Action Alert: US Ambassador Demands Water Privatization and More

News

On Thursday, November 21, US Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte went before the Salvadoran media once again to threaten the final approval of funding through the Millennium Challenge Corporation should the Legislative Assembly not approve a packet of reforms to the Public-Private Partnership Law. It appears as though the reforms— proposed immediately following the law's approval by the representatives of big business—constitute an effort to undermine the changes made by the FMLN party during the legislative debate in May of 2013, when the party managed to exclude essential services like water, education, healthcare and prisons from 40-years concessions to transnational corporations through public-private partnerships. The US government is now demanding that these and other modifications that were approved to promote greater oversight by the Legislative Assembly over the concession process and to ensure compliance with the Salvadoran Constitution be overturned. Salvadoran social movement leaders have denounced public private partnerships as nothing more than privatization by another name.  Read a powerful statement here from organized communities in the Bajo Lempa region, the supposed "beneficiaries" of this MCC compact. It is possible that the Legislative Assembly will vote on these reforms as early this Thursday, November 28th. That’s why it is so important that we sent a strong message TODAY to Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte to denounce this ransoming of US funding and defend El Salvador’s sovereignty!

TAKE ACTION NOW!

1) Click HERE to send an email to the US Ambassador to call on her to cease her interventions in El Salvador’s sovereign democratic affairs. 2) If you are a Salvadoran or Salvadoran-American, click HERE for this Spanish-language action to send an email to the heads of the political parties in the National Assembly, calling for them not to fall into this trap and demanding they vote “NO” on undoing protections for public goods in El Salvador.

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