The text came from the e-mail address “exterminiottrr@hotmail.com” and says, “Warning f*@! at Radio Victoria you keep screwing around as you like filling your mouths with the sh@* you talk, like the day that those mother f*#@rs leaders of Santa Marta tricked those people to talk sh#@ in Victoria.”

The reporters have been denouncing the threat on local radio stations and are adament that the authorities investigate these threats, especially now that they are clearer than ever in their motives and possible authors.

A new group of volunteers was to arrive in January 2012, but their training has been cancelled and they are being reassigned to other countries.

The BBC is reporting that the Peace Corps is completely putting out of Honduras, bringing all 158 current volunteers home in January.

According to the Peace Corps website, there are currently 122 Peace Corps volunteers in El Salvador and over 2,186 have served in El Salvador since 1962. Volunteers work in areas of community organization and economic development, rural health and sanitation, sustainable agriculture, agro-forest and environmental education, and youth development.

The reason for the withdrawal is security. The New York Times quoted Kristina Edmunson, a Peace Corps spokeswoman in Washington, who said the move stemmed from “comprehensive safety and security concerns” rather than any specific threat or incident. The Times article, stated, however, that Peace Corps Journals, an online portal for blogs by Peace Corps volunteers, has an entry referring to a volunteer who was shot in the leg during an armed robbery on a bus.

Central America has become the most violent region in the world, and Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have recently posted the highest murder rates in the world. Part of the reason for the uptick in violence is the increased presence of international organized criminal networks that are trafficking drugs from South American producers to North American markets.

President Funes recently stated, “Climate change has harmful effects on societies, and particularly our country.” Minister of the Environment Herman Rosa Chávez said in the days after the flooding, “El Salvador is one place on earth that is already suffering from climate change.” Communities in the Lower Lempa held a forum earlier in the year in which residents discussed how climate change was already affecting their lives, including extreme droughts and flooding, as has been the pattern for the last few years.

Climate change has also been in the news because of the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, which was held November 28 to December 11 in Durban, South Africa. For those in the Lower Lempa who are still recovering from the October floods AND trying to prepare for future extreme weather events, there was a lot at stake in the Durban negotiations. Climate change is a reality in their communities and if the global community does not agree to cut emissions, Tropical Storm 12-E will become a way of life.

The Economist summarized the Durban agreement as “a quid pro quo between the European Union and big developing-country polluters, especially China and India.” The agreement failed to consider the demands and pleas from smaller economies (and smaller emitters) such as El Salvador. The deal requires that EU countries continue reducing emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change under the existing Kyoto protocol. The U.S. never signed on to Kyoto and Canada just dropped out, so the Durban agreement did not affect their current emissions-status. The main provisions of Kyoto were set to expire in 2012, but under the agreement they will be extended. In the meantime, developed and developing countries will work together to produce a new agreement by 2015 that will be implemented by 2020. The Kyoto protocol does not require developing or poor countries to reduce emissions, and under the Durban compromise they will remain exempt until the new agreement goes into affect.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) maintains a database of CO2 emissions for each country. Based purely on output, China emits the most greenhouse gases – 7,707 million metric tons of CO2 (2009). The U.S emits the second highest levels of greenhouse gases – 5,425 million metric tons of CO2 (2009). China, however, emits only 5.83 metric tons of CO2/capita, while the U.S. emits 17.67 metric tons of CO2/capita. India emits the 3rd highest levels of greenhouse gases – 1,591 million metric tons of CO2 (2009), which is only 1.38 tons/capita. El Salvador, in comparison, emitted only 5.93 million metric tons of CO2 (2009), which is 0.98 tons of CO2/capita.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, analyzing EIA figures from 2008, concluded,

“The picture from these figures is one where…. developed countries and major emerging economy nations lead in total carbon dioxide emissions. Developed nations typically have high carbon dioxide emissions per capita, while some developing countries lead in the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions. Obviously, these uneven contributions to the climate problem are at the core of the challenges the world community faces in finding effective and equitable solutions.”

This was the tension at Durban. Larger emerging markets –China and India – are not bound by the Kyoto protocol and did not want to be bound under a new agreement. Their argument is that per capita, they emit far less than developed countries and limits on emissions would hinder their ability to develop and lift their populations out of poverty. This argument was more promulgated by India – China, which has fairly high levels of per capita emissions appears to realize that they need to take steps to cut emissions by developing clean energy sources.

Similarly, developed nations don’t want to put themselves at a “competitive disadvantage” with such large economies as China and India by agreeing to expensive emission reductions that developing countries don’t have to worry about. Many other countries participating in the Durban Conference are like El Salvador –small economies with relatively low emissions that are suffering the effects of climate change, but lack the economic or political capital to force the larger countries to cut their emissions.

As the Economist points out, the U.S. should be pleased with the outcome of the Durban Conference. The U.S. never ratified the Kyoto protocol because it did not require developing nations to cut emissions. The Durban agreement, however, lays the groundwork for requiring that all nations cut emissions of greenhouse gases, but puts it off until 2020.

This past Monday, Amy Goodman on Democracy Now dedicated her entire broadcast to the Durban Conference.  Kate Horner, who is a policy analyst for Friends of the Earth International, said on Monday’s show,

“The outcome of the talks here in Durban is, unfortunately, a very weak agreement that lacks in ambition, equity and justice. The Kyoto protocol… will continue only as an empty shell. Several countries – namely, Canada, Russia, and Japan – have refused to put new targets on the table, and the countries that have signed up have only offered really shockingly low levels of ambition… The United States has weaseled out of every promise that it has made, including to take on comparable action to other developed countries in line with its historic responsibility for contributing to this problem.”

She also said the Durban Platform, “is really not the important milestone in building a climate regime that many have called it, including the United States and the European Union… the most damaging part of it is it’s an attempt to shift the burden of this problem on developing countries who have contributed less.”

Salvadoran Environmental Minister Herman Rosa Chávez spoke at the conference, highlighting the effects of climate change on Central America. He called for the Conference to address three essential issues: fund the Green Climate Fund, expansion of adaption efforts, and serious mitigation commitments from developed and principal emitters.

This week, Salvadoran environmental groups held a forum in San Salvador to discuss the Durban Conference. In a statement released after the forum, the environmentalists criticized the international community and Salvadoran government for failing to take appropriate action to address climate change. Pointing out that international studies have identified El Salvador as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, participants emphasized that if polluters don’t cut emissions, average temperatures in El Salvador will rise 6 degrees Celsius.

The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central American Integration System (SICA) met yesterday in San Salvador in advance of the SICA summit that begins today. The purpose of their meeting in advance of the summit was for the Consultative Group for the Reconstruction of Central America to create an action plan for helping the region adapt to climate change. Addressing the meeting on Wednesday, President Funes said,

“The proposal of the meeting with the Consultative Group is not to get resources, its to put the Central American region and particularly El Salvador on the international agenda, and that the impact that climate change is having is more visible.”

What is clear post-Durban is that the countries that are responsible for emitting the most greenhouse gases that is causing climate change are more motivated to protect their short-term economic development than preventing long-term disaster. It is also apparent that countries like El Salvador that emit low levels of greenhouse gases but are experiencing the extreme weather patterns associated with climate change have little influence over the discussions. As Tropical Storm 12-E showed Central Americans, doing nothing to prevent climate change is not really an option. But it seems that’s exactly what the principal emitters are doing – nothing.

Pacific Rim, a Canadian company that bills itself as “an environmentally and socially responsible exploration company,” reports that in the first half of fiscal 2012, their “cash and cash equivalents increased $1.4 million from $0.3 million at April 30, 2011 to $1.7 million at October 31, 2011. The company’s short-term investments increased from $0.8 million to $1.1 million over the same period, resulting in a $1.8 million total increase in assets.

The increase in assets does not indicate that they are all of a sudden profitable. According to a Pacific Rim’s press release announcing their quarterly report, the increase “reflects the cash proceeds of a private placement equity financing undertaken by the Company.” This means that Pacific Rim found new private investors to finance their operations. In fact, the press release states clearly that they have “no source of revenue, and will require additional cash to continue fund legal, exploration and administrative expenses.”

While Pacific Rim’s El Dorado project in San Isidro, Cabañas is their most advanced, the company recently acquired an option to earn 65% interest in the Hog Ranch gold property in Nevada and has begun field exploration. Pacific Rim also has the opportunity to acquire a 100% interest in the Remance property in Panama – an interest they secured in 2010. While they have begun “phase 1 drilling” at Hog Ranch, Pacific Rim reports that the Remance project is “in doubt” and they have no plans for exploring the property.

The biggest question mark for Pacific Rim remains their ICSID claim against El Salvador, which is potentially worth $100 million dollars and the rights to mine gold in Cabañas. In their press release, Pacific Rim says,

“Expenditures related to Pacific Rim’s CAFTA/ILES arbitration claim are expected to continue at present or modestly higher levels during the coming months, and are directly related to the level of arbitration activity. The Company has currently accumulated a liability of approximately $1.4 million related to the CAFTA/ILES arbitration action and is currently discussing vendor-specific alternative financing opportunities that will reduce this accounts payable position.”

The ICSID Tribunal will likely hand down a ruling any day on the last round of preliminary objections filed by El Salvador. If the Tribunal finds in favor of El Salvador, part or all of Pacific Rim’s claim could be dismissed. If the Tribunal finds for Pacific Rim, the case moves a little closer to a full hearing.

In anticipation of the decision, a group of labor, union, environmental and other civil society leaders will hold a rally outside the World Bank tomorrow (Thursday, December 15) protesting Pacific Rim’s claim. Those attending the rally will present a letter to World Bank and ICSID officials calling on them to respect El Salvador’s decision to prohibit mining in order to protect their local communities and water resources from environmental damage.

Though Pacific Rim continues to engage in minor exploration activities, their primary activity and asset is this lawsuit. A favorable outcome of the ICSID arbitration would be a windfall for Pacific Rim’s investors, possibly allowing them to recoup their $77 million investment and perhaps damages and lost profits.

ElFaro.net reports that in recent years the Funes Administration has approved three proposals from the Ministry of Defense that in part increased the number of soldiers at a cost of $25 million a year.

The additional troops are part of a $29.4 million increase in military spending for 2012, putting the entire defense budget at more than $144 million. This is the largest growth the military has experienced since the 1992 Peace Accords ended 12 years of civil war.

News of the increase comes weeks after President Funes named General David Munguía Payés as Minister of Public Security. Minister Munguía Payés, who until recently served as the Minister of Defense, says that the troop increases are in response to the growing role the military is taking in domestic public security issues.

Since taking office, President Funes has deployed three battalions to address domestic security. One battalion is charged with guarding the perimeters of Salvadoran jails, while two others are patrolling El Salvador’s boarder with Guatemala and Honduras, and urban neighborhoods with high rates of violence. Minister Munguía Payés says the increase is necessary to help the police combat youth gangs in El Salvador.

When President Funes first announced plans to deploy soldiers for domestic security issues, opponents said that in addition to being a constitutional violation, Salvadorans would be exposed to human rights violations. In February 2011, 14 months after the first troops hit the streets the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights reported that they had received 158 complaints of human rights violations by soldiers patrolling Salvadoran streets. One hundred and twenty of the complaints were made against soldiers patrolling in different parts of the country. Another 38 were made against soldiers providing security in the Salvadoran prisons. We reported on one of the complaints in January, when soldiers killed two Salvadorans they accused of smuggling lumber from Honduras to El Salvador.

The El Faro article highlights the paradox that the increase of soldiers and defense spending was undertaken by a President elected from the FMLN, the political party born out of the leftist militancy that spent 12 years fighting the military.

President Funes’ selection of a former military leader to lead the Ministry of Security was also controversial – a first since the end of the war. Some have called the appointment unconstitutional and a representation of the re-militarization of El Salvador. FMLN officials denounced the appointment stating that it “goes against the peace accords,” which de-militarized public security.

President Funes responded, “no one with good intentions should think that this appointment might imply a militarization of security, nor that it means a step backward in terms of the spirit of the peace accords.”

La Prensa Grafica is reporting that Dr. Silva, who was the President of FISDEL (Fund for Social Investment and Local Development), collapsed while attending an event at the Casa Presidencial on transparency and anti-corruption policies. He was rushed to the Centro de Diagnóstico where he was pronounced dead.

Dr. Silva had a long and distinguished career serving the people of El Salvador. According to the FISDL website, Dr. Silva graduated from the University of El Salvador medical school in 1972, and completed post-graduate studies in obstetrics and gynecology and public health from the Universities of Michigan and Johns Hopkins in the United States. He spent the early part of his medical career providing medical services to the poorest communities in El Salvador, and served as the director of Maquilishuat, a Salvadoran nonprofit organization.

In the late 1980s, Dr. Silva was the director of the Maternal Infant Medicine department at the National University Medical School. He became a Legislative Assembly representative in 1991, where he served as the head of the Health Commission. In 1997 he was elected Mayor of San Salvador and reelected to a second term in 2000. He was the first mayor of San Salvador elected from the FMLN party, after putting together a coalition of opposition parties. During his six years as mayor, he oversaw the opening of the first landfill in Central America, decentralization of city services, and rehabilitation of the historic downtown area. He made civic participation a priority and enacted several relations that facilitated public input on how city funds were used.  He also made the municipal government more transparent and simplified the administrative process.

In 2003, he returned to the Legislative Assembly and made an unsuccessful run for President in 2004 under a coalition of United Center Democrats and Christian Democratic Party (CDU-PDC).

In 2004, Héctor Silva ran for President of El Salvador under a coalition of United Center Democrats and Cristian Democratic Party (CDU-PDC).

He has served as the President of FISDL since June 2009 when Mauricio Funes became President.

President Obama nominated Mari Carmen Aponte when he took office in 2009, but Senate Republicans blocked her confirmation over her past relationship with a Cuban-American they believe was a Cuban spy. She finally arrived in El Salvador in September 2010 when President Obama circumvented the Senate with a recess appointment, which expires at the end of the month. President Obama re-nominated Ambassador Aponte this year, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed her nomination this week, but Republicans are again preventing the Senate from bringing her nomination to the floor for a vote.

Ambassador Carmen Aponte fueled Republican opposition in June when she published an op/ed piece in the La Prensa Grafica supporting the gay rights movement in El Salvador. Opposition to her final confirmation is led by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), who claims that she is “strongly promoting the homosexual lifestyle” and attempting “to impose a pro-gay agenda” on El Salvador. The article praised Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes for signing a law prohibiting anti-gay discrimination by the government, as well as the UN pledge to eliminate violence against LGBT people. She also said that all people have the responsibility to break the cycle of violence and discrimination.

According to The Hill,

The White House is blasting Senate Republicans for playing politics with President Obama’s nominated ambassador to El Salvador, saying a hold on the diplomat would severely hurt US ties in the region.

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing this week, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) spoke out on behalf of Ambassador Aponte, saying that she has done a“solid job in her capacity as ambassador,” and “I have not heard of or seen any substantive rationale for her not continuing in this post.”

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) pointed out that since 1998, when Aponte was nominated to be ambassador to the Dominican Republic from which she withdrew herself from consideration, she has twice received top security clearances.

Ambassador Aponte also has the support of Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), who also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. During a hearing last week he pointed out that since 1998, when Aponte was nominated to be ambassador to the Dominican Republic from which she withdrew herself from consideration, she has twice received top security clearances. He argues that any questions regarding her past relationships were answered during those processes, and are no longer an issue.

Barring any last minute support from Senate Republicans, Ambassador Aponte will be leaving El Salvador at the end of December and the US will be without an ambassador.

San Salvador

photo credit: Rachel Heidendry

The world-wide Occupy Movement arrived to El Salvador on Thanksgiving Day, as a transnational protest in front of the United States Embassy. The movement has designated itself “Los Encachimbados,” which is a colloquial Salvadoran word meaning “indignant.” About 70 people gathered, roughly half Salvadoran and half U.S. citizens.

The group distributed a press release delineating the local context of damage that they believe to be caused by the current international economic system. They call the attention of both the U.S. and Salvadoran governments to the free trade model, regional militarization strategies, and environmental destruction and climate change—all policies that the Encachimbados see as designed by a transnational elite, and which result in a low quality of life for the majority of the population of the Americas.  “People all over the world are tired of these economic and political policies that benefit only 1% of our world. We’re here in front of the U.S. Embassy because no world-wide change can be generated if the U.S. doesn’t change, too,” explains Alfredo Carias, a Salvadoran Encachimbados spokesperson.

The free trade model between Central America and its northern neighbor “is pushing Central American producers out of the market, now that local companies are having to compete directly against U.S. firms without protections, and it has also caused decreased environmental and labor regulations,” says Daniel Burridge, an Encachimbados spokesperson, U.S. citizen and resident of El Salvador. “In the end, the poor and the environment are the ones footing the bill.”

The privileges granted to foreign companies through the active free trade agreement that bonds El Salvador and the United States, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA,) has recently yielded a torrid legal battle. The Salvadoran government faces two lawsuits for a total of almost $200 million for refusing to grant permissions for the companies to carry out open-pit metallic mining in several regions throughout the country. (One of the two cases is still in arbitration; the other is in appeal.)

Surrounding the legal battle is a series of assassinations of four environmental activists, all part of the anti-mining movement. Despite the violence, activists maintain pressure on the Salvadoran government to pass a law banning metallic mineral mining. “I live in a country subject to free trade agreements where mining companies can arrive, rob the few resources that we have, and leave our land contaminated and suffering. I’m here today because I dream of real social change for my country,” explains nineteen year-old Salvadoran citizen and Encachimbados participant, “Lorena.”

The militarization strategies embraced by the U.S. and Salvadoran governments, according to the Encachimbados’ press release, “criminalize social protest, subject national security systems to intervention and supervision by the U.S. government and facilitate violent repression of activities that jeopardize the interests of global capital.” Two days prior to the Encachimbados protest, in a move that many qualify as a militaristic violation of the Salvadoran Peace Accords, President Mauricio Funes swore in a new Minister of Security and Justice, the retired army general David Munguía Payés. Evidence published by the El Faro newspaper reveals that the firing of the previous minister and the selection of a retired army general to replace him was a decision made under pressure from the U.S. government. This has led others to criticize the decision as a violation of Salvadoran state sovereignty.

The military has played a large role in the daily lives of Salvadoran citizens since 2009, when President Funes deployed the army to patrol alongside the Civilian National Police force in especially violent zones around the country. Many civil society organizations have decried this decision as unconstitutional, and have noted that it follows the tone set by the U.S.-funded Merida Plan, which presses for militarized public security policies for the treatment of common delinquency, gang activity, and drug trafficking. However, troop deployment has not decreased the homicide rate in El Salvador, which has held steady at 12 assassinations daily. “Soldiers have no ability to make arrests or bring charges against anyone; the fact is that they really are for intimidation purposes,” explains Burridge, who also works in social services in a marginalized urban neighborhood known as La Chacra. In fact, within the first fifteen months of the new policy, the Human Rights Ombudsman received 158 formal reports of human rights violations against the civilian population by patrolling soldiers.

Though a brutal civil war ended about two decades ago, the legacy of violence and militarism continues to plague El Salvador, and in 2009, it was classified by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development as the most violent nation in the world. The Encachimbados movement stresses that the militaristic policies fashioned by the transnational elite foment the daily violence that haunts Salvadorans.  “We’re here today in front of the U.S. Embassy because the U.S. is largely responsible for the problems we face here,” explains U.S. citizen and Salvadoran resident, Christine Damon. “For instance, I work in youth security. The U.S War on Drugs and export of small and large arms is directly contributing to the deaths of the twelve mostly-young men who die daily here. Furthermore, the 1% is not interested in changing this reality. It’s convenient for youth to be in poverty, to be excluded, to not be paying attention. I’m here… because I question this reality.” Damon, who holds the hand of her 8 year old son as she speaks, adds, “I want him to grow up in a safer world. Until there is a more just distribution of resources, that simply will not happen.”

The Encachimbados movement cites its third major concern as environmental destruction and climate change. El Salvador is classified as the most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters, “but the amount of greenhouse gases that it emits is almost nothing, whereas one-third of greenhouse gases worldwide are emitted by the US,” explains Burridge. While carbon emissions continue to wreak havoc in vulnerable places like Central America, he continues, “the U.S. also continues to block meaningful action to regulate greenhouse gases.” Tropical Depression 12-E recently swept through Central America, dumping record amounts of rain on El Salvador and causing 34 deaths, 50,000 evacuations, and an estimated $840 million of losses in infrastructure and agriculture.

photo credit: Rachel Heidendry

The Encachimbados participants emphasize that they are part of a worldwide transnational social movement, coming together to cast an analytical eye on the status quo for the majority world population and to posit alternatives. “Our capitalist system classifies human beings as a means to profit, and this has us enslaved,” argues Eric Rivera, a 23 year old Salvadoran journalism student. “Our economic system oppresses us psychologically, spiritually, in our private lives, in our professional lives. We have to propose a new form of life; one that is based on solidarity, mutual support between people, and one which is organized horizontally,” To his left, another voice chimes in: “I want a world that’s not so centered on consumerism. I want our focus to be on recognition of each other as human beings,” muses 20 year old electrical engineering student Marvin Marmol.

The Encachimbados’ Thanksgiving Day appearance was the beginning of a growing movement in El Salvador. “We will be permanently mobilized to build a global system that tries to promote the interests of the 99% of humanity and the interests of the Mother Earth,” says Burridge. “Be on the lookout for us in the future.”

Photo credit: Rachel Heidendry

As Minister of Defense, Munguía Payés oversaw the deployment of troops in San Salvador neighborhoods controlled by El Salvador’s notorious gangs. He made the news earlier in 2011 when he warned that Mexican drug cartels were building a presence in the region and targeting Central American police and military bases as a source for weapons.

When President Funes made the announcement yesterday, he said he “asked for concrete results in the fight against crime.” In his first statement as the new Minister, Munguía Payes said that he “is convinced that has not come to work miracles, but he is committed to taking concrete steps.” He also said that he was committed to respecting the Constitution and human rights, and managing public security as a civilian as mandated by the Peace Accords.

According to ElFaro.net, during the ceremony to swear in the new Minister of Security, President Funes made a tacit admission that the government had not made significant advances in combating murders in the past 2 ½ years.

The FMLN objected to appointing Minister Munguía Payés because of his military background. They argue that his appointment is a step backwards in El Salvador’s democracy, and a violation of the Peace Accords. Former leftist guerillas who were integrated into the National Civil Police also expressed concern that Munguía Payés’ appointment would result be detrimental, but President Funes assured them that there would be no structural changes within the police force.

According to an article on netorivas.net, the FMLN has had a good relationship with Munguía Payés in the past. The former colonel had a falling out of sorts with ARENA politicians when Presidents Calderon Sol and Francisco Flores refused to promote him to General. In 2003, Sanchez Ceren, who was then the head of the FMLN party, announced that Munguia Payes was joining the FMLN, and would serve as an advisor on national security issues. One of the reasons for bringing him on was to bring other old soldiers into the FMLN fold. If the FMLN had won the 2004 Presidential elections, Munguía Payés would have likely been appointed Minister of Defense. His appointment is another reminder that the Funes Administration and the FMLN party are not working as closely together as they might be.