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Satisfied Subscriber

My first issue of Americas Magazine has been received, and I am very pleased with the presentation and the variety of subjects in the many articles.

So many states are involved, and I will be learning such new data about them. Being ninety years old, retired, and liking to read as I do about history and how much each country is so different from Washington State, I do welcome the magazines.

Clair Hunt Amboy, Washington

Real Peace in El Salvador?

In your August edition, I was intrigued to read the article entitled "Profits of Good Credit" [Ojo, p. 4]. It seems to suggest that El Salvador is undervalued in Central America as an attractive country for foreign investment, in spite of a favorable credit rating by the magazine Institutional Investor.

We all know that statistics can be used to "prove" many things, especially if they are quoted selectively, as in your article. It would have been appropriate to add that 30 percent of El Salvador's workforce is under-employed and that 25 percent of its population is estimated to live in extreme poverty.

Attracting more investors and international tourists is not merely dependent on "better public relations." The U.S. ambassador's contention that El Salvador is now a peaceful country appears highly exaggerated. On the contrary, recent reports suggest that crime is prevalent and rising, particularly as a result of street gangs--las maras--largely consisting of Salvadoran refugees who have been deported back from the U.S., including a large number of prison inmates. I would recommend to the author of your article to read Scott Wallace's...