death squads tortured and killed those who spoke out for justice. A strong actor in the struggle for dignity was Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was known as the voice of the poorest people in El Salvador. Although he began his position with some reservations, he quickly became aware of the pain and suffering of God’s people. He began to speak out against the repression, calling for an end to U.S. military aid to El Salvador. These efforts earned him the love of the people and the hatred of the military. On Sunday, March 23, 1980, Romero said the following in his homily:
"Brothers, you are killing your own brothers. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such an abomination...In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression!"
On Monday, March 24, 1980, Romero was shot while blessing Holy Communion by a professional assassin from the death squad. Before his death, Romero said that if he was killed, he would be resurrected in the Salvadoran people. His life has become a symbol of hope for social justice amongst the poor in El Salvador.
Four churchwomen from the United States were also martyred in this campaign of terror. Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan were supporting efforts to assist refugees in 1980. The four were raped and killed by government forces who had labeled them as subversives. Their lives and deaths demonstrated a strong commitment to the poor. These martyrs have never been forgotten among those who work for social justice in El Salvador and beyond. Their sacrifice calls us to keep our eyes open to the injustices in the world and to live as servants to the poorest of the poor.
In 1992, the Peace Accords brought an end to the civil war. Important changes were made in El Salvador’s political system that have made it possible for opposition political parties to participate openly in elections and day-to-day political life. However, the Peace Accords were less successful in addressing the economic roots that led to the war. While 35,000 landless peasants received small parcels of land, the country simultaneously implemented a series of anti-family farm policies that have categorically reduced the probability of success for small farms. Today, El Salvador is still marked by inequities that inspired Christians of good faith like Oscar Romero, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan to struggle for justice two and a half decades ago.
SHARE works with our partners to develop strategies that address structural issues and to formulate solutions that are long-term and sustainable. Following the example of Romero and the four US Churchwomen, SHARE works to give voice to those who are marginalized in El Salvador so that they can create their own answers to poverty and underdevelopment. With this background, we use the following pages to present the current political and economic context of El Salvador, in order to better understand the injustices that still persist and some possible solutions.
Politics in El Salvador
 Most of the government in El Salvador is still controlled by the ARENA political party. The ARENA political party is well known for organizing the death squads in the 1980s. Roberto D’Aubisson founded both the ARENA political party and the death squads. The United Nations Truth Commission found him to be responsible, among other atrocities, for the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. ARENA came to power in the mid-1980s and has maintained their grip on politics in El Salvador ever since. It is important to note that ARENA promotes the interests of the wealthy in El Salvador, many of whom play active roles within the party.
 The major opposition party is the FMLN, the former guerrilla resistance legalized just after the signing of the Peace Accords in 1992. This party is recognized as historically representing the values and the needs of El Salvador’s poor majority. After a rough start in the 1994 elections, the FMLN faired better in 1997, winning just under half of the seats in the legislative assembly which gave them the ability to make changes at the legislative level by working in coalition with other center and progressive parties.
The 2004 elections were full of twists and turns. A campaign of intimidation and misinformation by the far right in El Salvador, and also supported by high ranking U.S. officials, dominated the electoral process. Although the FMLN was able to double the number of votes it received in 1999, the ARENA presidential candidate, Tony Saca, still won by a margin of 20 percent over FMLN candidate Shafik Handal. Due to a lack of access to quality voter education in rural and marginalized urban areas, ARENA controlled most of the vote among the very poor. Also, the highly publicized internal division within the FMLN caused, and has continued to cause a decline in confidence in the party. In addition, ARENA capitalized on the public association of Handal as a leader in the civil war. Since Saca had no previous record, ARENA portrayed Handal as “stuck in the past” and Saca as the candidate for the future. Finally, the FMLN’s campaign was complicated by the fact that Saca maintains a close relationship with the media. He owns many major radio stations, and is aligned with two newspapers and the three most prominent television stations.
Other aspects of the 2004 election have raised new concerns for the future of participatory democracy in El Salvador. As a result of the Peace Accords, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) was created to monitor campaign activity. During the 2004 campaigns, several complaints were brought before the TSE regarding fear tactics used by the ARENA party such as convincing families of immigrants that their relatives would be deported or limited in their ability to send home their earnings if the FMLN won. In addition, complaints were made about abusive propaganda campaigns, bias in the news media, and even violent threats on the part of political parties. These violations of the electoral code, were not responded to by the TSE. Then, in October of 2005, a series of reforms to the electoral code were made that put decisions about the functioning of electoral organizations in fewer and fewer hands, which is another threat to transparency. These issues raise concern to those who are interested in a truly democratic process for El Salvador.
The fourth consecutive ARENA administration under President Saca has been marked by increasing levels of poverty and immigration. President Saca has taken populist actions in order to minimize public discontent, while at the same time stepping up his publicity campaign to create a virtual reality that exists only in the news media. Every week President Saca presents a new social plan and a summary of his weekly activities. As a career journalist, he offers frequent interviews to TV and radio stations and to newspapers and has mounted a large-scale advertising campaign advertising his administration as the “government with a human touch”. His image among many facets of society is constantly improving, while extreme poverty an immigration continues to increase.
In March 2006, municipal elections for mayors and local officials in El Salvador will be held. Campaigning has already begun for this race with prominent billboards displaying the ARENA message throughout San Salvador. These advertisements encourage voters to “team up” with the president and elect more ARENA officials. Lamp posts and street curbs are painted with the ARENA and FMLN colors, indicating to everyone that and election will soon take place. Salvadoran legal organizations and many members of civil society have asked that the international community, which supported democracy and peace in El Salvador so strongly at the end of the civil war, to pay close attention to the March elections in order to assure that everyone has a right to vote without fear. SHARE will monitor the electoral process and provide accompaniment and advocacy throughout the coming months.
Economic and Social Realities in El Salvador
o talk about economics in El Salvador today is to talk of contradictions. At the macro-economic level everything seems as though the nation is prospering, but the majority of the population is still living in poverty! Some people call this rising poverty the “economic bullets” that kill Salvadorans today as opposed to the physical bullets, which used to kill them during the war. Of course it is harder to recognize these bullets, but people are dying just the same, just more slowly as a result of hunger, lack of employment, and desperation.
A term that is heard a lot in El Salvador is “neo-liberal economics.” In theory, neo-liberal economic policies are meant to increase overall national wealth through an increase in foreign investment, flexibilization of the labor market, a shift from state to private ownership, and a shift in the role of the state away from being a provider of basic services. In practice, the effects of these policies are varied, and while increasing the Gross Domestic Product of nations, they also often create huge disparity between the rich and the poor. These economic policies are the policies currently being sponsored by international agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the U.S. government.
Circumstances that Affect People’s Livelihoods
 Poverty in El Salvador is mainly concentrated in the rural sector. There are three main problems that confront rural dwellers today: The first is a major change in the dynamic of rural economies. From 1980 to 2000 rural employment in non-farming activities rose from 39% to 53% and is now a larger portion of the economy than farming activity. In this dramatic shift, agricultural exports generated only 11% in 2000 contrasted by 80% in 1978. This shift has a lot to do with a lack of access to land and the flexibilization of the labor market. Unfortunately, most people in rural areas do not have the education to be upwardly mobile and are left with the option of working in the maquiladoras or sweatshops, migrating, or remaining unemployed and without livelihoods.
The second major challenge facing Salvadorans today is the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). There are several specific aspects of CAFTA that cause alarm to SHARE’s sisters and brothers in El Salvador. CAFTA, like most free trade agreements, makes it illegal for governments to charge a higher tax to foreign companies than it does to domestic companies. While this may encourage more foreign investment, it also lowers the revenue of the national government, which in turn would lead to a decrease in social programs. The absence of taxes also means that prices on goods produced in the United States will no longer be higher than those produced in El Salvador. Therefore, farmers in El Salvador are competing on the same playing field with farmers from the United States. However, land ownership, access to credit, and subsidies give some large U.S. Agro Corporations, major advantages over Salvadoran farmers. So although prices may be equal, the competition will be very unequal. CAFTA also diminishes the role of the state to improve the lives of its citizens by making privatization of several goods and services obligatory. This can have devastating effects on the poor because some basic services are left to unpredictable shifts in market prices, and can become financially unfeasible for the very poor. These among other aspects of CAFTA make it threatening to the poor of Central America.
In December of 2004, CAFTA was pushed through the Salvadoran Legislature in the middle of the night in order to avoid protests. Many other Central American Countries and the Dominican Republic soon followed. Then, against unprecedented opposition from the American public, the US Congress passed CAFTA by just two votes on July 28, 2005. Currently, Costa Rica is the only Central American Nation which has yet to ratify the agreement. SHARE continues to monitor the trade agreement as it is put into place, and to support the fight against CAFTA in Costa Rica.
The third aspect which puts additional pressure on Salvadoran families is the precarious situation that remittances create. Remittances are payments sent from Salvadorans working abroad (in the United States or elsewhere) to their families back in El Salvador. To send remittances to their families, one member will cross (often illegally) into the United States, which is a perilous journey that many never complete, and work, sometimes for many years, without seeing their family or returning home. This is very hard, both for the individual who leaves and for the families and communities who are left behind. Ironically, remittances are what give ES a somewhat gilded appearance of wealth. With one-fourth of Salvadorans living abroad, (90% of whom are in the United States), and roughly 500 people leaving the country daily, remittances are the number two source of foreign exchange for El Salvador. Remittances may be providing material wealth for people right now, but they are clearly not a sustainable way to build a society. It’s like building a house on a foundation of sand.
Circumstances that Demonstrate the Vulnerability of the Poor
Throughout El Salvador, environmental degradation is an enormous problem. Deforestation, contaminated rivers, industrial pollution and heavy use of pesticides by small and large farmers alike are just a few of the things that put the delicate eco-system at risk. Only two per cent of El Salvador’s virgin forests are left, and the UNDP has declared it the most deforested nation in the world. In addition, mismanagement of hydroelectric dams further exacerbates issues of flooding in river basins all over El Salvador. With most of El Salvador’s poorest citizens living in rural areas, their dependence on the environment for livelihood makes them the most vulnerable to the costs of environmental destruction.
 In early October of 2005, the entire country, and especially the southern and western regions, were hit by a dual disaster. On Sunday, October 1, the government issued a red emergency alert when the Ilamantepec Volcano erupted, causing a shower of ash, sulfur, and volcanic igneous rock along with mudslides. Many coffee crops were damaged in the Ahuachapán, Santa Ana and Sonsonate regions as a result, and many families were evacuated from their homes. This eruption came in the midst of two weeks of heavy rains, culminating in Hurricane Stan. This precipitation, when paired with already saturated land and erosion caused by deforestation, caused countless mudslides, especially in marginalized communities. These mudslides resulted in 65 deaths. In El Salvador, natural disasters like Hurricanes Mitch in 1998, earthquakes in 2001, and Hurricane Stan have demonstrated the real disaster, that the Salvadoran government and the global economy have shunned the poor.
 Another initiative, being undertaken by the Governments of Central America and Mexico and financed by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, currently threatens to further damage the environment, as well as the livelihoods of poor people in El Salvador, while neglecting to address the infrastructure needed for sustainable development. Stretching from Puebla, Mexico through southern Panama, The Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) is a 25-year, $10 billion plan that consists mainly of highways running north and south along the coastlines, (known as “Dry Canals”) or connecting highways running east and west throughout Central America and through major cities, and deep water ports that support heavy freighters. These construction projects will create the infrastructure that is necessary for a large import-export center. In other words, this is a plan to literally pave the way for CAFTA to be implemented.
These projects will be very helpful for the growth of multinational companies, which will help the very rich in Central America and in the United States. However, they will do little to help the poor. The projects that have already begun have caused extensive environmental damage. In El Salvador, the “San Salvador Beltway” construction has caused mudslides that have destroyed homes and communities. During the flooding that followed Hurricane Stan in October of 2005, many living near the construction were among the hardest hit. In addition to all of this, the people of Central America will be paying off the debt incurred by these projects in the form of higher taxes for decades to come. Popular resistance has grown against the destructive nature of this undertaking. The way that this grand scale project can literally plow over the lives of poor people is evidence of the low importance that this government places on its poor citizens and deteriorated environment. (Pictured above, a woman protests the San Salvador Beltway with a sign that says “It is unfair for the president to destroy the homes of the poor in order to build a highway for the rich.”)
Another threat to El Salvador’s fragile environment and to the health of thousands of its people is the powerful mining industry. In the end of 2005, a joint project by two Canadian companies, Au Martinique Silver, Inc. and Pacific Rim, a branch of Intrepid Minerals began. Au Martinique is a new company that has claims in the Chalatenango region, in the northern part of the country. Pacific Rim has previously mined in El Salvador, but now has new claims in San Isidro, in the department of Cabañas. The companies have been granted 23 licenses for the exploration and exploitation of possible gold and silver concentrations by the Salvadoran Office of Mining and Hydrocarbons.
Community members in these areas assert that mining will not improve the long term economic situations in Chalatenango and San Isidro. Even though these projects would introduce new job opportunities, the companies project that only 300 Salvadorans would be temporarily employed. These will not be quality jobs, however, since the companies bring their own workers for the more technical, better paid jobs. After the mines are depleted, the companies would leave the region in a worse situation than it is in now: jobs in the mining operation will end, leaving communities again without employment, and workers and communities will live with the environmental effects of the mines. The Association for Social and Economic Development (ADES), a Salvadoran NGO, confirmed the fears of residents by stating that the waste from the mining will pollute local water supplies with arsenic, cyanide, and aluminum residue. This waste would not only adversely affect the already fragile state of local agriculture and fisheries, but would also put the health of nearly 10,000 people at risk. The communities of the region of Chalatenango and Cabañas, along with their brothers and sisters throughout El Salvador, Central America, and the international community, are banding together to stop the mining initiatives before they put their environment and health at risk.
The majority of poor Salvadorans today still do not have adequate houses, the proper tools to farm, or access to dignified jobs. One of the strongest signals of injustice is that people who work very, very hard, cannot get ahead! Here people work from sun up to sun down - but salaries are not enough to get by, much less save up for a rainy day. In ES you will pass through urban and rural slums. Poverty is vivid - people living in shacks made of tin, cardboard, and sticks. You will see dirty drinking water, children with distended stomachs from disease, and hunger in many faces. But you will also see incredible mansions, imported cars, US restaurants, and stores. This provides ample material for reflection. Why does a small minority have a lot of material wealth, while the overwhelming majority live in abject poverty?
Circumstances that Threaten Human Rights
Another indicator of desperation in El Salvador is the rise in crime (with roughly 9-13 homicides daily). The government has responded to this by creating the Anti-Maras (gang) Act, or the “Supermanodura” (hard handed) laws, as they are often called. These laws give more freedom to the police to make arrests on suspicion rather than probable cause. They also allow fines for anyone found who does not have their identification on them or youth who happen to be in groups of five or more. In addition, they allow children to be tried as adults. The political weight that these laws hold is affecting the ability of judges to act independently of influential politicians. Many of these laws not only violate provisions made in the Salvadoran Constitution, but also break international treaties that were made during the peace accords through the United Nations. The enforcement of these laws has resulted in a prison crisis, and there is no more room to put all of the prisoners. This situation has been exacerbated by the deportation of many Salvadoran American gang members to El Salvador by the U.S. authorities. The combination of a generation of youth who have grown up in a war torn country and the failure of the Salvadoran government to create economic opportunity for impoverished youth has created a monster, but the government is fighting back with laws that will set a precedent of disrespect for the constitution and international law.
Some reactions to this social violence have fostered more violence. During 2005 many institutions, including the UCA, FESPAD (an NGO which monitors legal rights in El Salvador), and the Office of the Human Rights Ombudswoman, have publicly stated their suspicion of the existence of “social cleansing” or “extermination” groups that operate similarly to the way the death squads did during the civil war. These groups target marginal populations such as sex workers and gang members, sometimes torturing and murdering them.
Despite such a sad history throughout the civil war, politically motivated crime has not stopped in El Salvador. Many deaths occur each month that seem to have a political flavor to them, and these crimes often go without sufficient investigation. In November of 2004, a Salvadoran-American Teamster going to Central America to visit his family and organize container workers, José Gilberto Soto - was killed in his family’s home. Then, in late January of 2005, Manuel de Jesús Martinez, a guard at the Lutheran University, which has often been recognized for its work towards social justice, was tortured and then hung in the entryway of the university. Also in January, a family was massacred in El Porvenir, a community in San Vicente. Then, on March 15, El Porvenir was terrorized once again when a heavily armed and masked police brigade stormed into the community around 3am and raided several homes. As they were leaving, they arrested three men, among them Francisco Lopez, the President of CRIPDES San Vicente, charging him with preposterous accusations of cattle theft and drug trafficking. These killings, and suspicious arrests, along with many others, indicate that politically motivated intimidation is still alive and well in the country. In March of 2005, SHARE delegates who visited El Salvador in memory of Archbishop Romero visited the United States Embassy in order to ask the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Douglas Barclay to take action on this issue. Unfortunately, to our knowledge, the Ambassador has not yet attended the concerns expressed in that meeting.
In early summer of 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that plans are underway to create an International Law Enforcement Agency (ILEA) in El Salvador. In the past, many such agencies have been established in geographic areas where US intervention has had a much lower profile. They provide training for police officers as well as other judicial officials. The US State Department has attempted to set up an ILEA in Panama and in Costa Rica in recent years, both of these efforts failed. After learning of the proposed agency in El Salvador, a coalition of Salvadoran activists and organizations rallied outside the national assembly and officially proposed that Congress overturn the law that allows the ILEA to be there, but on July 25th, trainings began without authorization from the congress. SHARE remains active in the process of monitoring this initiative.
Perhaps the most important figure in El Salvador when it comes to human rights is Beatrice de Carillo, the Human Rights Ombudswoman. Dr. Carillo is a lawyer, author, and university professor. She moved to El Salvador from Italy in 1968, holds citizenship in both countries, and is the mother of three. Together with the late Jesuit priest, Fr. Ignacio Ellacuria, the Ombudswoman founded the Department of Law at the Central American University (UCA). In 1989 during El Salvador’s civil war, following the assassination of Fr. Ellacuria, Dr. Carrillo was forced to flee El Salvador. Two years later she returned to El Salvador to continue practicing law and served as an international consultant.
Over the course of the past year, the Ombudswoman has been the target of ongoing death threats and public slander. In addition, she has not been able to count on the support of her own government for support of her office. For example, on April 28th, 2005, the national police force detained staff from her office while they were doing their jobs by observing the process of deportation of Dr. Pedro Banchon, an Ecuadorian consultant for the union of social security doctors. Despite the risk and difficulty of her position, she continues to be a tireless advocate for human rights in El Salvador and the Americas. In March of 2005, SHARE sponsored a tour with Dr. Carillo to the U.S. Congress. As a result of that tour, many members of Congress have supported a “Dear Collegue” letter directed to the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Douglas Barclay, denouncing these death threats and asking him to take action.
Signs of Hope
With the disheartening panorama, it is easy to get frustrated. But El Salvador’s people and those who care around the world continue to be at the forefront of a grassroots movement that is capable of moving mountains! Here are some examples of their accomplishments:
Emerging Civil Society: One thing that builds democracy is a variety of arenas from which differing opinions can be expressed. Examples in the United States are clubs like Social Justice Committees, Political Action Groups, the Rotary Club, and even Student Governments. Also, movements like the women’s or civil rights movements and labor organizing have asked for more inclusion on political discourse, challenging how many nations have conceptualized democracy. These arenas help to build civil society by fostering leadership, and a diversity of viewpoints.
There are several facets of civil society emerging in El Salvador today. Last year, a new coalition formed in which long-time SHARE partners CONFRAS, CRIPDES and other organizations have created the Popular Resistance Movement 12th of October (MPR-12). The MPR-12 has played a key role in mobilizing Salvadoran civil society in opposition to the privatization of public health care and free trade policies. They employ direct action and advocacy through activities such as organizing gatherings of protesters, peacefully demonstrating in the streets, and meeting with the United States Congress and Salvadoran Legislature. The MPR-12 also played a key role in organizing the V Foro Mesoamericano (5th Mesoamerican Forum), which was an opportunity for many actors in civil society throughout Mesoamerica to come together and draw on one another’s experience and enthusiasm. These movements raise social consciousness about a variety of issues affecting the poor and marginalized, such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and the Plan Puebla Panama.
Civil society organizations in both the United States and Central America were key in the two-year long advocacy fight against CAFTA. Although the vote was lost, the debate was won. It is striking that CAFTA was passed by a mere two votes, in spite of intense pressure from the White House. Most news services are covering the vote not as a victory for free trade advocates, but instead as a harbinger of even closer votes when Congress turns its attention to future trade agreements, such as a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which is a free trade agreement that would encompass all the countries of Latin America. This could not have been accomplished without the incredible network of solidarity that was created in both the US and El Salvador.
Civil society has also been extremely effective in responding to disaster situations, often picking up where the government has left off. After the 2001 earthquakes, the Tecoluca Municipal Development Committee brought international recognition to its devastated municipality. It not only accepted the challenge of reconstruction, but also decided to use the opportunity to implement a 25-year plan to build a new and stronger Tecoluca, with more employment and income opportunities, more stable homes, better services for its inhabitants, and heightened citizen participation and municipal democracy. More recently, in the wake of Hurricane Stan and the eruption of Volcano Ilamatapec, less affected communities and CRIPDES regions banded together to support their brothers and sisters in devastated areas, collecting supplies and providing support through their organizational connections. SHARE strongly believes in the role that civil society plays in building a just future for El Salvador and beyond.
Fair Trade: SHARE believes that there are viable alternatives to free trade and we promote fair trade. A just trade balance would consist of several changes to the way trade agreements are currently written. One important pillar of that balance would be the enforcement of international labor standards designated by the United Nations. A second part would involve making important changes to export subsidies on the part of US and other first world agriculture. These subsidies allow companies to dump goods on foreign economies and therefore could never be thought of as “fair”. Finally, democratic involvement of all parties that would be affected by trade is indispensable. A fair trade agreement must include protection of local power to control investment, labor, and environmental conservation within its borders. We envision a fair trade model as an alternative that could be both profitable and just for Central America and beyond.
It is very helpful to look at the success of fair trade coffee when we consider the potential of fair trade. For example, Equal Exchange, the largest fair trade company in the US, specializes in providing high quality coffee products by working with cooperatives in Central America. Their partner in El Salvador, APECAFE, (The Association of Small Coffee Producers of El Salvador) represents 11 coffee cooperatives. They provide a range of services to their members, such as commercialization, financing, and technical assistance in environmentally sustainable farming practices. APECAFE also works with the cooperatives to resolve other problems facing their communities, such as the task of reconstruction following the series of earthquakes in 2001 that destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure of the co-ops. Equal Exchange has supported APECAFE since its founding in 1998. These relationships have been, and continue to be, both profitable and just, proving that it is possible to build a successful business on a foundation of mutual respect. To demonstrate the process of fair trade as opposed to free trade, the diagrams below show the path of coffee as it goes from the farmer to your cup.
On the whole, fair trade is one response to the threat that unchecked free trade poses to the rural poor of El Salvador. It is also something tangible that you can do to show your solidarity with El Salvador. While in El Salvador, you will have the opportunity to purchase fair trade materials at a market at the University of Central America. See the end of this document for ways to buy fair trade coffee as well as artisan materials when you get back home.
With this background, it is clear that despite the hardships and challenges, this is a period of much hope for El Salvador. As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of the four churchwomen, we are remembering the roots of our own involvement in the struggles for justice, and we are reaffirming our commitment to build a just and more peaceful future for the next generations. We are united in a belief that a better El Salvador, indeed, a better world, is possible.
A Pound of Free Trade Coffee
 Farmer receives about 25 cents from buyer
 Coffee is Imported to the U.S. for about 61 cents
 Coffee is Roasted and Sold to the Coffee Company
 Your Retailer buys it from the Roaster and sells it for about $10.00
A Pound of Fair Trade Coffee
 Farmer Receives 90 cents from Cooperative
 Cooperative Sells to Fair Trade Company for $1.26
 Fair Trade Company Roasts Coffee and Sells it to you for $6.00
On the whole, fair trade is one response to the threat that unchecked free trade poses to the rural poor of El Salvador. It is also something tangible that you can do to show your solidarity with El Salvador. While in El Salvador, you will have the opportunity to purchase fair trade materials at a market at the University of Central America. See the end of this document for ways to buy fair trade coffee as well as artisan materials and other products when you get back home.
With this background, it is clear that despite what may seem like dismal circumstances, this is a period of much hope for El Salvador. As the SHARE Foundation celebrates its 25 th Anniversary, we are remembering the roots of their own involvement in the struggles for justice, and reaffirming our commitment to build brighter futures for the next generations.
What will make a difference for El Salvador?
 “Those who wish to treat with charity that which must be treated with justice make a caricature of true loving action.”- Archbishop Oscar Romero
To empower the poor is to accompany them physically and spiritually, financially and politically as they create their own solutions to change the structures that keep them poor. This has been SHARE’s mission for almost twenty-five years.
We believe that accompaniment through faith, creation of friendship, and relationship building is transformative and sustains the struggle for justice. When partner delegations come to visit their sister parish or community, people establish a relationship - a sense of knowing that there are others in a different place of the world with which they have an intimate relationship based on faith and friendship. This is particularly important for the Salvadorans who may feel like they have been forgotten - that nobody is concerned about the poverty, the continuing violence and the aftermath of war. An important role of the SHARE sistering partnership program is to accompany Salvadorans and to create a link of understanding and compassion with people.
Another important way SHARE walks with the Salvadoran people is through advocacy accompaniment. During the war years, our responsibility was to demand respect for basic human rights, to stop US funding to the Salvadoran military and government and to pay attention to the social and economic causes of the war. Today, we continue to advocate with our partners for policies that will change the structural underpinnings of poverty. This may mean challenging the multilateral lending institutions or the Salvadoran government to include the voices of the poor in their decision-making processes.
Sometimes the needs of communities or regions call for a material response, such as money gathered to support a community organizing project, to pay for a teacher or to provide sewing machines for the craft-training project. There are many important material needs that our solidarity can support. Perhaps in supporting the profound needs of the poor, we could contribute a small amount of money to provide for a nurse in a community. Maybe we could donate a piece of farm machinery or even donate desks to a small country school. But then if you ask yourself two questions: First, are your children going to have to return in 15 years in order to replace the material support you would provide? Second, who is ultimately responsible for providing those things for this community in any nation, who should provide basic services for the population? Is it our responsibility? When you look at the root causes, we see a larger responsibility – that of the Salvadoran government and our own government.
For example, Maria Madre de los Pobres is a poor urban community that has inadequate access to health care, education, housing or roads. SHARE may suggest that this is an opportunity to accompany this parish by supporting a community project and a chance to advocate with the community as they articulate their own needs for structural change. We would stand together with our sisters and brothers as they addressed the Salvadoran government and let them know that they have a responsibility, which is to provide basic services and infrastructure for hard-working people so that they can live with dignity.
About The SHARE Foundation : Building a New El Salvador Today
Our model for development manifests itself in many forms. On the ground in El Salvador, we have our Local Development and Advocacy Programs. They are focused in two geographical areas. Our first target zone, where we have worked for a decade, is the Bajo Lempa, located in the departments of San Vicente and Usulután in southern El Salvador. In 2001, we began to work in a new target zone, Chalchuapa, Santa Ana and Atriquizaya, Ahuachapán located in the northwest part of the country. The advocacy program also works in San Salvador in solidarity with the Association of Communities Affected by the San Salvador Beltway (ACAP), the MPR-12 and other local partners. These programs work to fund local initiatives that promote women’s empowerment, leadership development, and citizen participation.
Our Grassroots Program in El Salvador works to partner churches, schools and groups in the United States with five rural regions in central and southern El Salvador. These regions are organized by our counterpart, CRIPDES. In each region, we support the work of youth and women’s committees that are creating new opportunities for the empowerment of their members and communities.
In the U.S., our grassroots work centers on advocacy and organizing in the Washington D.C. Office. From there, SHARE works to monitor policymaking and keep folks in the U.S. informed about current issues and how it may affect our brothers and sisters in El Salvador. This office works to provide educational materials, such as our list serve, which allow those in the United States to stay involved with El Salvador. In addition, we build and maintain relationships with other organizations working toward similar goals. This grassroots advocacy makes it possible for SHARE to make its voice heard to Congress and the multi-lateral financial institutions in support of the people of El Salvador.
The National Office for the SHARE Foundation is located in San Francisco and is the central point where fundraising and administration for all three offices takes place. This office provides supports for all of our work in both the United States and El Salvador. Finally, our three offices and several programs work together with a united vision to promote economic and social justice that will help bring a better future to El Salvador.
Now that you have learned all about the economic, social, and political context of El Salvador, and have a background on the vision and method of SHARE, you are ready for a journey that is sure to be exciting, challenging, and maybe life-changing! We are very excited that you have chosen to experience El Salvador with SHARE, and we will do anything in our power to be sure that you have an enjoyable stay. On behalf of the entire SHARE Foundation, thank you for your visit and your commitment to “El Pueblo Salvadoreño” (The Salvadoran People)!!
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