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SHARE’s Grassroots Weekly Update
Association of Rural Communities for Development
in El Salvador
CRIPDES- San Vicente
5/19/06
by Noel Andersen
THE LAND RIGHTS STRUGGLE
 (Photo:
“The families of the Coastal sector who
have land demand legal titles.”
Bajo Lempa communities demand rights outside
of ISTA central office)
In a past article I touched on the topic of
land rights which has recently become a heated
issue within the San Vicente region over the
last month. As many of you know, the communities
of CRIPDES are mainly displaced people who lost
their housing, family, friends or whole communities
during the Civil War. Many came to the San Vicente
in 1986 where each community was allocated land
by a branch of the government called the Salvadoran
Institute of Agrarian Reform (ISTA). This land
was not a gift, but rather each individual was
meant to pay ISTA for their property. When land
owners make regular payment or pay off their
loans they should receive an official title
from ISTA legally demonstrating that they are
the owners.
The main problem that CRIPDES has been focusing
on is the failure of ISTA to sign off and give
legal titles of land ownership to the people
who have already paid, or have been consistently
making payments. Without having the legal documentation
of entitlement, communities cannot legally build
on their own land. Likewise they struggle to
fundraise to international organizations or
efficiently enact development projects because
it is always necessary to demonstrate the legal
status of the land ownership.
Why doesn’t ISTA give the land titles
if the people are paying, or have paid already?
This is the central question and there are a
few different possible reasons. Some feel ISTA’s
lack of action is due to the political division
within El Salvador, where rural communities
from a political persuasion different from that
of government are further marginalized and discriminated
against. Furthermore, the government’s
party, ARENA, is known for holding the issue
of land entitlement as a leverage point during
elections, but not following through once in
office.
Others believe the Salvadoran government is
looking to sell the land for a greater price
now that the Central American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA) has been implemented and foreign investors
have greater incentives to start new industry
or agro-business in the San Vicente territory.
Whatever the reasons behind ISTA’s failure
to uphold their commitment, CRIPDES has been
organizing the communities they support to put
greater pressure on ISTA for appropriate land
title allocation. Marina Diaz of CRIPDES has
been heading up the land rights project, funded
by the Swiss NGO, Assistant Works, by conducting
research in each community to gather specific
details for a formal complaint.
 On
May 4th, CRIPDES organized an assembly to educate
the involved communities about their rights.
Community leaders from Milagro de Dios, Santa
Cruz, Santa Marta, Tres de Marzo and more attended
the assembly where CRIPDES’ lawyer, Marlene
Contraras, attended to each community’s
specific legal case. All community leaders had
a chance to speak, and together they developed
a plan to denounce ISTA’s lack of response
in a unified demonstration at ISTA’s central
office in San Salvador, culminating in the delivery
of a formal letter of complaint with specific
details regarding each community’s case.
(Photo: Marina Diaz and Don Carlos explain
to the press the lack of ISTA´s action
to give land rights)
On May 15th the official denouncement and demonstration
took place in front of ISTA’s main office.
Holding banners that demanded land rights, and
speaking publicly about the issue, the protesters
drew attention. News reporters arrived and interviewed
both Marina Diaz of CRIPDES and Don Carlos from
the Achote community, who explained the unjust
lack of action by ISTA . Later on that evening
the denouncement was shown on the evening news
(see Don Carlos´ commentary below).
CRIPDES will continue to fight for land entitlement
rights so that its communities can fundraise
themselves and implement their own development
projects without the fear of losing control
over the land they rightfully own.
EMERGENCY PREVENTION
CRIPDES continues to work on the levy reconstruction
process to assure community safety from floods.
The San Vicente region is particular vulnerable
as Hurricane Mitch and Stan have proved in the
past.
(Photo: Mayor Simon Amaya and CRIPDES´
Marina Diaz talk to construction workers about
levy progress.)
On May 16th Marina Diaz and I went with Tecoluca’s
Mayor Simon Amaya and his council to survey
the levy conditions from San Nicolas Lempa (past
San Carlos Lempa aprox. 4 miles). We visited
all three reconstruction sites and noted the
construction progress was moving along at a
decent rate, however, at times there has been
a struggle to find workers because of the low
pay of six dollars per cubic metric of stone
fill, a significant amount of work. As a result,
the construction process is moving slower and
workers are coming all the way from the Santa
Ana or Ahuachapan prvinces.
Although the largest breaks in the levy from
Hurricane Stan are being repaired, we found
a small break in the levy of ten square feet
that has not been worked on at all. We also
noticed several spots along the levy that showed
damage from cattle crossings which took out
as much as three to five feet of the levy side.
Each site of damage was marked by the Mayor’s
council and by CRIPDES, who will inform the
engineers of these missing reconstruction areas.
HEALTH
CRIPDES and PROVIDA were able to put together
a very successful health clinic in Milagro de
Dios on May 17th. Over two hundred people had
the opportunity to consult with a doctor and
receive medication free of charge. Part of the
consultations attended especially to women’s
needs where a free vaginal exam was available,
complete with prescribed medications to treat
infections. Apart from medicines, free vitamin
supplements were given to promote good health
and prevent future illness.
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