PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF EL SALVADOR

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF EL SALVADOR

El Salvador would announce on 15 October whether it would participate in the Ibero-American Summit to be held in Havana, the president of El Salvador, Francisco Guillermo Flores Perez, said this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference.

Speaking in Spanish, with English interpretation, Mr. Flores Perez said that El Salvador’s participation in that Summit was an important concern for him after four short months in office. Conflict in El Salvador was barely seven years in the past and many countries had been involved in that conflict. At the cabinet level, El Salvador had decided to put off the decision so as to give adequate consideration to the implications of direct involvement.

What issues would he raise at the Summit if he did go? the President was asked. With El Salvador’s peace pact barely seven years old, he answered, reconciliation was new and the effects of the war were still keenly felt. El Salvador’s relations with Cuba were complex and its ties with Cuba had various dimensions at home that were not relevant to other countries concerned in the Summit. Those dimensions made it worthwhile to carefully measure every step taken.

In response to further questions regarding El Salvador’s relations with Cuba, Mr. Flores Perez said that attendance at the Summit was a separate issue from relations between the two countries, as seen for example, in questions still being resolved about the status of Salvadorans living in Cuba. There had been many discussions on the issue through ministries and envoys.

Asked about El Salvador’s offer to assist Colombia with its conflicts, Mr. Flores Perez said his country had a conflict resolution body that looked at all aspects of resolving conflicts through dialogue. The members of that group were high-minded and patriotic, and they had created a model for others in finding a civilized way out of a situation as irrational as armed conflict. “We want to offer our brothers and sisters in Colombia, to the extent they would require, we are available if they want to talk about what we learned from our experience.” By and large, help for Colombia at this time was a matter of reaching out to a large body such as the United Nations, but bilateral contact was also important and El Salvador offered that to Colombia.

Asked about the reported loss of his party’s popularity as a result of economic measures implemented since his taking office, Mr. Flores Perez said there was a difficulty in Salvadorans having high expectations of economic renewal at the same time that Central America was at an economic low point. Even so, El Salvador expected a higher rate of growth than other countries in the region. That was the

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context in which to consider the disillusionment of some people within his party. About nine to 10 per cent of the people had expressed disappointment with the party, but that still made it three times as popular as the opposition. Furthermore, the citizens voicing dissatisfaction with his party were not expressing a preference for another party, so it was a withdrawal from the party but not a transference of approval to another. The next election would be a hard- won race, with the winner in the mayoral race difficult to predict. A drop in support for his party was expected.

His clear-cut preference for the winner of that contest, the President said, was for a high profile, service-committed person with good administrative skills. That person should also be someone who would bring the experience of the past to the position with regard to resolving conflicts. It should be a person who would take a fresh look at problems in the country’s political life, regardless of whether the winner was a man or woman.

A correspondent said there was a discrepancy between the view just presented and the findings of a Catholic University research group showing that his party had fallen out of favour not so much because of policies adopted, but rather because of promises not kept. Did that mean there was wrangling within the party, between various interests? Mr. Flores Perez said the political process in his party was dynamic and the varied elements had emerged with a united front in past elections. It was hard for analysts to accept a clearly united party in face of all the conflicts apparent in the other parties. His party was not immobilized. It was moving ahead with projects geared toward what suited the country and not to what popularity might dictate. “As for someone trying to judge a government after four months in office, that’s a bit superficial, I believe.”

“The problem of immigrants and the handling of deportations is one of the most important aspects of our present foreign policy”, the President said in response to a question. “Given the conflict we’ve had and the diaspora of Salvadorans the world over, it’s our responsibility to uphold their rights and try to resolve their problems.” The issue of standing up for immigrants’ rights involved the dynamics of mobility in El Salvador, that people moved in and out. It also involved questions of the immigrants establishing ties with their fellow men and women. The ties between those back home and those abroad had to be strengthened. “It’s a transculturation process. Those trying to adapt to a new culture regard their old culture with nostalgia. We try to bring those of ours in the diaspora close to home through our embassies and consulates so they are close to us.”

One of the least desirable effects of the transculturation was the imitation, in El Salvador, of gangs that the dispersed had become familiar with in the United States, Mr. Flores Perez continued. The structure of the gangs in El Salvador reflected the structure of armed United States gangs. When those criminals had been seized, they had been deported back to El Salvador, adding one more risk factor to the home situation. For that reason, the Minister of Security and the

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Director of the National Police Force had met with police authorities in the United States so as to create a formal structure for dealing with the criminals rather than putting them out on El Salvador’s streets. Close contacts had now been set up with the police in New York and Los Angeles, creating a link for exchange of information to categorize criminal offences and identify individuals committing them, even as changes to El Salvador’s judicial system were being considered to enable incarceration of those individuals.

Had he met with the Salvadoran diaspora in New York? the President was asked. “I’ve had many meetings today with Salvadorans. I’ve also spent many days in Congress and the Senate, meeting over this issue. Immigration is of fundamental significance to us, as is the matter of trade preferences, which answer to the question of jobs back home”, he replied.

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