Education for Development. What Central America Needs to Develop.

The criteria to classify a country as a developed country or a developing country revolves around their Gross Domestic Product and the Human Development Index. Taking these criteria into consideration, the World Bank has created a list of more than 100 developing countries. Considering that the United Nations is formed of 193 countries, having more than 100 developing countries in the world is alarming. Developing countries face numerous problems such as unemployment, corruption, economic inequality, and a wide external debt. With the aim of solving these problems, developing countries are investing a large amount of their national budget in actions such as signing free trade agreements, opening the borders to foreign investment, and asking for international cooperation to construct facilities. However, many international organizations suggest that developing countries should invest in education and consider it as the best way to achieve development in the long term.

Developing countries are constantly signing free trade agreements with developed countries. Governments and economy ministries of the developing countries do this with the objective of selling their products in a market in which people have better purchasing power to buy the products even if they are expensive. The regulations will be the same for the 2 parties in the agreement but competition of products will not be equal because their capabilities are not the same. The developed country’s products are often of better quality than the products of the developing country, which means that consumers will prefer the developed countries’ products. In addition, developing countries’ products are crops and farm products that hardly can compete with the technological products of the developed countries. What is the best way to turn the developing countries’ farm products into technological products? The answer is: through education. It is not the same to plant some crops as to create a new model of computer. Nationals of the developing countries must acquire the knowledge that will lead them to an industrial production of products that can compete in equal conditions with developed countries products. A Free Trade Agreement will be useful and fair until there´s equality in the capacity of competition between trade parties.

Developing countries are trying to attract foreign investment with the objective of increasing job opportunities for their nationals. But to be attractive for investment, developing countries must give privileges to the foreign companies, such as tax privileges. Many companies investing don’t need to pay import and goods taxes, and there is no customs control for their goods and services. We can find a trend in the developing countries which is that even though foreign investment provides job opportunities, these companies stay in the developing countries just for a few years. Now is the time to ask ourselves: why the foreign companies are leaving? It is because they don’t find qualified personnel to perform tasks the job demands. Developing countries nationals don’t have the knowledge and competencies to perform activities that demand a certain degree of specialization. They do not have this knowledge because their governments are not investing in education.

|International cooperation is a good way to develop if it is used for education, but many countries are using international cooperation for the construction of facilities. Ports, airports, roads, factories are being constructed with international cooperation funds. The international cooperation is being misled to fields that are not such important such as education. Having the best buildings and the best streets is not the way to indicate how developed a country is. Many countries have “ghost infrastructures”; which means that buildings, ports, airports, etc. are not being used because there is no reason to use them because the foreign investment is leaving the country. They are not using these facilities and because people have no idea about how to use the technologies installed in these building because of their lack of education. Elements that side are effects of the construction of infrastructures such as urban planning, energy use, water management and other elements require nationals with knowledge that they can get only trough quality education.

There have been many international efforts to prove the importance of education. In 2000, the United Nations members adopted the UN Millennium Declaration after establishing the biggest problems the world was facing. Eight millennium goals were established to be accomplished in 2015, one of which was to achieve universal primary education. In 2005 the UN established the agency for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. In the last decade, The Organization of American States created the Department of Human Development, Education and Employment and UNESCO created the Early Childhood Development Program. These previous programs, agencies and treaties are just a small example of how deeply international organizations care about education for development.

One of the best examples of countries that developed through education is Costa Rica. When you study the economic conditions of the countries near Costa Rica (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua) it is easy to notice how successful the Costa Rican development story is. The army was eliminated in 1948, and the national budget addressed to the army forces has been addressed to education since then. Education has been a fundamental development pillar since 1948; and the investment in education is around 6% and 8% of Costa Rica’s GDP. The high education levels have attracted foreign investors and it also is the incentive of the creation of free-trade zones. Investing in education positioned Costa Rica as one of the countries with the highest levels of foreign direct investment per capita in Latin America and also placed Costa Rica in the 69^th position on the Human Development Index worldwide.

In conclusion, governments are taking diverse actions to achieve development, such as free trade agreements, foreign investment and international cooperation to construct facilities, but it seems that all these actions are not improving developing countries’ economies and nationals’ lives. The reason is that, first of all, developing countries’ governments should invest in education because without education the other efforts are useless. Developing countries’ products that are being marketed in the free trade agreements must turn from agriculture to industry, which needs industrial education. Foreign companies investing in developing countries need workers with technological knowledge, and facilities that are being constructed, such as airports and ports also need people with technological knowledge to perform with efficiency. International organizations such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) have performed studies that show the importance of education for development. According to UNESCO, poverty can drop 12% globally if nationals of developing countries get basic reading skills. UNESCO also found that an extra year of school increases individuals’ annual salary by 10%, and that GDP rises annually by 0.37% when the population is well educated. Without education, progress in other development indicators such as economy, governance, transport, etc. are stagnant. In other words, education is the best way to achieve development. 

Central America – USA Immigration Relations in the Post-International World

The terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001 created almost in every United States citizen an “Anti-muslim” feeling. It is impossible to think in the attacks without thinking about Al-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Middle East and Muslins. But it is also impossible to think about the attacks and think at the same time in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, since the Central American region and citizens had nothing to do with the attacks. Even though Central America has nothing to do with 9/11, immigration regulations post 9/11 affected Central Americans more than Middle Easters.

Post-internationalism is a term created by the American political scientist James N. Roseau to describe "an apparent trend in which more of the interactions that sustain world politics unfold without the direct involvement of states." An important characteristic of the post international world is the power of groups of individuals threatening the national security. The event which marked definitively the transition to a post international world was the New York’s terrorist attacks in September 11, 2001. The Post-international world has had effects in many stages of the international life: new laws for international travels, increase in the price of oil, and the priority countries where the U.S.  Financial aid goes.

Geopolitics determines how countries will manage their diplomatic, financial and technological relations with foreign countries based on events that occurs in certain regions and that are a priority for maintaining a good status quo in their foreign relations. The United States is the financial aid world’s top donor, giving financial aid to 143 countries of the 188 member states of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Since financial aid is determined by geopolitical events, financial aid is subject to change depending on the current and future political, economic and social climate. Central America was a priority region to the USA in the 70s, 80s and 90s since it was a region influenced by the socialism of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the Cold War. With the aim of stopping socialism, the US government helped with financial aid to Central American countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua while they were living through civil wars. The financial aid was lent to support right-wing rebel groups that were in opposition to the left-wing supporting socialism. Nicaragua received $24 million in financial aid in 1984 alone, to support the rebels against the Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction, while El Salvador received approximately $1 million daily during the most critical war years according to unofficial sources.

The financial aid relation has been altered after 9/11 since the threat to U.S. national security now comes from a different area that nothing has to do with Central America. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is lending U.S. financial aid to military related activities in the Middle East. With this money the U.S. Government is trying to control terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and the Taliban and also to control the development of nuclear weapons that can be used to attack U.S. territory. Central America’s financial aid in comparison to the financial aid to Middle Eastern countries is a proof of how the U.S. is investing much more money in that region. The financial aid to Central America since 2000 to 2010 was an average of $12 billion every year, while single countries such as Iraq received more than $20 billion in the last decade.  In 2014 USAID gave $1.5 billion to Egypt, $1 billion to Jordan, $1.1 billion to Afghanistan and so on, while Guatemala received just $65 million in financial aid, El Salvador $22 million, Honduras $42 million, Nicaragua $7.6 million, Costa Rica $1.8 million and Panama $3 million. Even if we total the amount given to all the countries in Central America we will not get even close to the amount given to Egypt or Jordan in the same year.  Nowadays, Central America is facing security problems such as gangs and drugs trafficking that are important to the U.S. government, but they are not as important as the battle against terrorism. But the effects of terrorist events to Central America didn’t finish with the 9/11. The France attacks in November 13, 2015 made the Middle East again the priority region to the western countries and their agenda. This means that the financial aid will not be lent again to Central America in the short term. Central America cannot escape of the negative effects of terrorism.

The United States is the trend destination for Central American citizens looking forward to improve their lives condition. Logically, because of the difficulty of getting a visa, millions travel to the United States in an illegal way. Numbers speak for themselves; in 2014 approximately 200,000 Central Americans tried to emigrate to the U.S. illegally. Five days before 9/11 the U.S. president George Bush and the Mexican president Vicente Fox, supported by the former presidents of Central America, signed a treaty to legalize the immigration status of around 3 million illegal immigrants. The effects of the treaty never came to reality since immigration politics changed after 9/11. But even if the Central American countries had nothing to do with 9/11, the majority of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are Latin Americans and every feasible resolution to solve their immigration status stopped after 9/11. The amount of approved immigrant visas dropped, requirements to get a visa became stricter and deportations increased. From 2001 to 2010, there was a 430% increase of Central American deportees from the U.S. going from 14,452 deportees to 76,603, while Asia where just 34% rise in deportations and 46% from Europe. Deportation of Central Americans results in broken families and the return of people threat by the gangs to Central America. From January 2014 to October 2015, approximately 83 of the Central Americans deportees were killed by the gangs when they returned. This could have been avoided if they if they had not been deported but being poor and lacking of proper paperwork was enough to treat them as criminals at the border. “This is the only time I remember enforcement raids on families of women and children who are fleeing some of the most violent places on the planet,” says Royce Bernstein Murray, director of policy for the National Immigrant Justice Center (2016).

Unfortunately nowadays Central American immigration has been also linked to terrorism. There is a theory which states that al Qaeda have connections with Central American gangs helping with guns transportation in the U.S. border. There was a huge rumor in 2005 that al Qaeda was not moving just traditional guns with the help of gangs but they were moving nuclear weapons to the United Stated specifically with help of the Salvadorian gang Mara Salvatrucha. The idea of Central Americans involved in terrorist actions is also supported by university professors such as the Kuwaiti Abdullah al-Nafisi who stated a theory about jihadists transporting anthrax through drug tunnels coming from Central America and Mexico. Even though there is a lot of speculation about the connection between Central Americans and Middle Eastern terrorist, this connection have been never proved. But the power of speculation is huge. Different institutions such Homeland Security Act and the Enhance Border Security and Visa Reform Act post 9/11 represent a barrier for Central American immigration. Unfortunately, last year’s Paris attacks have brought again the idea of Central American region linked with terrorists which means that U.S. immigration security measures are far away from disappearing. “In addition to thousands of Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence, foreign nationals from countries like Somalia, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Pakistan are using the region’s human smuggling networks to enter the United States,” said Gen. John Kelly, commander of U.S. Southern Command.

Border security regulations in addition to the level of scrutiny to people seeking to enter to the U.S. have led to disadvantages for getting a legal entrance to the U.S. for Central Americans, such as the increase in VISA fees, training of consular officers to deny VISAS to “suspicious” Central American citizens, and additional requirements for getting a student, work or tourist visas. Many restrictions were created for Central Americans after the 9/11. States such as West Virginia and Utah established stricter laws to prevent Central Americans for getting a driver’s license, Texas canceled many bank accounts and refused to report domestic violence issues in Central American families, California laid off hundreds of immigrant working as baggage screeners in the airports while more American workers were hired in the Border Patrol and National Guard which include nowadays military participation (Blalock & Kadiyali & Simon, 2005).

Immigration effects post 9/11can be noticed more than just in numbers, we can also notice them in physical structures. Since 2006, with the aim of prevent illegal immigration, the ex-president of the United States, George W. Bush, mandated the construction of more than 700 miles of barrier fence in the U.S – Mexican borderline. The U.S.-Mexico border fencing is a wall with sensors and cameras that controls the entrance of undocumented immigrants. The fence’s length is 1,954 miles (3,145 km) but it continues in construction, which means that every year, is increasing in length. At the same time the fence has controlled the entrance of immigrants, it has also increased the number of deaths. With the aim of avoiding the fence, undocumented immigrants are taking the Sonoran Desert or the Baboquivari Mountain in Arizona to get to the U.S. Unfortunately, factors like the weather and rough terrain cause multiple deaths. Approximately 7,000 people have died from 1998 to 2013 trying to cross, many of them Central Americans. Border Patrol Agents have increased gradually from 10,000 agents to 20,700, most of them forgetting about immigrant rights and human rights when they find immigrants trying to cross the border. In addition to the increased militarization in the border, the extension of the fence, and the changes in undocumented immigrant actions, the use of new technologies in the border is improving daily. Technologies such as aerial drones are being used in the border to control illegal immigration, drugs and arms trafficking. The term “immigrant” has turn into “terrorist” which justifies treating them like criminals. 

In conclusion, the post international world has caused many repercussions around the world. Such effects vary from country to country. Even though Central Americans had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, they are one of the populations that are suffering the majority of the effects. Approved immigrant visas dropped, requirements to get a visa became stricter, deportations increased, thousands were laid off of their jobs and even a fence was built to control immigration in the U.S. - Mexican border. Do Central Americans deserve there stricter effects even though they did not cause the 9/11 events? As a Central American said once to the New York Times:  "Here there are no Iraqis, no Muslims; we are Central Americans and Mexicans. Yet we are the ones suffering the consequences here" (Swarns, 2003).

Viviendo con $246.60 / Living with $246.60

Viviendo con $246.60 

Casa, comida, agua y electricidad son los 4 puntos más importantes en los que distribuimos nuestros ingresos mensuales. San Salvador se encuentra entre las 10 ciudades más caras en cuanto a costo de vida en Latinoamérica. Los precios de cosas comunes como tomar un café en un centro comercial es de $4, cenar en un restaurante $25, una camisa nueva $30, un apartamento $400 mensuales y un recibo de electricidad $50 al mes. Sin embargo, la realidad es esta: EL SALARIO PROMEDIO DE UN SALVADOREÑO ES DE $246.60 AL MES.

El salario mínimo que a la vez es el salario de la gran mayoría es de $246.60 al mes, pero esto puede ser más bajo ya que en el sector rural el salario mensual es de solo $118.20. Es decir, un salvadoreño podrá gastar diariamente tan solo $7.95 al día, la misma cantidad que un estadounidense gana en 1 hora. ¿Imaginas tu vida en una ciudad costosa con solo $246.60 al mes? El salvadoreño no solo lo imagina, lo vive.

El salario bajo se acompaña de abusos como horas extras no pagadas, días feriados no pagados al doble y aguinaldos pagados con retraso. Casa, comida, agua y electricidad son solo lo básico y pagar todo esto con ese salario es imposible. ¿Qué pasa cuando esta persona se enferma y necesita medicina costosa? ¿Qué pasa cuando tiene que pagar la educación de sus hijos? ¿Qué pasa cuando el precio de la canasta básica alimenticia aumenta? Estos gastos tan necesarios son vistos para nosotros como “un lujo”.

Tanto en inglés como en español tenemos la frase de “esto me costó un ojo de la cara” (it cost me an arm and a leg) para referirnos a un producto que adquirimos a un precio costoso. ¿Qué pasa cuando esta frase ya no es solo una broma sino una realidad? En El Salvador estamos a un paso de esto.

La donación altruista de sangre en El salvador es de apenas 8.85% anual lo que causa graves problemas a nivel médico. El pasado mes de febrero la Cruz Roja Salvadoreña con apoyo de TIGO lanzó una campaña de donación de sangre a cambio de sortear entradas para el concierto de la banda británica de Heavy Metal Iron Maiden. Y este día, decenas de salvadoreños acudieron al banco de sangre a donar con tal de tener un momento de diversión que no puede costear de ninguna manera con tan bajo salario. El acto de donar sangre no es lo que me causa impresión, si no que el “por qué” de la donación. 

Este es un ejemplo que en el salvador es fácil mover masas, comprar el apoyo político y manipular ofreciendo cosas tan básicas y normales en otros países (como el ticket para un concierto) pero que el salvadoreño no puede tener ni en sus mejores sueños. 

Living with $246.60

Housing, food, water and electricity bills are 4 important ways in which we spend our monthly incomes. San Salvador is part of the top 10 of expensive cities in Latin America. You can expend $4 when you go out to drink a cup of coffee, $25 to have dinner in a restaurant, $30 for a new shirt, $400 for your apartment rent and $50 in your electricity bill. But the reality is this: THE AVERAGE WAGE FOR A SALVADORIAN IS $246.60 PER MONTH.

The minimum wage is at the same time the wage of the majority, but it can be lower most of all in the rural areas where the minimum wage is $118.20. It means that a Salvadorian can spend around $7.95 daily, the same amount a US citizen earns in 1 hour. Can you imagine your life in an expensive city with just $246.60 monthly? Salvadorians don’t imagine this, they live this reality.

The low wage includes other kind of labor abuses like extra hours without payment, holidays without double payment and more. Housing, food, electricity and water bills are just the basics and even thought paying these is difficult. What will happen when this person get sick and need expensive medicine? What happen when they start paying their children tuition? What happen when food cost has an increase? These expenses are seen for Salvadorians as “luxury” that they are not able to pay.

“It cost me an arm and a leg” is a quote we use when we purchase something expensive but we say that as a joke. What happen when it is not a joke anymore? In El Salvador we are almost there. 

The altruistic blood donation in El Salvador is really low (8.85% annually) the effects are critical for medical practices. However, last February Red Cross Organization did a campaign of blood donation in exchange of tickets for the concert of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dozens of Salvadorians came to donate blood because they wanted to live a fun experience (the concert) that they can afford with the low wage they earn. I am not surprised because of the blood donation itself, I am surprised because of the reasons behind the donation. 

This is a good example how easy is   to “buy” a Salvadorian, buy their trust, their politic decisions and manipulate them with basic things that are normal in other countries such as a concert ticket, but things that a normal Salvadorian can have just in their dreams.

Viviendo en un País en Desarrollo. ¡Bienvenidos! | Living in a Developing Country. Welcome!

“Tú tienes nuestros hogares queridos, fértiles campiñas, ríos majestuosos, soberbios volcanes, apacibles lagos, cielos de púrpura y oro.”
Fragmento de la Oración a La Bandera Salvadoreña

Si fijas tu mirada hacia el fondo de esta fotografía notarás ese hermoso volcán y ese hermoso cielo del que te estoy hablando. Siempre me he sentido orgullosa de la belleza natural de mi país: hermosas playas, volcanes, ríos, lagos, coloridas frutas que crecen en los árboles, flores exóticas y muchísimo más. Pero, cada vez que levantas tus ojos a algo naturalmente hermoso de nuestro país es fácil notar aquello que no es tan bonito, aquello a lo que pésimas decisiones políticas nos han llevado. Esta foto expresa lo “bonito y lo feo” pero a la vez la realidad que se vive en un país “ en vías de desarrollo.

Mi nombre es Andrea, tengo 24 años, soy salvadoreña e internacionalista y tengo el utópico objetivo de mejorar la vida de cientos de personas menos afortunadas que yo. Luego mi estadía por casi 1 año en un país “desarrollado” y ver el contraste del país en el que nací con éste, mi deseo de ayudar no ha hecho más que incrementar.

A diario escucho los “problemas” a los que se enfrentan las personas que viven acá: “mi gobierno aún no me ha depositado dinero” “el gimnasio está cerrado” “mi carro no es 2016” “Tengo una computadora HP en lugar de una MAC” y una serie de situaciones a las que –al menos yo- no le veo el gran problema. En El Salvador el gobierno no nos ha depositado dinero en todo lo que llevamos de vida, el salvadoreño promedio no tiene motivos de ir al gimnasio ¿por qué debería de hacerlo si está a un paso de la desnutrición?, ¿carro 2016? La gran mayoría se transporta en buses públicos año 1991 y por supuesto, un gran porcentaje ni siquiera puede soñar con tener una computadora que de remate ni siquiera sabría usar.

Estoy de acuerdo en que los medios de comunicación están llenos de malas noticias y que debemos de empoderar las cosas buenas del país. Claro, todos los salvadoreños queremos esto. Entonces, ¿por qué me empeño a hablar de lo negativo? Definitivamente no busco decírselo al salvadoreño, nosotros ya lo sabemos. ¡Quiero hablarle al mundo! A aquellos que no notan los verdaderos problemas. Problemas que, lamentablemente, no solo se viven en El Salvador si no que en la mayoría de países del mundo. Quiero que nos vean de nuevo, quiero que seamos prioridad para la comunidad internacional o al menos para aquellos que aún se preocupan por el desarrollo humano y no solo en crear guerras para lograr mejoras económicas de forma violenta y a costa de otros.

Lo de escritora lo llevo en la sangre y por fin me decidí a comenzar mi blog en el que estaré publicando blogs sobre lo que realmente significa vivir y crecer en un país subdesarrollado. Desde ya doy las gracias por leerme y cualquier debate es bienvenido.

Posdata: Trataré de traducir a inglés pido disculpas desde ya por mis errores gramaticales.

“You have our lovely homes, fertile countryside, majestic rivers, proud volcanoes, peaceful lakes, skies of purple and gold.”

Fragment of 'La Oración a La Bandera Salvadoreña'

If you focus your eyes to the picture’s background, you will notice the amazing volcano and the beautiful sky I am talking about. I have always feel proud about the natural beauty of my country: amazing beaches, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, colorful fruits growing in the trees, exotic flowers and much more. But, every time you put your eyes in the natural beauty of my country, it is impossible to not notice those things that are not “beautiful”, the realty about what political decisions have leaded us. This picture shows us the “beauty and the ugly” but at the same time it shows us the reality about living in a developing country.

My name is Andrea, I’m 24 years old, Salvadorian, International Relations graduate and a girl with the utopic dream of improving the life of people. I have been several months in a “develop county” and seeing daily the big difference between the life of this country citizens in comparison with the Salvadorians citizens, the feeling of helping people is increasing inside me more and more.

I am always paying attention to my friends’ problems in this new country: “My government has not deposit money yet to my account”, “the gym is closed”, “my car is not 2016”, “I have an HP computer instead of a MAC,” and many situations that for me doesn’t represent real problems. In El Salvador, the government have never deposited money to our bank accounts, the average Salvadorian has no reason of going to the gym because they suffer malnutrition, 2016 car? The majority of Salvadorians travel daily in public transportation (1991 busses), and of course the majority has not a computer and also the idea of how to use it.

I agreed with the statement that media focus only in showing negative news and that they must focus in positive issues, every Salvadorian wants this. So, why I am contributing and speaking about negative things? Well, because I don’t want to speak just to Salvadorians, we already know all of this. I am trying to communicate this reality worldwide, I want them to notice us, I want us to be priority in the international community or at least for those countries and organizations that still care about human development and not just about starting wars to achieve a better economy at other’s expenses.

Being a writer is in my genes and I decide to start my blog in which I will write about how it is to live in a developing country. I want to say thanks, since now, to all the people that will read my posts and I want you to know that debate is more thank welcome in my blog also.

Ps. I am so sorry for my English grammar.