Change Begins Now, says Salvadorian
President
San Salvador - The new
president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes,
said today he would be loyal to the oath
taken, guiding his steps by national
interest and the effort to serve the most
underprivileged population, to pursue an
ethical revolution.
He committed to carry out a process of
structural changes in favor of the people.
"The Salvadorian people asked for change and
it begins now," said Funes in a ceremony
held in the amphitheater of the
International Convention Fair, atended by
delegations from over 70 countries,
including 15 heads of state or government.
Funes promised to favor the underprivileged,
generate jobs, construct and improve housing
and carry out a program of social protection
in human settlements.
Our main goals are to overcome poverty,
margination, desperation and lack of
perspectives for our youth, said the new
president.
The Salvadorian people asked for change and
it begins now not by the will of a
president, but by the hands of a nation with
conscience that it will only be possible with
the unity of all, he added when addressing
the Parliament, after being imposed the
presidential band.
The national development project is based on
social inclusion, the higher value of
production and work, updating institutions
and the complete guarantee of democratic
freedoms.
Funes asserted he will not do as other
predecessors who were complacent with
corruption, accomplices of organized crime
who impacted with all forms of backwardness.
We must reinvent our country, creating a new
project of nation which, at the same time,
rescues the great social debt and
accelerates our human and technological
progress, he stressed.
The president said to be aware he will
govern amid the deep social and economic
crisis whose responsibility is the elite
which was in power until today and stressed
his government will launch a program
anticrisis protecting jobs and generating
new sources of labor, and whch will cover
the most vulnerable sectors and boost state
policies for the universal coverage of all.
The plan includes the creation of 100
thousand jobs, creating the state Banks
necessary to give credits to micro, small
and medium companies, execute a temporary
job program and the construction of 25
thousand urban houses and 20 thousand in
rural areas.
Likewise a System of Social Protection
features an integral healthcare and
nutrition program in 100 municipalities with
a high incidence of malnutrition, as well as
a school feeding program in the cities.
To support education, the government will
give free school articles and uniforms to
over one million children. Pay for health
care will be eliminated.
Funes also announced he will summon to a
national dialogue to define a development
strategy and an accord on employment and
public policy with the participation of
every sector in the country.
The new Salvadorian president also said
democracy is threatened by the forces of
drug trafficking and organized crime and due
to the economic urgencies of families.
On foreign policy issues, Funes declared
himself a determined booster of regional and
Latin American unity.
Base don that vision we will establish
diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations
with all Latin American countries and will
immediately reestablish ties with Cuba, he
affirmed. |
