Civil society and democratic development in El Salvador : a CDIE assessment

This report (along with studies in Chile and Kenya) represents the second wave in a series of field studies being conducted as part of CDIE"s assessment of civil society and democracy. The following lessons emerge from this report. (1) In situations like that facing El Salvador, the real "enabling environment" for civil society emerges from the way in which the conflict was settled. Both sides recognized the need for a workable solution, and the unacceptability of further combat. This has evidently not been the case in Nicaragua, Angola, and Cambodia, but it may well be the pattern in Mozambique, and possibly in Rwanda. (2) A frequent criticism of USAID support for the peace accords is that it has offended equity by favoring NGOs favorable to the Government of El Salvador (GOES). In fact, there appears to have been some bias, due to several factors, including, e.g., the fact that pro-government NGOs have the experience and capacity to deal with the bureaucratic aspects of seeking resources, and that the GOES plays a key role in allocating funds. (3) Declines in donor funding for the peace process will have a severe effect on NGOs and possibly on the sustainability of civil society. (4) To ensure human rights, it is essential to have noisy advocacy NGOs, but the proper task of these NGOs is to pressure government organizations, not substitute for them. (5) In regard to the environment, it is important to have both denunciatory and constructive, policy-oriented NGOs. (6) The role of the media is critical in keeping the government accountable to the people. (7) Umbrella NGOs serve to facilitate the flow of donor resources to domestic NGOs and to "capacitate" them to deal with donors and the GOES. An extensive bibliography is appended.