Byrne Rock & Teresa Valdez, May 2001
Introduction
El Salvador is the smallest of the seven Central American countries. It
is also a country that has been riddled with social and political
turmoil, and almost continuous warfare, still recovering from its recent
civil war in which about 70,000 Salvadorans were killed. The conflicts
have understandably had lasting effects on the people and economic
situation of the country. Military dictatorship, violent coups and
poverty have all taken their toll on the Central American nation, and it
is now largely dependent on the U.S. and other foreign countries for
assistance. Natural disasters are also common. Several years ago, El
Salvador and other Central American nations were hit by hurricane Mitch,
and in January of 2001, an earthquake shook the area and left thousands
of Salvadorans homeless. Salvadorans are 89% mestizo, 10 % native
Indian, and 1% white European. Most Salvadorans speak Spanish, but in a
few rural places, native languages are still spoken, although it is
becoming rarer and rarer. About the size of the state of Massachusetts
with a population of about 6 million people (about 20% of which live in
the U.S.) other issues may come first in the public consciousness than
the Digital Divide.
The Digital Divide in El Salvador
In a country of about six million people, almost half live below the
poverty line. According to a NUA survey in April of 2000, only about
40,000 Salvadorans were online, a scant .65% of the total population.
Not even some of the richest one percent of the population can say they
are online. Many of the people that are online are a part of the
higher educational system, with a great number of people getting
connected at the university level. This is typical of many countries,
but El Salvador is slowly entering global society.
Telecommunication Infrastructure
El Salvador's telecommunications infrastructure is a developing one.
During the country's civil war, leftist Guerillas waged war on the
right-wing El Salvadoran government. Often telecommunications targets
were attacked in order to weaken the overwhelming strength of the
governmental militias. The rebuilding of telecommunication
infrastructure, a necessity for access to the Internet, has characterized
the years following the war. As is to be expected from a developing
nation-state, this rebuilding has been slow but steady. Limiting factors
greatly affect the speed at which El Salvador's Internet can grow. Among
these are a low number of mobile phones and personal computers. Although
El Salvador has 464 radios and 675 television sets (per 1,000 people), it
only has 18 mobile phones (per 1,000 people) and a number of personal
computers too small to be accounted for according to the World Bank's
World Development Report 2000/2001. The lack of personal computers puts
El Salvador at an enormous disadvantage with relation to the digital
divide. The El Salvadoran Government hopes that privatization of
communication technology will increase the speed of development. In 1998
the country's only telephony company, ANTEL, was split into a wireless
and a wired component. France Telecom purchased 51% of the wired shares
for $272 million, while 51% of the wireless component was purchased for
$41 million by Telefónica de España. This placed the telecommunication
destiny of the nation in the hands of foreign investors and businesses.
"As of January 1997 there were 350,000 telephone lines in El Salvador
with 70 per cent of all lines in the capital San Salvador. That amounts
to less than six lines per 100 people in the country as a whole with a
waiting list of 300,000." (Telecommunications) The urban concentration
of El Salvador's telephony is also a weak link in the Internet chain.
Without telephone lines that run to non-urban geographic areas, a
comprehensive network cannot be attained. According to Guanacos Online!,
an El Salvadoran Internet related website, the country has at least 19 ISPs
including CTE/Antel.net, Citicom, EuroMaya, Netcom, Telemóvil, and
Internet de El Salvador. Guanacos Online! also lists 10 domestic chat
websites as well as three different Cyber Cafe companies operating within
the country's borders. The additional fact that ANTEL concluded a deal
with Amzak International in February 2000 to provide cable telephone
services offers more hope for El Salvador's developing telecommunication
industry.
Economic Issues
El Salvador's level of economic development is another major barrier to
access to the Internet. The country's GNP for 1999 was $11.8 billion
making per capita wealth $1,900. According to a Lexis-Nexis Document,
"More than 20 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty.
Population density is high with around 280 inhabitants per square km. It
is particularly high in the capital, San Salvador, where population
density is more than twice the national average." This fact undoubtedly
plays a significant role in determining who is able to afford a personal
computer. A 2000 estimate for El Salvador's population is 6.3 million
people. Hong Kong has a population of 7 million and a 1999 GNP of $161.7
billion. This demonstrates the economic disparities between two nations
of similar population. The highest 20% of the country's population
accrues 56.5% of the national wealth, while the lowest 20% makes only
3.4%. El Salvador's GDP was 10% agriculture, 28% industry, 22%
manufacturing, and 61% services in 1999. El Salvador's labor market
consists of the production of the agricultural products maize, millet,
sugarcane, coffee, beans, rice, cotton, shrimp, beef, and dairy
products. Industrial products include processed food, beverages, fuel,
cement, textiles, cigarettes, petroleum products, and raw sugar. A lack
of technological based services and jobs also adversely affects El
Salvador's inequity with regard to digital technology. El Salvador
accepted $30 per capita in official development assistance in 1999, less
than half of the amount accepted in 1990. The nation's foreign domestic
investment was $12 million in 1998. As El Salvador's economy improves
less outside assistance will be required. For the time being, however,
the country's developing economy is a reflection of its struggle to catch
up to other countries that are leading the digital changes related to
globalization. In order to incorporate more of the population into an El
Salvadoran Internet, the economic playing field must be leveled for all
citizens.
Social Issues
Education is one of El Salvador's greatest barriers to access. Many
Salvadorans simply do not have the education or income required to get
online. At least 19% of adult males and 25% of adult females in El
Salvador are illiterate, with about 76 % of the total population
completing grade 5. Only 36% of schoolchildren enroll in secondary
school. About half of the population lives in rural areas, where access
to group use computers such as libraries, schools, or Internet booths is
even more inhibited. Since the nation is largely agricultural and rural,
the massive deforestation and pollution have had a devastating effect on
the economy. El Salvador has lost 95% of its forests to farming and
other developments and the land is not supporting the people as well as
it could. Loss of these natural resources has driven rural areas into
even more poverty. 55% of the rural population is living below the
poverty level compared to 43 % of the urban population. Low income and
little education are factors that will continue to impede the progress of
El Salvador in the global electronic world.
Conclusion
In a country like El Salvador, widespread Internet access is still a long
time away. The country is grappling with issues like poverty, recovery
from civil war, lack of telecommunication infrastructure, and various
natural disasters. Slowly but surely, however, they are starting to have
more widespread Internet access. It is still limited to the relatively
wealthy, but it is increasing. El Salvador is already worlds away from
where it used to be. They are starting to have more widespread Internet
access. With the growing popularity of Internet booths which offer
relatively low priced access, people who would have otherwise not been
connected are getting online. It is still limited to the relatively
wealthy, but it is increasing. El Salvador is already worlds away from
where it used to be.