El Salvadorís Ambassador LeÛn Both Diplomat, Community Leader by Larry Luxner RenÈ A. LeÛn, El Salvadorís ambassador to the United States, likes to joke that if he ran for mayor of Washington, D.C., and all Salvadorans could vote, heíd probably win hands down. That probably isnít much of an exaggeration. The Washington metro area is home to 500,000 immigrants from El Salvador, making it the nationís second-largest Salvadoran immigrant community after Los Angeles, with around 900,000. In fact, an estimated 2 million salvadoreÒos live in the United States, an enormous number when you consider that El Salvador is the smallest country in Central Americaóeven smaller than New Jerseyóand has only 6 million inhabitants. ìOne in every four Salvadorans lives in the United States, the greatest democracy in the world, and they send home $2 billion annually in remittances,î said LeÛn. ìThis is 13 percent of our total [gross domestic product].î In addition to the United States, about 200,000 Salvadorans live in Canada, mainly Toronto and Ottawa. According to LeÛn, more than 50,000 have also ended up in Brisbane, Australia, and another 45,000 in the Italia n city of Milan. The Washington Diplomat interviewed LeÛn, who took up his post in 1997 at the age of 35, at the Salvadoran Embassy on California Street last month. Above the fireplace mantle in his office are commemorative plates from the city of Las Vegas, the state of Utah, the College of Strategic Studies in San Salvador and the National Museum of Costa Rica. On the wall are photos of LeÛn posing with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and the current president of El Salvador, Francisco Flores. Other politicians are also represented in the photo collection, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), an outspoken opponent of Fidel Castro. Yet LeÛn and his 24 staffers spend a lot more time helping the local Salvadoran community than going to diplomatic receptions and cocktail parties. ìEl Salvador has 32 embassies around the world, but this is the one where we do the most community diplomacy in the worldówhere the ambassador is as much connected with the local community as with the host government,î LeÛn said. Salvadorans can be found throughout the Washington metro area but particularly in Silver Spring, Md.; Falls Church, Va.; and Arlington, Va. In fact, thereís even a Chirilagua Cityóa neighborhood along Glebe Road in Virginia crammed with Salvadoran supermarkets, dressmaking shops, video stores, restaurants and hair salons. LeÛn said that close to 90 percent of these Salvadorans have some sort of legal status in the United States. Tens of thousands fled here during the countryís 12-year civil war, in which more than 70,000 people died. These refugees were eventually granted legal status under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). ìMany of them are either Salvadoran Americans and in a position to enjoy both nationalities, while around 225,000 families qualify for U.S. residency under NACARA. Another 290,000 individuals are protected under TPS. Others have political asylum or are here on student visas,î LeÛn said. ìOnly 10 percent of the Salvadoran population here is undocumented.î Following back-to-back earthquakes in early 2001 that left more than 1,159 people dead, 8,122 injured and hundreds of thousands homeless, the U.S. government granted TPS for Salvadorans who arrived here on or before Feb. 13, 2001. That gave them 18 months to live and work in the United States. The program was extended for an additional 12 months and was set to expire Sept. 9 of this year, but in July, the Department of Homeland Security announced that there would be yet another 18-month extension, so the new TPS will now expire on March 9, 2005. However, to enjoy the 18 additional months here, Salvadorans need to re-register by Sept. 15, which happens to be El Salvadorís Independence Day. ìWeíve been doing a very exhaustive, intensive outreach effort throughout the United States,î LeÛn said. ìWeíve been from coast to coastóBoston, Long Island, Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Kansas, Colorado, Salt Lake City and Miami.î And success stories abound. One Salvadoran named Manuel Montesinos, who was undocumented before being granted TPS, now owns 10 taxicabs in the Atlanta area. Thousands of others own their own businessesófrom restaurants and hair salons to security companies and video stores. LeÛn said much of this success came about because of a unique concept that the embassy pursued: a mobile consulate that involves ìbringing the services that our citizens need closer to them.î ìWe have 11 consulates and sometimes they are inefficient in coping with demand,î the ambassador explained. ìSo we try to provide a better service to those who live on the outskirts of cities, or we simply go to emerging communities where we donít have consulates.î Usually, the consul-general, his second in command and his staff team up with local churches and nongovernmental organizations to hold workshops in churches, schools and even restaurants. There they provide services that include the issuance of passports, powers of attorney, birth certificates and, of course, help with TPS registration. The embassy also has a toll-free number answered in El Salvador for people who need information about TPS and NACARA in Spanish. Another program involves calling as many Salvadorans in the United States as possible with a taped message from President Flores urging them to re-register for TPS by the Sept. 15 deadline. ìWe have been able to make half a million calls with our presidentís message,î said LeÛn, adding, ìJust for TPS, we process at least 50 people a day. Itís not only an outreach effort, itís also good PR.î The ambassador said the entire project would have cost more than $2 million had the embassy not received substantial donations from U.S. companies. Thanks to those corporate sponsorships, however, the embassy spent only $150,000. It is, of course, in El Salvadorís interest that immigrants remain in the United States and send remittances each year, rather than returning to an overpopulated country with limited housing and job prospects. But in the long run, said LeÛn, the ultimate solution is to boost the countryís economy through greater trade integration with the Western Hemisphere. El Salvador took one step toward that goal several years ago, with the decision to gradually replace its national currency, the colÛn, with the U.S. dollar. LeÛn said, ìEl Salvador is one of the few countries in Latin America that can issue bonds and debt. We donít have any exchange-rate risk or distortions in the economy, since all the prices are in dollars. Thanks to dollarization, we have the lowest interest rates in Latin America, and one of the lowest inflation rates in Central America.î El Salvadorís per-capita income now averages $2,100, but still that is not enough, said LeÛn. He, along with the ambassadors of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, are negotiating with the United States to sign a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that would remove all trade barriers between the United States and Central Americaóin much the same way NAFTA has created a free-trade zone between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Six of nine negotiating rounds are already completed, and CAFTA talks will finish by yearís end, said LeÛn, although getting Congress to approve the legislation so close to the 2004 elections wonít be easy. But approving CAFTA is in Washingtonís interest as well, LeÛn said. ìWhen the Salvadorans come here, theyíre looking for a better future. Thatís why we link the issue of immigration stability with CAFTA,î the ambassador explained. ìWhereas NACARA, TPS and all these other programs help us a lot, the flow of immigrants to the United States can only be regulated if we give Salvadorans and other Central Americans the opportunity to have dignified jobs in their own countries.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.