PRESIDENT SACA ESTABLISHES ANTI-CRIME COMMISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 002661

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2016
TAGS: PGOV KCRM KJUS ES
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT SACA ESTABLISHES ANTI-CRIME COMMISSION

REF: A. SAN SALVADOR 2526


B. SAN SALVADOR 2204

C. SAN SALVADOR 1702

Classified By: Charge Michael Butler. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) In the wake of the Ambassador's October 16 speech
calling for immediate action to stop crime, followed by
pressure from leading members of the business community and
ex-President Calderon Sol, the Saca administration has
inaugurated a new Anti-Crime Commission, which will make
recommendations to the Administration on how to address the
crime problem in the short, medium, and long term. (Note:
Saca's only comment on the Ambassador's speech was to thank
him for the advice, but he quickly added that the continued
deportation of violent criminals from the U.S. exacerbated
the problem. End note.) The Commission is composed of 14
members from the private sector, academia, clergy, and all
parties of the Legislative Assembly, and includes some of
those who have recently leveled the harshest criticism toward
the Saca Administration.


2. (C) The members of the committee from academia include
Jose Maria Tojeira, the Jesuit rector of the University of
Central America; David Escobar Galindo, the nation's most
respected intellectual and poet; Mauricio Rodriguez Loucel,
head of the private Technological University, and Cesar
Calderon, rector of the private Alberto Masferrer University.
From the private sector the President chose two of the most
outspoken recent critics on the crime issue, Federico
Colorado, President of the National Private Enterprise
Association and Elena de Alfaro, President of the Chamber of
Commerce. Alfaro had earlier threatened that business owners
would cause a general shutdown of operations if the
administration did not take concrete action within two weeks
to lower crime levels, though her appointment to the
Commission seems to have softened that threat. Also from the
private sector, the Commission includes Juan Daniel Aleman,
adviser for the FUSADES "think-tank" NGO, which hosted the
Ambassador's speech. From the Legislative Assembly the
Commission includes Guillermo Gallegos of ARENA, an Assembly
caucus leader, and representatives from the PCN (National
Reconciliation),PDC (Christian Democrats),CD (Democratic
Change),and FMLN political parties.


3. (C) COMMENT: Many sectors of society have offered
commentary on the Ambassador's October 16 call for
Salvadorans to take ownership and act on violent crime; most
are enthusiastic about the Ambassador's message and eager for
early action. The added pressure from the private sector and
ex-President Calderon Sol offered new impetus for the
Administration to take action. However, while the private
sector's input was helpful insofar as it also called for
immediate action, the business leaders' immediate public
refusal to accept any new taxes to help fight crime was very
unhelpful. The President's new Commission takes an inclusive
approach, integrating various sectors of society with
different viewpoints, but one inside observer whose
information is usually reliable reported that the creation of
the Commission was little more than an effort to defuse
Embassy criticism at the Administration's lack of action.
The diversity of the group ensures that the Administration
will receive candid advice, if the Commission's members
manage to agree on anything, but it also ensures the process
of taking action to stop crime will be delayed.
Butler