Arrival

It seems unlikely that tourism is a major component of the Salvadoran economy. On the small plane which landed me into the Capital area, the handful of foreigners getting off the plane obviously had some connection to the country that went beyond the tourists' casual curiosity. In fact most of the foreigners on the plane turned out to be directly connected to this delegation.

We passed a few still-operational maquiladoras in San Marcos on the way from the airport into the city center. It is hard to imagine that the maquila era could be considered the 'good old days', but since the signing on to the CAFTA, most of the agricultural sector work has died like dried-out seedlings, scorched and dehydrated by the relentless sun. The economic pressures of a population laid low by chronic joblessness is forcing even more of a downward pressure on wages, which were already notoriously low to begin with. Remember the horrific maquila stories of the 90's?

Over the next few days we will be meeting with members of Salvadoran civil society, those who attempt the near impossible job of revamping a moribund economy, where nearly one third of the population resides outside of its national borders, and where only 600 000 jobs exist in the formal economy in a population of nearly 7 million. I am anxious to learn more about this young democracy and to meet some of the players on the national stage.