San Jose Las Flores' second battle  

Since the war, Chalatenango has fostered a reputation of being a highly organized and united region in the face of both internal and external conflicts. Guerilla activity in the area was an especially strong and tight movement, with a military discipline that kept the Salvadorian army on their toes. Over the years, as guerilla operations slickened, so did the organization amongst the population who had stayed in El Salvador and took shelter in the folds of Chalate's mountains.  Survival depended on quick and efficient communication, and on the creation of a united body that could defy forces that seemed greater than them. The nature of the Chalatecos has not changed, and the region has preserved the fighting spirit that carried them through the twelve years of war. One community that has retained this spirit in its most visible and pertinent form is San Jose Las Flores, and continues to be a leading example as it faces new threats to the wellbeing of its people and its land. Las Flores was also the first place where the CCR met and worked, operating from a small and hidden building so as not to be detected or detained by the government. Their current Junta Directiva (Town Council), now in its second year, is a testimony to the coordination of efforts and values that makes San Jose Las Flores what it is.

Jose Felipe Tobar Arce, the junta's president, has behind him a long history of organizational work, having been responsible for the distribution of food and basic services to repopulating communities in 1987, and having worked with the CCR for over eight years. This experience is at once noted in the Las Flores junta, as it works to strengthen the organization within the community and the different committees that make up the junta, such as the committees of health, education and women. The junta's main priorities are to create sustainable alternatives of employment and making sure that projects do not fall through. One project that fulfills both of these priorities is the promotion of tourism at the Rio Sumpul, a river that runs from Cabañas, a department south of Chalatenango, right up to and along the Honduran border. This project is highly advantageous to the people of Las Flores, as not only does it keep the river and its surrounding area clean and protected, but it also generates employment. The junta has supported the construction of a restaurant, a shop and toilets, and has also helped with the building of a community centre, rented out to other businesses who wish to hold training days or workshops. This entire riverside complex is run by the people of Las Flores. Another project is the creation of the cooperative AGROPECUARIA Los Almendros; a stretch of land used to sell milk and beef, and to cultivate various fruits, such as pineapples, mangos, cashews and lemons. This cooperative has created permanent jobs, with up to 30 people working there every day.

The women's committee in Las Flores is also a highly productive body of organization, currently under the direction of Maria Zoila Guardado. The junta has always prioritized women's projects, as many find themselves alone and without any economic or spiritual support after their husbands died in the war. It is much harder for women to climb out of such desolation as opportunities of employment can be extremely scarce. For this reason, the junta pays close attention to the womens' projects, following their successes      

and difficulties, all the while motivating and encouraging them.

Amongst the many successful projects in Las Flores are the sewing workshops, the crafts shop, the bakery and communal shop. Four years ago, the women's committee of the time formed the Communal Bank that continues to grow and thrive under the new committee. Today, it counts 38 women as its associates, and has supported those who wished to start small projects such as the making and selling of bread and cakes.

The youth committee, represented by Miguel Basques, has formed the Cultural Centre for Youth, where the young of Las Flores can hang out in the evening playing ping pong or chess. The centre also holds cultural activities, such as music and dance lessons, and theatre productions. 

But what has brought San Jose Las Flores back into the limelight in recent months is its new battle against the planned mining projects that threaten its environment and people. Last September, the people of Las Flores by chance fell across members of the Canadian mining company, Martinique, in their land testing out the soil. As soon as the junta found out about the plans that were in mind, they held a general assembly in the community and undertook the task of researching exactly how mining projects could affect their livelihoods. Trips to Honduras and Guatemala followed -- countries where people have experienced for several years now the devastating affects of mining. They gathered books, reports and documentaries on mineral exploitation, and gradually realized the potential danger that was looming.  The contamination of water, the destruction of kilometers of land, the diseases that are thereafter caught from the chemicals used, are just a few amongst the many consequences that arise as a result of these mining projects. In an area where most families depend on the natural resources of the surrounding land, these projects are presenting irredeemable costs that mining companies will never have to pay.

The junta along with the community is unified in resistance and since September, has carried out regional and national campaigns against these projects. Not one member of the community has sold land to Martinique for exploitation, and all have participated in informative activities on the subject, raising awareness in neighboring communities who have not yet collected the same amount of energy to the cause as the people of Las Flores. Jose Felipe is whole-heartedly involved in the resistance against the mining projects, having sent letters of protest to Martinique and the Salvadorian government along with the many petitions gathered over the months.

The day we met, he had been in Arcatao in the morning, advocating the resistance movement before the minister of environment who had shown up with the later snubbed intention of championing the good grace of his cabinet. The next day, Felipe was to leave at four in the morning to reach a small, regional radio station where he would have the opportunity to raise further awareness.  

Photo: Jose Felipe 

Future activities organized by the junta is the protest march to take place in San Salvador 16^th of June, and  the hope of holding a referendum in the department of Chalatenango with the purpose of expressing a more unified and official front before the mining companies and the government. Another plan is to carry out an environmental study on mining exploitation in the region, which so far has only been carried out by Martinique, presenting a bias that does not conform with the reality of the people of Las Flores. In order for this study to go ahead, the junta is hoping to find experts in the field who could voluntarily participate in this initiative.  

The people of San Jose Las Flores will not give up the fight. As Jose Felipe put it, this is their land, it has their blood from the war, and they will fight tooth and bone to protect it. The need to defend livelihoods and land is so well articulated in the community, that they have become the natural leaders in this battle, and are inspiring hundreds more to join their struggle. The SHARE Foundation is working with the CCR and communities like San Jose las Flores to support much-needed education and advocacy around this issue. With the support of further national and international solidarity, movement could truly strengthen and reclaim the land that is rightly theirs.

Stephanie Kennedy