wfn.org | Peace Agreements in El Salvador Ended the War

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Peace Agreements in El Salvador Ended the War, But Root Problems
Remain
"We Cannot 'Heal' the World if We Do Not Oppose 'This'
Globalization"

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador/GENEVA, 9 April 2003 (LWI/*ALC) - Eleven
years after the signing of peace agreements ending a war that left
more than 75,000 people dead, it is possible to state that the war
ended but the root problems remain, Dr. Angel Ibarra, a key
presenter at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Pre-Assembly
Consultation (PAC) for the Latin American and Caribbean region,
said.

Speaking on the social and church trends and prospects in El
Salvador and Central America, Ibarra, director of the ecological
association, Unidad Ecologica Salvadorena (UNES), noted that the
national political climate improved, the Human Rights Defense
Office was created, political repression ended and people are free
to participate in elections. But, all of this is not enough and
does not meet the expectations of the people who pushed for the
end of a brutal war that racked the country between 1980 and 1992,
he said.

"On the contrary, I believe that the situation has worsened,"
Ibarra told ALC. Neoliberal policies are now in place, many state
companies have been privatized, the government no longer attends
to the basic needs of the population, thousands of workers have
been fired and poverty has increased," he said. More than 600,000
out of 6 million Salvadorans depend on emergency relief for
survival, he noted.

After the peace agreements there was a "honey moon" period but
that stage is over, Ibarra explained. Today the social movements,
including unions are raising their voice in protest, conscious
that the model of a liberal economic policy will not resolve the
serious economic and social problems affecting vast sectors of the
country.

The former dean of the Lutheran university in El Salvador said it
was essential for each country to strengthen its civil movements,
and the continental social alliance, created in the framework of
the World Social Forum.

Ibarra argued that neoliberalism is a US project intended to
extend the country's monopoly from Alaska to Patagonia, pushing
for free trade agreements and guaranteeing investment for its
firms, with little concern for the local social and environmental
aspects. In an asymmetric relationship, the United States applies
measures to protect its market and demands that all Southern
markets be completely open, he said.

"We must oppose this agenda and all attempts to dominate and we
must create an awareness that 'another world is possible,' as we
learned in the Social Forum in Porto Alegre," Ibarra stressed. In
conclusion, he underscored the contribution of Lutheran churches
in this effort and cautioned that while "the road may not be easy
and there are many obstacles, we cannot 'heal' the world if we do
not oppose 'this' globalization."

*ALC - Latin American and Caribbean News Agency

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
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