Central American Recovery and Development: Task Force Report to the International Commission for Central American Recovery and Development - Softcover

Ascher, William; Hubbard, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0822310023 ISBN 13: 9780822310020

Verlag: Duke University Press, 1989

Inhaltsangabe

The International Commission for Central American Recovery and Development was created in 1987 to analyze development in the region and to make recommendations to the region’s governments and to the international community. The essays in this volume were written by experts in Central American development, economics, politics, and administration who were asked by the commission to synthesize existing knowledge on Central America’s prospects for aid, trade, and institutional reform, and to propose creative approaches to the problems facing the region. The Center for International Development Research at Duke University was chosen to perform the editorial and support tasks for the commission.

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Central American Recovery and Development

Task Force Report to the International Commission for Central American Recovery and Development

By William Ascher, Ann Hubbard

Duke University Press

Copyright © 1989 Duke University Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8223-1002-0

Contents

Preface, 
Contributors, 
Introduction, 
References, 
Part 1 Central America's Domestic Problems and Potentials, 
Chapter 1 Displaced Persons and Central American Recuperation and Development, 
Chapter 2 Assessment of Rural Development in Central America, 
Chapter 3 Macroeconomic Adjustment and Agricultural Reactivation in Central America, 
Chapter 4 A Reconnaissance of Conservation and Development Issues in Central America, 
Chapter 5 Industrial Prospects for Central America: A Macroeconomic Policy Approach for Central America and the International Community for the Future (1987-92), 
Chapter 6 Central American Financial Development, 
Chapter 7 Health Care in Central America, 
Chapter 8 Access and Opportunity for Women in Central America: A Challenge for Peace, 
Part 2 The International Economic Context, 
Chapter 9 Central American Debt: Genuine Case-by-Case Studies, 
Chapter 10 Prospects for Regional Economic Integration, 
Chapter 11 Currency Convertibility, the Central American Clearing House, and the Revitalization of Intraregional Trade in the Central American Common Market, 
Part 3 The Legacy of Central American Initiatives, 
Chapter 12 The Alliance for Progress: An Appraisal, 
Chapter 13 Trade Unshackled: Assessing the Value of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, 
Chapter 14 Four Years Later: President Reagan's National Bipartisan Commission on Central America, 
Chapter 15 The Responsiveness of Policy and Institutional Reform to Aid Conditionality, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Displaced Persons and Central American Recuperation and Development

Sergio Aguayo

Introduction

The cessation of hostilities in Central America will not automatically bring about a return to normal life. Central America has changed profoundly. Ten years of war have devastated the economies, altered the political systems, displaced societies and modified international relations. Peace—a gradual and irregular process—requires reconstruction and development, and these present enormous challenges.

The number of displaced persons is immense. Estimates run from 1.8 million to 2.8 million people. This represents varying percentages of each country's population: between 3 and 7.5 percent of Guatemalans and between 25 and 29 percent of Salvadorans. Their existence presents us with difficult challenges in humanitarian, economic, political, legal, and international terms.

This chapter is based on a simple assumption: peace does not automatically resolve the problems of this displaced population. Undoubtedly peace is the basis for any lasting solution, but the duration and scale of the demographic movements have given them autonomy. The violence could diminish or cease, but the Central American demographic map has been modified—in some ways irreversibly. The implications of these changes are as yet difficult to determine.

In the past few years great efforts have been made to identify and understand the characteristics of this phenomenon, and the literature is vast and diverse. There are newspaper articles, reports of all kinds, and some fifty academic works on the subject of demographic changes involving Central America, Mexico and the United States. The accumulated knowledge is considerable but still insufficient. To begin with, there is a fundamental problem: we do not know the exact number of displaced persons. Except for the 116,008 refugees recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), estimates are based upon mere appraisals.

On the other hand, the existing works have been dedicated, above all, to describing the phenomenon and defending the Central Americans. Therefore, they have emphasized the political, international, and legal aspects of the refugees. Few works review the economic impact of the displacements of people, and those that exist are not sufficient to permit valid generalizations in terms of all countries.

In the literature about the massive flow of Central Americans, it is correctly assumed that the best solution for the displaced is the return to their place of origin. Nonetheless, the studies on this and other migrations have emphasized the situation in the receiving countries even though the conditions in the countries of origin will determine repatriation. The return to peace and the reconstruction of economies and communities are the central factors.

In the following discussion (which presents only the broadest and most general concepts), the variety of situations and the great number of actors involved in the phenomenon should also be taken into account. In the arena of the displaced Central Americans, the participants include regional and European governments, international organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), political institutions, religious groups, and private development agencies.

In view of the above, it is difficult to establish recommendations for the future. Still, it is essential to begin to explore the links between displaced persons and reconstruction and development. Achieving a satisfactory response to the challenges presented by the displaced Central American population would be an historic step forward that could serve in confronting the phenomenon of massive displacements common in other parts of the world.

Review of a Decade of Displacement

In order to assess the impact of the displaced and to recommend responses, we must first look at what has taken place in a decade of peoples being displaced within their countries and abroad. Observers and students of the phenomenon have estimated that between 1.8 million and 2.8 million have left their place of residence in recent years. Of these, about million are displaced in four countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras); the rest are dispersed throughout at least II countries, UNHCR estimates that there are some 300,000 residing outside their own country (not including those in the United States), but it has recognized and protected only 116,000.

Those Displaced Within Their Own Countries

Those considered to be displaced within their own countries are people who have changed their place of residence within their own borders for reasons connected with the conflict. The country most affected is El Salvador, followed by Nicaragua and Guatemala. A special case worthy of mention is Honduras. Although the conflict within Honduras is minor, 35,000 people are displaced by the Nicaraguan counterrevolution; for many years the Honduran government has denied the existence of these contras in Honduras.

The primary factors causing displacement are the violence of certain military campaigns that do not discriminate between combatant and civilian populations, and the economic devastation caused by the conflicts. In fact, a direct correlation exists between the number of people displaced and the intensity of the counterinsurgency campaigns (in Guatemala, 1982 estimates reached 1 million, while now they are at 250,000).

Another cause of displacement is that some people or groups foresee the possibility (actual or potential) of being affected by the confrontation. A third factor is forced relocation for...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Duke University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1989
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0822310023
• ISBN 13: 9780822310020
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 472
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar