An ICEFI study concludes that corruption in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras covers "virtually all sectors" and in Guatemala alone, the losses generated are estimated at $550 million per year.
The book "Corruption: Its Paths and Impact on Society and an Agenda to Confront it in the Central American North Triangle", "... studies the relationship between corruption and democracy, highlighting that corruption in the C.A.N.T -El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras - has special characteristics derived from historical aspects, such as the construction of weak states, periods of authoritarianism, civil war and counterinsurgency systems, and the impairment of judicial independence."
"We, at this moment in time, do not believe that these recommendations should be promoted because we are carrying out a series of readjustments that we believe are more relevant".
The Sanchez Ceren administration has ruled out addressing the recommendations made by a mission from the International Monetary Fund to correct the wrong direction of the Salvadoran economy.
A scruffy old man is running around America preaching the same disconnection with the real world that made him a complete failure as the president of Uruguay.
EDITORIAL
On his way through the Latin American capitals, crowds applaud his coffee shop philosophy, while others who have specific responsibilities in life are surprised at the inconsistencies of the former Uruguayan president. Some clueless leaders even hold up his government as an example of the application of tax reforms - those that did not exist during his term when in fact all he did was waste state money forcing his successor in the presidency to take immediate austerity measures.
The union of industrialists states that the government's five-year plan lacks any definition of concrete actions which would allow it to bring about anticipated results.
From a statement issued by the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI):
In the view of industrialists it is a document which contains some important evaluations and defines priorities for government issues, but it lacks a concrete action plan to provide solutions to the serious problems we Salvadorans are facing, especially with regard to violence, stagnation of the economy and lack of jobs.
Representatives from the Competitiveness Initiative have submitted diagnoses and proposed solutions in education and business, infrastructure, procedures and access to markets and investments.
"Murillo and Ortega together are forging a level of control that political observers say holds echoes of the sort of family dynasty that the Sandinista Front once took up arms to topple."
"Dynasty," is how the U.S. Newspaper Kansas City describes the government of Daniel Ortega and in which it discusses the influential role played by his wife Rosario Murillo in every government decision.
El Salvador's public debt up to May 2013 totaled $13.429 billion, representing 53.8% of gross domestic product in the country.
Eleconomista.net reports that "As of May this year the public debt of El Salvador, as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 53.8%, representing a total of $13.4294 billion. That means that for every dollar the Salvadoran economy produces, slightly more than half is debt. "
The Fourth State of the Region Report examines the society, demography, economy, environment, and political integration of the seven Central American countries.
The Fourth State of the Region report is divided into four sections and ten chapters.
The first section is entitled "Regional Overview", and its main purpose is to track recent developments in Central America based on a platform of comprehensive and current indicators.
Poverty in Costa Rica has not fallen below 20% in two decades, confirming the validity of the adage "instead of giving fish, teach people to fish."
The liberal idea that instead of supporting the poor with large and ineffective welfare programs, it is better to give them the means to improve their lives themselves, remains in force, and a good example of the ineffectiveness of the welfarism practiced by the traditional political class is the "bloated welfare state" of Costa Rica, argues Juan Carlos Hidalgo, project coordinator for Latin America at the Cato Institute.
For 2011, improved prospects for external and domestic demand are expected to lift output growth, although high global fuel and food prices will increase inflation and the external current account deficit.
IMF Completes Second Review Under Stand-By Arrangement for El Salvador
Press Release No. 11/107
March 31, 2011
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed its second review of El Salvador’s economic performance under a program supported by a three-year Stand-By Arrangement. The decision was taken on a lapse of time basis (a process where the Board agrees that a proposal can be approved without convening formal discussions). The arrangement was approved on March 17, 2010 in the amount of SDR 513.9 million, equivalent to 300 percent of the country’s quota in the IMF (see Press Release No. 10/95). The Salvadoran authorities are treating the arrangement as precautionary.
The chief of staff, Alex Segovia, said in a press conference that plans are to invest in 2012 $173.5 million in social security and $644.5 million in infrastructure projects, totaling $ 818 million.
El Salvador is not an easy country to govern, but despite all the difficulties faced during his presidential term, Mauricio Funes has the support of 79% of the population.
That makes him the most popular president in Latin America and this despite the fact El Salvador has the highest murder rate in the world and despite the fact its economy shrank 3.6% during the global economic crisis.
A $ 35 million loan will be allocated for the implementation of the Community Support of Urban Solidarity and a $ 70 million loan to finance the Comprehensive Improvement for Housing and Urban Squatter Settlements Phase II.
The main productivity issue in Latin America is that countries spend too many resources in small, underproductive companies.
In the 1960s, Latin America had a per capita income of 25% of that of the United States, but it has dropped to 16%. On the contrary, several Asian nations that had in 1960 much lower incomes than the region are now joining the ranks of high income countries.
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