More than 600 people have been confirmed dead, and in an address to the nation on January 15th President Francisco Flores said the death count could rise significantly. At least 4,000 people have been reported missing. Congress has declared the three days ending January 17th as a national period of mourning. Several major highways out of San Salvador have been blocked by debris, though the Ministry of Public Works believes these should be cleared completely within three weeks. Additional funding will be forthcoming as needed because of broad-based multilateral support for El Salvador's economic policies, especially its recent initiative to legally fix its currency to the US dollar.
Natural disasters are frequently a political test in Latin America.
A poor response to the Mexico City earthquake of 1985 severely damaged support for the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional before the 1988 presidential election, which the party is believed to have won only by fraud. So far, the performance of El Salvador's president has been both decisive and well-received. Because Mr Flores represents a new, post-civil war generation in Salvadoran politics, and because he has been in power less than two years, this earthquake represents a major test of his leadership. Continued good performance in an adverse environment will help set the tone of his public support for the remainder of his term, which ends in 2004. The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2001.