As Election Approaches, Increased Agression Toward Citizens in Cinquera January 13, 2009 Cinquera, a municipality close to Suchitoto that is governed by the FMLN, has recently been the target of dangerous aggression by the ARENA party. Last month, ARENA supporters in Cinquera sent a list of 60 community members to the head of […]
By Sebastian Dario Last week the Canadian company Pacific Rim Mining Corp escalated their tactics for putting pressure on the Salvadoran government to administer exploitation permits for open-pit cyanide gold mining in El Salvador by filing a Notice of Intent (NOI) against the Salvadoran government under the Central American-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). […]
Military Occupation in Suchitoto CommunitiesThreatens Voters Before Elections January 6th, 2009 On Tuesday December 16th 2008, 150 soldiers armed with heavy artillery entered the community of el Papaturro, in the zone of La Bermuda, Suchitoto. The soldiers set up a military camp and stayed in the community, then moved to the neighbouring community […]
The dirty campaign in El Salvador is worsening. Radio and television ads under the name ¨Fuerza Solidaria¨ have been manipulating statements from US officials such as Barack Obama´s advisor Dan Restrepo, as part of a fear campaign to convince people not to vote for the FMLN. The Fuerza Solidaria has also made ads saying that […]
December, 2008 It has been an exciting year for the U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities (USESSC) Network in our work of accompanying the rural communities of CRIPDES and the Salvadoran social movement, and organizing on a local level in the United States. Here are some of our favorite moments: We welcomed with relief and vindication […]
October 10, 2008 As the presidential election nears, independent polls show opposition candidate Mauricio Funes (FMLN) consistently 15% ahead of the government party candidate (Rodrigo Avila, ARENA). However, the possibility of fraud and U.S. intervention is worrisome. This document outlines five areas of fraud and intervention, four of which have already occurred in El Salvador […]
Pacific Rim Out of El Salvador! Campaign Kicks off November 12 La Virgen de Resistencia In San José Las Flores, keeping mining companies off their land is about more than protecting it from pollution and unwelcome incursions by transnational mining companies. It is a struggle to keep sacred land sacred. On September 13, the […]
Educating Our Communities Against Propaganda, South and North October, 2008 Education in Chalatenango When the first representatives of the mining companies arrived in Chalatenango, the communities urgently began to educate themselves about this new threat. Those educational efforts began three years ago and have continued uninterrupted ever since. Early experiences included community leaders visiting […]
ContraPunto October 6 2008 Concern increases daily. As the electoral process of 2009 intensifies in El Salvador, the credibility and impartiality of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) declines. Civic organizations in the country have been active in questioning the transparency of the TSE. There are multiple concerns, although the TSE itself assures that it acts […]
By Annie Levenson-Falk October 7th, 2008 In recent years, immigration has been a major issue in U.S. politics, and an area in which we may see major change in coming years. In the past, U.S. representatives have threatened that immigration policy could be changed because of the results of Salvadoran elections. Policy decisions like […]