Solidarity Network program insufficient

from the Latin America Press

Government subsidies fail to reduce poverty that plagues 35 percent of the population

“Social work won’t complement anything, but instead will be the base of everything,” said President Antonio Saca when he began his term in June 2004, after announcing he would combat poverty head on. But economists and civil society representatives charge that this promise “is not reflected in the social public investment” and that the programs implemented will not get many out of poverty.

Specialists also estimate that the Solidarity Network program, a fundamental pillar in Saca’s social strategy, “is not sustainable” since the funds are meager and depend greatly on international donations and loans.

Since October 2005, the Solidarity Network has given monthly subsidies between US$15 and $20 to qualifying families, according to the number of children they have, in exchange for sending their children to primary school and accompanying their youngest children to health centers, while introducing potable water services and electricity in these communities.

Cecilia Gallardo, commissioned by the executive branch for the Social Area, explained that unlike other programs, the Solidarity Network does not just distribute financial aid, but “seeks to break the vicious cycle of poverty, reducing shortages and providing opportunities.”

In the program’s first two phases, between October 2005 and February 2008, the government invested $49 million between aid and basic infrastructure, benefiting 50,000 families in the 47 poorest municipalities (out of 100) in the country. For December 2009, a total of 100,000 homes in 100 municipalities are expected to benefit, costing $200 million.

Mario Paniagua, director of the Intersectorial Association for Economic Development and Social Progress, said that while the Solidarity Network is positive, it’s “completely insufficient,” adding that the way to combat poverty “is not with subsidies,” but with sustainable economic growth, the creation of jobs and allocation of resources to social areas.

“As long as no jobs are created, no program to combat poverty will be successful,” warned Paniagua, who is also coordinator of the El Salvador chapter of the international organization Social Watch. “These plans do not address the root of the problem.”

Appeasing acts
The United Nations Development Program report, “Path to the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals in El Salvador,” based on official statistics, indicates that in 2005 extreme and relative poverty affected 35 percent of the population, though data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in 2004 revealed that of the 5.9 million Salvadorans, 40.4 percent of the households were poor and 15.6 percent were extremely poor.

Jeanette Alvarado, director of the Maquilishuat Foundation, dedicated to promoting extensive healthcare, believes that President Saca’s promise has dwindled. “What’s said is not reflected in the amounts destined for social investment,” Alvarado complained. “There is no state social policy to reduce poverty; there are appeasing acts.”

According to ECLAC’s Latin America Social Panorama 2007 report, of the 21 countries analyzed in the region, El Salvador has the lowest public social spending between 2004 and 2005, with just 5.6 percent of the gross domestic product.

Government data estimates a 6 percent unemployment rate, which is hard to believe for social activists who claim that between 300 and 500 Salvadorans emigrate every day, principally to the United States, in search for work opportunities and better salaries.