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POWER OF EL SALVADOR'S OLIGARCHY MUSHROOMS, AS POOR CRINGE UNDER CAFTA.

Article Excerpt
The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been in effect in El Salvador for nine months, and, as 2006 heads for the exits, the treaty has been a disappointment to the sectors of the population in greatest need of an economic boost. For them, CAFTA is the latest innovation in a continuum of policies dating back to times when an oligarchy of 14 families ruled the country's economic and political life. The oligarchy has undergone some evolutionary twists in the past several years and is no longer discernable in its original form, but its influence has mushroomed, and there is little to point to that would signal any economic reform to help the poor.

Prior to El Salvador's becoming the first country in Central America to ratify the treaty, President Antonio Saca sold CAFTA as the solution to low growth rates, high unemployment, and lack of foreign investment, factors that have weighed upon the country for the past decade. Now, according to journalist Juan Jose Dalton, who has tracked the situation for many years, the treaty has performed contrary to official estimates and promises.

Early on, the government promised the creation of 40,000 jobs, but instead, says Angel Ibarra of the Red Social Sinti Techan, the treaty has brought with it "serious impacts in the agricultural sector and in other areas, placing many national producers on the road to bankruptcy, causing the loss of thousands of jobs, without having attracted international investment."

Economist Raul Moreno commented, "According to official statements, it would be enough just to wave the treaty magic wand in order to automatically maximize the growth of the economy through the exportation of nostalgic products to the great US market, develop competitive capacities of the national productive apparatus, expand foreign investment, and bring to a boil the welfare of the national population." But none of that has happened, said the economist.

The executive worked tirelessly to get the pact approved, a feat that included modifying and reforming a host...

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