FMLN congress reps do not recognize displacement due to violence

 
On July 13 of this year, the Constitutional Chamber ordered the Executive government to recognize forced displacement due to violence and ordered the Legislative Assembly to legislate to care for the victims of this phenomenon. Two months later, the Assembly has not begun discussing the issue, even though there is already a bill to protect victims of forced internal displacement due to violence. This Thursday, September 20, we spoke with the regional director of programs of the NGO Cristosal, Celia Medrano. Cristosal is part of the organizations that have presented the bill, in a context in which the government of Salvador Sánchez Cerén refuses to recognize the phenomenon, despite calls from national and international organizations. Cristosal fears that the bill will stall in the Legislative Assembly due to political calculations before the presidential elections of February 2019. “Recognizing that there is displacement due to violence means for the Government to accept that they have not been able to guarantee the effectiveness of public security,” Medrano said. The representative also points out that the congress representatives of FMLN, the ruling party, do not recognize the existence of the problem.