Amended in Assembly June 18, 2014

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 103

Introduced by Senator De León

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Fong, Fox, and Medina)

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March 27, 2014

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 103—Relative to California/El Salvador relations.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 103, as amended, De León. California and El Salvador: begin delete partnership. end delete begin insert election. end insert

This measure would begin delete extend an invitation to end delete begin insert commend end insert the government of El Salvador begin delete to partner with California to promote democratic institutions, the rule of law, and economic opportunity and growth, and to foster international understanding through increased trade and investment and mutually beneficial educational, economic, and cultural exchanges between California’s and El Salvador’s institutions end delete begin insert on its handling of the recent election and would recognize the efforts of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and other institutions in assisting with the election in the spirit of the Chapultepec Peace Accords end insert .

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of California is
committed to begin delete encouraging relationships and exchanges between
California and other regions of the world in order to promote better
economic ties, understanding, and cultural relations end delete begin insert end insert begin insert recognizing
democratic governments in their efforts to develop policies that
support the rule of law and the long-term economic growth and
shared prosperity of all members of society end insert ; and

WHEREAS, El Salvador and California have long shared
common interests and each stand to benefit from increased trade,
investment, and tourism, as well as cultural, educational, and
scientific exchanges; and

WHEREAS, The 12-year Salvadoran Civil War, which began
in the early begin delete 1980’s and end delete begin insert 1980s, end insert took the lives of over 75,000
Salvadorans, resulted in a begin delete massive influx of refugees to California,
specifically to Los Angeles and San Francisco end delete begin insert displacement of
over 500,000 people, and was concluded with the signing of the
Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City in 1992 end insert ; and

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WHEREAS, El Salvador’s peace settlement, as summarized by
the United States Institute of Peace, provided for a cease-fire, the
demobilization of military and guerrilla forces, the establishment
of the rebel Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)
as a political party, and the reintegration of its combatants into
society. The Chapultepec Peace Accords further committed the
government to making changes in the nature, responsibilities, and
size of the country’s armed forces, creating a new national civilian
police force and an intelligence service separate from the military,
implementing human rights measures, adopting electoral and
judicial reforms, and providing limited social and economic
programs primarily benefiting members of the demobilized forces
and war-ravaged communities; and

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WHEREAS, A majority of Salvadorans fleeing the civil war
came to the United States, with most coming to Los Angeles and
San Francisco; and

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WHEREAS, The City of Los Angeles, a sister city to San
Salvador, is home to the largest concentration of Salvadoran
nationals in the United States, making it inextricably linked to the
nation of El Salvador; and

WHEREAS, Of the 1.6 million Salvadorans who live in the
United States, more than 500,000 call California home. Salvadorans
constitute the second largest Latino community in California, and
live in major cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles; and

WHEREAS, The state’s 22nd Senate District encompasses the
neighborhoods of Pico-Union and Westlake, where many
Salvadoran refugees settled during the Salvadoran Civil War and
is also home to a plaza and statue in commemoration of the
humanitarian Monsignor Oscar A. Romero in MacArthur Park;
and

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WHEREAS, El Salvador and California are committed by the
historic cultural relations between their people, which represents
an important opportunity to promote economic, commercial,
cultural, and business relations; and

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WHEREAS, begin delete Establishing a formal relationship between El
Salvador and California would help achieve important goals, and end delete
begin insert The California Legislature supports actions that end insert would strengthen
and facilitate begin delete additional end delete mutually beneficial exchanges in cities
like sister cities Los Angeles and San Salvador; and

WHEREAS, March 24, begin delete 2014 end delete begin insert 2014, end insert begin delete is end delete begin insert was end insert a special occasion,
as it begin delete will end delete begin delete mark end delete begin insert marked end insert the 34th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of
Monsignor Oscar A. Romero, whose tomb President Obama visited
on March 23, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Monsignor Romero is a historical icon of the
Salvadoran people, and in that spirit, the State of California joins
President Obama, the City of Los Angeles, the Salvadoran
community, the government of El Salvador, and millions of
followers in El Salvador and around the world, in paying tribute
to his life and teachings; and

WHEREAS, El Salvador recently held a presidential election
on March 9, 2014, that according to international observers,
including the Organization of American States (OAS), the United
Nations, and hundreds of United States citizens, was free and
democratic, and for which the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE)
was praised, for the election’s transparency and professionalism;
and

WHEREAS, The State of California joins the United Nations,
international observers, the OAS, and many civil and religious
organizations in recognizing the work of the TSE, begin delete and calls upon end delete
begin insert the commitment of end insert the two major political parties to respect the
will of the people as demonstrated by the March 9th election, and
begin delete to respect end delete the final outcome announced by the begin delete TSE, which has end delete
begin insert TSE as end insert the legal mandate under the Salvadoran Constitution; and

WHEREAS, begin delete The end delete begin insert Addressing the socio-economic issues that
long fomented civil unrest in El Salvador prior to the civil war,
and which were again brought to the forefront in the global
recession in 2009, will take time and a consistent commitment by
the Salvadoran government to build an equitable economic
environment that supports the efforts of workers and the middle
class to prosper and benefit from the nation end insert begin insert ’s economic growth.
To this end, the end insert State of California begin delete will work closely end delete begin insert can serve as
an important economic partner end insert with the newly democratically
elected government of El Salvador, and begin delete President-elect end delete begin insert President end insert
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, begin delete to promote end delete begin insert in promoting trade and end insert private
investment in both El Salvador and begin delete California, and encourage
Californian private companies to invest in El Salvador end delete begin insert California end insert ;
and

WHEREAS, The United States prospered from a $692.6 million
trade surplus with El Salvador in 2013; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature, on behalf of the people
of the State of California, begin delete hereby extends an invitation to the
government of El Salvador to partner with California to end delete begin insert commends
the Salvadoran people for their high turnout in the election, as
well as the state institutions for their professional handling of the
election process. California looks forward to a positive and
cooperative relationship with Salvadorans living in California
and with President Sánchez Cerén and his government as they
continue to forge new policies and take actions that end insert promote
democratic institutions, the rule of law, and economic opportunity
and begin delete growth, and to foster international understanding through
increased trade and investment and mutually beneficial educational,
economic, and cultural exchanges between California’s and El
Salvador’s institutions end delete begin insert growth for all Salvadorans, in the spirit of
the Chapultepec Peace Accords end insert ; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President of El Salvador, to the Governor of
California, and to the author for appropriate distribution.