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Proceso 1225
January 17th, 2007

 


 

The end of the civil war: 15 years later

 

The Peace Accords were signed 15 years ago, and that put an end to the Salvadoran civil war that began back in January of 1981. There are plenty of ways to celebrate this anniversary, but not all of them have the same sense or the same value. For instance, the Saca administration has taken care of the celebrations with the intention to impose        –with the assistance of the most important news media- its particular perception of the anniversary and its results. From the governmental perspective, the civil war ended with a negotiation because Alfredo Cristiani, with the support of Roberto D’Aubuisson, had the vision and the courage to make his administration work towards that objective. Therefore, under this perspective, to sign the Peace Accords would have been an achievement of both Cristani and ARENA. In this situation, the FMLN does not look like the other group involved in such event, it looks like the obstacle that Cristiani –the president of Peace- had to face. The Catholic Church is also out of the picture, when it actually played a very important role, especially in the negotiation process that began back in the mid-eighties; its best moment was during the national debate for peace proposed by Monsignor Arturo Rivera Damas, who at the time was the Archbishop of San Salvador.

            In reference to the results of the Peace Accords in 1992, the Saca administration and its allies inside the most important news media, insist to impose the idea that the end of the war –the fundamental purpose of the Peace Accords- was enough. What happened later on, in terms of the economy and the society, is not only good but it is also now, 15 years later, out of the question. The governmental celebration of this event has almost exclusively become a celebration of the end of the war. This perception of the events ignores the rest of the objectives of these documents, which actually go beyond the purpose of ending with the war. And precisely 15 years later it is these other objectives the ones that should be the criteria to evaluate not only the accomplishments of the Accords, but also the political, the cultural, the economic and the environmental aspects of the Salvadoran society.

            Without a doubt, to end with the war was important, but both Cristiani and the FMLN also negotiated and established other relevant aspects, such as the demilitarization of the society, the reduction of the Armed Forces, the end of the mobilization of the FMLN as guerrillas and its transformation into a political party, the creation of the Supreme Electoral Court –which replaced the Central Council of Elections-, the disappearance of the security bodies, the creation of a National Civilian Police, and the creation of the Office for the Defense of the Human Rights. In general, these political and institutional reforms directly responded to need to create mechanisms to stop the conflict and keep it that way for once and for all. These were important reforms that, altogether, accomplished their objective.

            However, the ultimate task of the Peace Accords was not only to end with the war, but to prevent another conflict from happening, and to live in a society that would not allow the presence of social exclusion, poverty, and injustice. The Peace Accords were about promoting the reconciliation of the society, and in order to achieve this, it was necessary to count with an economic reform to walk hand in hand with the political transformations. Now, 15 years later, that new economic and social order does no longer exist, that is why the democratization process has not evolved nor improved in an authoritarian environment. The most critical signs of this contradiction are corruption, the deterioration of the society, the crisis of the public security system, the proliferation of criminal acts, and the lack of civilian trust in the governmental institutions.

            It is an irresponsible behavior to think that the importance of the Peace Accords only has to do with the end of a war. And the truth is that during the last 15 years the structural problems this society went throughout in former decades have remained alive. We do not have an oligarchy that negotiates with coffee, but we do have a financial and an a commercial oligarchy, that holds most of the resources of the country and that concentrates them in the hands of just a few. The population is still trying, just like it did before the war, and struggling to survive, while many other seek the possibility to pay for an illegal journey to the United States, because in the country they are unable to find the opportunity to have a decent life.

            Even if the intention is to focus on the speeches about social peace, there is nothing of this kind in El Salvador. What we do have is injustice, a generalized sense of insecurity, and a wave of permanent violence that has become unstoppable. There might be a certain sense of political peace –and even this is interrupted during the electoral events-, however, the social peace is sadly missed.

 

Fifteen years later: peace and the democratic sense

of the institutional performance

The commemoration of the Peace Accords, signed 15 years ago, has been almost ignored for many years by most of the political class of the country, especially by the official party and the sectors that follow the right wing. However, this year the celebration became a relevant affair. Despite the effect that the media usually have on the governmental celebrations, there is still a lot to accomplish. And these tasks that have not been completed are not only connected with the economy or with the society in general. Many political aspects are yet to be improved, and a healthy institutional performance is one of them. If this goal is not taken into consideration, the consolidation of both an efficient electoral democracy and a democratic environment in general will be a critical unaccomplished objective.

A arid institutional environment

After the end of the war, El Salvador reached a new stage where the goal was to strengthen a democratic institutional performance with a sense of reconciliation, and this was the foundation the new style of political interaction.
            To evaluate the way in which the Peace Accords have been handled, it is important not to rave about the alleged accomplishments that the official party takes credit for. What is necessary is to examine the performance of institutions such as the Office for the Defense of the Human Rights (PDDH, in Spanish), the National Civilian Police (PNC), the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), and the reforms aimed to the electoral sector. It is also necessary to examine the political party status granted to the FMLN with the Accords, and its performance throughout the last 15 years.
            For the right wing, the democratic institutional environment created by the Peace Accords has been respected, and that is why it is not necessary to question its effectiveness. Its members even claim that the Peace Accords were completed, and that now it is time to forgive and forget. That is their policy.
            However, the questionable performance of the institutional environment reveals the unrealistic features of the official attitude. Both the government and ARENA are responsible for this deficient institutional performance.

The National Civilian Police

To guarantee a safe environment and the freedom to enjoy the civilian rights, the Peace Accords promoted the creation of the PNC. This was conceived as an independent organization, not linked at all to the interests of any political party or to any kind of ideology, in order to serve and protect the people and respect the human rights. However, in the last 15 years, the PNC has been a victim of the arbitrary behavior of the official party that is why the PNC is not a civilian security force, but a repressive institution at the service of the private interests.
            The PNC has lost its independent nature. ARENA has proved time and time and again that it handles the PNC according to its own interests. The PNC, on the other hand, has not been an efficient institution when it comes to investigate the crimes committed in the country. This is in part due to the very small budget assigned to this organization, and to the questionable administrative performance of its highest authorities.
            The most questionable and pathetic example of the relationship between ARENA and the PNC is when Mauricio Sandoval became the General Director of the latter. He is a former member of the intelligence service of the State, an institution that during the war had the objective to end with the political opposition.
            The PNC lacks credibility, and it is responsible for many of the violations to the human rights that have taken place in this country. The highest authorities of this institution have always followed authoritarian patterns, and have always disregarded the critics that have questioned their performance. That is why no one can actually say that the PNC has contributed to promote or to improve the democratic process.

The human rights

The evaluation of the Office for the Defense of the Human Rights (PDDH) also reveals the weak performance of this organization. It was conceived in the past as one of the most important institutions to guarantee the accomplishment of the Peace Accords, since its mission was to promote the respect of the human rights of the population, in order to consolidate the profile of a democratic society.
            However, the records of the PDDH reveal that this institution has been used by several politicians in order to reach their own personal goals. In its early stages, the image of the PDDH was tarnished by the authoritarian and the incompetent behavior of Eduardo Peñate Polanco. He had been chosen for this position in response to the logic of power distribution of certain political parties. The Democratic Christian Party (PDC) put him at the head of the PDDH knowing that he had an unethical behavior and that he was an incompetent person for the job. He ran a questionable administration, and fired people without any justification.
            With Peñate out, the PDDH improved its institutional performance, but the official party now overlooked its achievements and undermined its efforts, because the defense of the human rights has never been a priority for the governments of ARENA.  The PDDH has faced the problems of always counting with a very small budget that is also why it has not been able to accomplish all of the goals traced for it with the Peace Accords. In this context, the PDDH is still a weak institution in a country were the fundamental rights of the population are definitively disrespected, as well as the legitimacy of an institution of this kind.

The electoral subjects

The Peace Accords redefined the electoral system, and that is why the TSE was created, in order to supervise and administrate the elections and to promote the necessary transformations in the electoral procedures. Time has gone by and the TSE is not an independent institution. It is inefficient and it is also a weak organization. Most of the  members of the political parties do not respect the authority of the TSE.
            The public image of the TSE lacks credibility, especially when it comes to handle the electoral results, and when it comes to control that the political parties actually adopt the reforms issued by the TSE. This organization does not have a strategy to improve the procedures followed when it comes to establish the electoral records. What happened to the law to control the actions of the political parties? What happened with the residential vote project? This is definitively a critical situation.

The FMLN

One of the most important political results brought by the Peace Accords was the transformation of the FMLN into a legal party, a legitimate member of the political system. With this, the people witnessed the birth of democracy and the birth of a political and an ideological pluralism in El Salvador.
To judge by the performance of the FMLN, it can be said that even if it has obtained an important share of the legislative representation in the Congress, as well as a relevant amount of power in the administration of the municipal governments, this party has still plenty to do in order to actually become the opposition.
            During the last 15 years, many have criticized the FMLN for not being able to make as many smart moves as expected, and because of its questionable skills to negotiate and handle the affairs that affect the party. It still counts with social support and with a considerable amount of credibility, but it has been criticized for not being able to design a realistic political project for the country. That is its main challenge: to promote a different and a realistic governmental project.

As a conclusion

These perspectives are not very encouraging. More than a reason to celebrate, the anniversary of the Peace Accords should be seen as an opportunity to reflect and think where is El Salvador actually going to. Since all that ARENA wants is to forgive and forget, the society has to remember that the only goal accomplished by the Accords was to reach the end of the war.
            The institutional sense created by the spirit of democracy has always been negatively affected by the same political classes that at some point promoted these necessary transformations. Therefore, the Peace Accords are not a thing of the past yet because a lot remains to be accomplished in order to follow and complete the plan that they contain. And this does not only has to do with the economic problems of the country, it also has to do with the lack of respect towards the human rights, the actual foundation of a fraternal coexistence.

 

Other articles featured in this issue of Proceso:

     

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