Floor of the National Legislative Assembly – July 21, 2008

After meeting with the President of the National Legislative Assembly, Ruben Orellana, we visited the floor of the National Assembly, they were not in session while we were there but we got to see their work area.



Every time a member wants to cast a vote on the floor, they have to supply a fingerprint as proof of identity. At each member’s desk there is a small box with a fingerprint pad so no one can vote for another member and every member is accountable for each of their votes. It is really cool.






Pictured left to right: Josh, Valerie, Joe, Christy, Hugo Martinez, Marianne, Adam, Marshand, Pedro

National Legislative Assembly – July 21, 2008

Today’s meeting with the President of the National Legislative Assembly, Ruben Orellana, was very impressive. President Orellana provided an overview of the National Legislative Assembly, a unicameral representative legislative body consisting of 84 members responsible for making the laws of the country. The members are elected by a direct popular vote; 64 members have proportional representation and are elected by the country’s 14 corresponding departments (like our states) and 20 members are elected on the basis of a single national constituency.

Adam lead the meeting for the delegation.


We all got to sign the guest book documenting our visit while President Orellana looked on.


Pictured left to right: Pedro Pineda, HugoMartinez, Marshand, Adam, Christy, Valerie, Ruben Orellana, Marianne, Joe, Josh, Roberto d’Aubuisson


Ruben Orellana presented Adam a gift for the delegation.

San Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) – July 21, 2008

On Monday morning, our first meeting day in El Salvador, we met with the San Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES). I am pictured in the lobby of FUSADES; it is a very modern facility.


Executive Director Alvaro Ernesto Guatemala gave us an overview of government, economics, social and culture in El Salvador. This presentation and meeting was the perfect way to start our work week.


Since the end of the armed conflict in 1991 and the signing of the peace accords in 1991, the economy has moved away from the government orientation with no growth experienced to a market orientation with lots of growth. Major reforms in El Salvador since 1999 have focused on stimulating growth through macroeconomic stability to tie down inflation which has been accomplished through conservative fiscal and monetary policy, tariff reductions, free trades agreements, banking reform through privatization and tax reform which added an income and value-added tax. In addition, economic institutions are being protected through privatization, competitiveness laws and consumer protection. El Salvador boasts the lowest inflation rates in Central America over the last two decades, in part because the official currency is the U.S. dollar.



FUSADES is a nonprofit foundation started in 1983 by business owners with initial funding and support came from seven years of USAID. Currently, FUSADES is self supporting and does not receive funds from government or the private sector.

EL Salvador- Quick Overview

Capital: San Salvador
Population: 7 million (approximately 2 million El Salvadorans are currently living abroad)
Official Language: Spanish
Currency: U.S. Dollar (since 2001)
Government Type: Republic
President: Elias Antonio (Tony) Saca
Primary Religion: Roman Catholic
Literacy rate: 83 percent male, 78 percent female
Education: 30 percent of high school age students attend school, 90 percent of grade 1-9 students attend school, but quality is admittedly poor
Economic: most stable economy and lowest inflation rate in Central America

El Salvador is geographically the smallest country in Central America and is the most densely populated and most industrialized.

Approximately 90 percent of urban residents have access to potable water, compared to 80 percent in rural areas.
Approximately 98 percent of urban residents have direct connect access to electricity, compared to 50 percent in rural areas.

Downtown San Salvador. These photos are taken out the window on a bus tour, we did not have the opportunity to get out and explore.



Marketplace downtown San Salvador.



Transportation in downtown, in addition, there are 5,000 buses that run routes in San Salvador.

Day at the Beach – July 20, 2008

Today is our weekend, or vacation day, this week. We met at 8 am to go to a resort at Costa del Sol, an hour from San Salvador on the Pacific coast, for the day with the promise of a beach, boat tour, and all the food you can manage (just what I need after a week in Nicaragua where all food is fried). Valerie and I shared a fresh coconut, not the one Adam helped Marshand pick!



We were given a boat tour of the mangroves and saw some wildlife, a lot of birds and some four-eyed fish, which jumped across the water. Our guide pointed them out to us several times. We are a little skeptical of the four-eyed fish, because none of us have had time to research its authenticity. These are some of the houses we saw on the boat tour.


The beach is dark sand and enormous. The Pacific water down here is warm, unlike the cold water off the California coast. The water was rough with huge waves and very dark. We all waded in the water and Adam, Joe, and Marianne decided to go swimming. Valerie and I stayed on the beach to watch everyone’s stuff. While we were talking and discussing how cool the ocean was and how much we loved being at the beach, an enormous wave came in very quickly and covered us and all our delegations belongings with water and dark sand. We were at least 100 feet from the previous wave line and just got this one huge surge. All our clothes and towels were dirty and wet. Valerie decided the wave was not cool and retreated to the pool; I returned to the beach to read a book but ended up napping. It was wonderful.

An interesting thing happened while I was napping on the beach… I was awaken by shuffling in the sand, when I looked up I saw a cow and her baby walking about 15 feet in front of me… on the beach! I wish I had my camera, but I left it by the pool in the unlikely event of another surge.

A pool of water was left on the beach during low tide; cattle were grazing by it.

Arriving in San Salvador, El Salvador – July 19, 2008

This is super cool…., when we got to San Salvador, Congressman Hugo Martinez (FMLN) and ACYPL officials met us at the gate and we were brought through the diplomats area. We gave our passports to an agent and they got them stamped and collected our luggage while we sat through a briefing. It was crazy! We were admitted to the country without going through customs in person. I want to be a diplomat!


Once we collected our luggage, we were brought to the hotel to check in. We saw two gang busts on the streets between the airport and the hotel. Security personnel are everywhere. And everyone, national police, mayor's police, and private security, has a firearm and walk the sidewalks in front of the areas they are to protect. It really does not seem that unusual anymore.


San Salvador is like we time warped back to 2008. It is amazing the contract between the two countries whose capitals are separated by a 35 minute flight. Nicaragua is so poor and has so little infrastructure that is a barely functioning free market while San Salvador is thriving. You easily could mistake San Salvador for an American suburb because of the commercial industry and huge shopping malls, the only difference is the fact that ever single street sign, billboard, side walk, building wall, and storefront was tagged with graffiti.

Trip to El Salvador– July 19, 2008

Today is a travel day for the delegation. We had our flight from Managua to San Salvador canceled; having a flight canceled is never easy. Fortunately, we were rescheduled for a relatively similar time frame on Copa Airlines and it did not disrupt our afternoon and evening plans in San Salvador. The flight was only 35 minutes.

Getting dropped off at the airport in Managua.


Copa Airlines accommodates the delegation.


I got to sit by Valerie on the flight to San Salvador.


Pacific coast of El Salvador.


Arriving at the airport in El Salvador.

Leaving Nicaragua – July 19, 2008

One thing I realized I had not mentioned earlier was that there are no street names or street signs or house numbers. To get around Managua, you need to know landmarks and directions are given by landmarks rather than street names. The earthquake in 1972 devastated Managua, at which time the city lost a majority of its infrastructure and redevelopment has been very slow, including street signs. City officials suggested implementing street names during President Aleman administration, but he was not supportive of the initiative so it did not move, primarily because the public seems indifferent to it.

Another interesting thing that did not come up in the other posts was that there were some building we met in that did not have running water. It was surprising to all of us that some people showed up to the office every day to work wearing business suits but did not have running water in their buildings. To flush toilets, a bucket of water had to be scooped out of a huge water container and dumped into the tank. We were also advised not to flush the toilet paper but rather throw it in the wastebasket. (And no, I did not take photos of this, but others on our trip did ff you are really interested.)

On the way to the Managua airport we saw a bus crash into a truck, it looked to be an intense situation, lots of kids on the bus, all seemed ok.


We also saw two cattle cross six lanes of traffic, in the middle of the city, it still amazes me, especially since they walked by a horse tied to a tree with a rope in the median (wish I would have gotten a better picture).


I was not allowed to drive in Nicaragua, but I pretended to.


Gas was also expensive approximately $1.35 per liter or $5.10 per gallon (1 gallon = 3.785 liters).


When we left the airport in Managua, there was a plane, with a red carpet runner on the tarmac to a stage and a podium. We assumed it was for the arrival of Hugo Chevez to Managua to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution with Ortega. I cannot believe I just spent a week in Managua, meeting with political and business officials people (like the mayor of Leon) just one day before he was meeting with Ortega.

Nicaragua Network

While in Nicaragua, Adam Probolsky met up with contacts he had made through his mentor Tom Fuentes in California. We had an opportunity to have dinner with Javier Llanes and Andres Zuñiga while in Nicaragua. Having an opportunity to meet and visit with Javier and Andres was a highlight and really personalized Nicaragua for me.

Adam with Javier Llanes.


Adam with Andres Zuñiga.

Diriomo, Nicaragua - July 18, 2008

Our visit to Diriomo ended with the guys playing a pick up basketball game with some local kids. This was fun to watch and they were semi competitive but two of them ended up injured. Josh has a torn ligament in his left arm which required it to be stabilized and in a sling with painkillers for three weeks. Joe sprained his ankle and has been hobbling around with a compression wrap. Adam and Marshand faired ok; but us women suffered on the ride back to the hotel with four sweaty men in the van.




Marianne was a great spectator.

Mayor of Diriomo, Nicaragua - July 18, 2008

We arrived in Diriomo and were joined by the Mayor and council members for lunch at a local establishment. After lunch we went to the Mayor’s House for a presentation and discussion of Diriomo government. The people of Diriomo are very thoughtful and hospitable. The town has about 9,000 people and they are rebuilding their school after it flooded last year.



Traditional dance by young girl in Diriomo.


Pictured left to right: Marshand, Joe, Marianne, Mayor, Christy, Josh, Valerie, Adam


Valerie captivated an audience in Diriomo.

Youth for Nicaragua's Democracy - July 18, 2008

Youth for Nicaragua's Democracy is a non-governmental organization spreading the message to high school and college age Nicaraguan’s that they have a place in politics. Youth for Nicaragua's Democracy is an 800 person network through partnerships with the Human Rights Commission, Movement for Nicaragua, and others to improve ethics and transparency and promote democracy. Long term goals include establishing a political party to advance the youth agenda, but are now lobbying the national assembly to advance the youth agenda.

Eduardo Montealegre, Mayoral Candidate for Managua, Nicaragua - July 18, 2008

Thursday morning we had the opportunity to meet with Eduardo Montealegre, the mayoral candidate for Managua, Nicaragua. Montealegre was a presidential candidate and ran against Daniel Ortega in the 2006 election finishing with the second most votes.

Montealegre’s campaign platform is based in the belief that a good administrator is needed in Managua. A leader that will listen to the neighborhood and solve problems of water, good streets, garbage removal and recycling programs are important to Managua now. He also believes that inefficiency and corruption, are a major financial burdens on government funds. Education is of utmost importance to Montealegre, but the municipalities do not have any authority, it is a national government responsibility. He also believes that public servants need to be well prepared and are currently not leading to inefficiency.

Pictured left to right: Joe, Valerie, Marshand, Christy, Eduardo Montealegre, Marianne, Adam, Josh




Montealegre signed his campaign t-shirts for us.