A Wall Street Journal article has pointed out the futility of the Northern Longitudinal Highway and a recession in the Salvadoran economy over the last 10 years.
"... The Northern Highway (which passes through some of the least populated areas of the most densely populated country in Central America) is an unfinished work, courtesy of the North American taxpayers," noted an article on Online.wsj.com.
Retail commerce grew 2.5% in March; it had fallen 20.9% in the same month of 2009.
According to the Monthly Economic Activity Index (IVAE), developed by the Central Bank of El Salvador, retail was the single worst performing economic sector during 2009.
The bank remarked that several sectors recovered during March 2010, including commerce, finance, manufacture and agriculture.
In El Salvador, the debate over the advantages and disadvantages of dollarization has been reignited, as the government is in need of resources for funding its programs.
President Funes has regretted that Dollarization has limited El Salvador from taking actions to combat the economic crisis. However, Augusto De la Torre, chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank, repeated that dollarization is not an obstacle, and that in the case of Panama and El Salvador it has been key to relieve them from external pressures and exchange rate volatility.
In El Salvador, many argue if Congress should establish the basic rate of fixed telephony.
An article in Elsalvador.com remarks that "economic analysts and representatives of the private sector argue that lawmakers shouldn't regulate prices, as they intend to do with a decree to lower the basic fee for fixed telephony. Manuel Enrique Hinds considers the Assembly should not be lowering or increasing rates, as that is one of the functions of the Telecommunications Superintendence".
On April 23 and 24, El Salvador will host the Second Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Trade and Investment.
Among the topics to be discussed at the meeting organized by the Salvadoran Commission for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (PROESA and EXPORTA) are: the impacts of the global crisis on developing countries and the measures that have been taken to mitigate it; an analysis of the Latin American and Caribbean competitive situation in infrastructure and trade services and the situation of the tourism sector, including its current challenges and opportunities.
Lower economic activity and the rise in interest rates are signs that the economy is being affected by the financial crisis in the US.
Some economic analysts warned yesterday that the effects from the financial crisis in the United States, which has been going on for over a year and which has gotten worse recently, are beginning to show up in the Salvadoran economy.