Latin American Program in the News: How to help El Salvador rebuild
Director Cynthia J. Arnson comments on the importance of remittances and creation of productive capacity in El Salvador.
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According to many Salvadorans I have spoken with there is still a lack of opportunity in their country due to instability, a poor education system and lingering institutional weakness. Many Salvadorans who wait for a day job at Home Depots around the U.S. would like to return to their country and be part of its rebuilding. Indeed, Cynthia J. Arnson, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, argues that Salvadoran expatriates play a critical role by sending remittances home, but that is not enough. El Salvador needs people to rebuild the economy and provide education and job opportunities to keep people from joining gangs. According to the Central Bank of El Salvador it received $3.6 billion in remittances last year. That’s important, but not the same as creating productive capacity.
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About the Author
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
