Shake-ups within ARENA Expose Internal Power Struggles

News

This past Monday, Jorge Mariano Pinto - Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS) Director - "resigned" after a series of public accusations of corruption. Almost two years into Saca's presidency, ARENA is experiencing post-electoral conflicts and shake-ups that analysts point to as a repositioning of the country's financial oligarchy. Other recent changes in the cabinet include the Vice-Minister of Labor, who is now the Director of the National Center for Private Property Registration (CNR), and the "resignation" of the Minister of Revenue, Guillermo Lopez Suarez.

Lopez Suarez has held this important government position since he was named by Saca in June 2004. Lopez Suarez has been associated with minor tax reforms that, if enforced, would put a bit of the tax burden on the rich. He also went against ARENA's mandate when he collaborated with a legislative investigation into the country's level of indebtedness. The new Minister of Revenue, William Handal, is former vice-president of Taca - the government-protected airline company - and is unlikely to ever tax big business.

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