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Colombian Civic Leader Offers a Grassroots Strategy for Peace

Colombian Civic Leader Offers a Grassroots Strategy for Peace

Friday, May 26, 2023

By: USIP Staff

Nine months into new efforts by Colombia’s administration to achieve “total peace” with remaining armed groups following decades of civil war, that process should make room for the nation’s thousands of grassroots and community organizations to strengthen peace locally when the fighting stops, says a prominent civic leader from one of the country’s most violent regions. Stabilizing Colombia, where migration toward the United States and other countries soared last year, will require steady support from U.S. and international partners, said Maria Eugenia Mosquera Riascos, who helps lead a Colombian network of 140 civic and community organizations working to end violence.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

GenderPeace Processes

Mientras represión de las bandas en El Salvador continúa, los ciudadanos se preguntan qué vendrá después.

Mientras represión de las bandas en El Salvador continúa, los ciudadanos se preguntan qué vendrá después.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

By: Mary Speck, Ph.D.

El centro histórico de San Salvador vibra con comercio: unos 40.000 vendedores no sólo llenan los cuatro mercados oficiales del centro, sino que también se extienden por las calles circundantes, con sus puestos repletos de todo tipo de productos, desde ropa a electrodomésticos, dulces y productos frescos. Los gobiernos nacional y municipal se han embarcado en un esfuerzo por transformar el centro de la capital en una atracción turística, restaurando monumentos y reubicando los destartalados puestos de los mercados. Se está construyendo también una nueva biblioteca nacional, donada por China, en la plaza cívica de la capital, frente a la catedral metropolitana.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

As El Salvador’s Gang Crackdown Continues, Citizens Wonder What’s Next?

As El Salvador’s Gang Crackdown Continues, Citizens Wonder What’s Next?

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

By: Mary Speck, Ph.D.

San Salvador’s historic center teems with commerce: some 40,000 vendors not only fill the downtown area’s four official markets, but also spill into the surrounding streets, their tarpaulin-covered stalls packed with everything from clothing to electronics, packaged sweets to fresh produce. The national and city governments have embarked on an effort to transform the capital city’s downtown into a tourist attraction, restoring monuments and relocating ramshackle market stalls. A new national library — donated by China — is under construction on the capital city’s civic square, across from the metropolitan cathedral.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

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