R 271949Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0775
INFO NSC WASHINGTON DC
SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000184 
 
 
WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPLS KDEM ES
SUBJECT:  SALVADORANS HAVE A NEW, MORE OUTSPOKEN ARCHBISHOP 
 
Ref:  SAN SALVADOR 01398 
 
¶1. Summary:  Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar was inaugurated as San 
Salvador's Archbishop in a packed mass on February 14 in San 
Salvador's Cathedral.  In the short time that Escobar has occupied 
his influential position as the main representative of the Catholic 
Church in El Salvador, he has taken a high profile stance in two 
separate speeches supporting the Catholic Church's opposition to 
mining.  Moreover, Escobar's public statements suggest that he may 
hold views close to liberation theology, a movement in the Catholic 
Church that emphasized liberating the poor and oppressed and that 
led some adherents to support revolutionary activity in Latin 
America including the FMLN's insurgency (1980-92).  The new 
archbishop, however, has denied being wedded to liberation theology 
and has kept a neutral position regarding the upcoming March 15 
presidential election.  End Summary. 
 
A NEW ARCHBISHOP FOR SALVADORAN CATHOLICS 
 
¶2. Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar Alas assumed duties as San Salvador's 
tenth Archbishop during a mass on February 14 in San Salvador's 
Cathedral attended by key Salvadoran political figures and thousands 
of Salvadorans who traveled to the capital to witness the ceremony. 
The Vatican named the 49-year-old Escobar, who previously served as 
the Bishop of San Vicente, to replace Fernando Saenz Lacalle, who 
resigned after reaching the position's maximum age limit of 75 in 
¶2007.  Escobar was born on March 10, 1959 in Las Delicias, 
Suchitoto, less than 30 miles from San Salvador and studied in the 
Supreme Seminary of Morelia in Mexico and the Pontificia Universita 
Gregoriana in Italy.  He has been a priest since 1982 and served 
first as Assistant Bishop of San Vicente in 2002 and then as Bishop 
of San Vicente since 2005. 
 
MAINTAINS CHURCH'S ANTI-MINING STANCE 
 
¶3. In a highly publicized move, Escobar used his inaugural message 
to call on the GOES to reject mining operations in El Salvador. 
With high-level government officials in attendance, he further 
asserted that the GOES should not allow mining because the cyanide 
used in mining harms people, plants, and animals.  His declarations 
were applauded by the crowd attending the ceremony including 
Salvadoran President Antonio Saca.  Escobar's statements are in line 
with the Catholic Church's position on mining, as well as his 
predecessor's stance on the issue. 
 
¶4. The next day, Escobar spoke out again against mining in El 
Salvador and denounced Pacific Rim, a Canadian company with U.S. 
investors, for pressuring the Salvadoran government at a regional 
forum.  He asserted that mining companies should not operate in El 
Salvador because the country and mining companies currently do not 
have adequate capacity to protect the environment from cyanide 
contamination. 
 
¶5. Pacific Rim filed a notice of intent to seek arbitration under 
CAFTA on December 9, and the Salvadoran government has until March 9 
(a week prior to the presidential elections) to resolve the claim 
before the case goes to international arbitration.  Pacific Rim 
argues that the GOES has violated the investment chapter of CAFTA-DR 
and its own environmental laws by failing to act on Pacific Rim's 
2006 application for environmental permits to exploit the El Dorado 
gold mine in Cabanas.  President Saca publicly asserted on February 
26 that he would rather face arbitration than give Pacific Rim a 
mining permit and announced in a call to a Catholic radio station 
that no mining permits would be awarded during his presidency. 
 
APPEARS SYMPATHETIC BUT SAYS NOT WEDDED TO LIBERATION THEOLOGY 
 
¶6. Escobar told (conservative daily) La Prensa Grafica on February 
14 that he is not wedded to liberation theology because he does not 
believe that justice is achieved through vengeance and resentment. 
He has said that his duty is to raise his voice to defend human 
rights and democracy and called Fidel Castro a dictator.  However, 
in his first homily, Escobar asserted that he wants to be with the 
weak and poor because that is the Church's duty and called for 
priority to be given to ministering to the poor.  Escobar also 
professed in La Prensa Grafica on February 14 to admire Father 
Ignacio Ellacuria, a Jesuit priest and contributor to liberation 
theology, who was murdered by the Salvadoran Armed Forces in 1989, 
and Bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was assassinated by death 
squads in 1981. 
 
ARENA AND FMLN POSITIONS ON ESCOBAR 
 
¶7. President Saca asserted that the new archbishop is a leader who 
will attract more worshippers to the Catholic Church.  Meanwhile, 
(left-wing) FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes published a 
three-quarter-page ad in which he said that he shared Escobar's 
point of view as expressed in his first homily. 
 
¶8. Comment:  It is unlikely that the Salvadoran government would 
grant a mining exploitation permit during the electoral season, and 
Escobar's remarks will make it difficult for either political party 
to do so following the March 15 election.  Escobar belongs to the 
more liberal Jesuit prelature in contrast to his predecessor Saenz 
Lacalle, who belonged to Opus Dei.  Division remains in the 
Salvadoran Catholic Church between conservatives and those espousing 
liberation-theology style ideas.  Charge will pay a courtesy call on 
Archbishop Escobar Alas on March 11.  End Comment. 
 
BLAU