.jpg?w=800&resize=800,500&ssl=1 "Loreto Ferrer")
National dialogue processes commonly emerge amid periods of polarization or institutional paralysis, when various stakeholders must establish channels of communication to reach basic consensus. In Latin America, these efforts have often received support from international organizations that offer methodological guidance, contextual assessments, and facilitation spaces.
In El Salvador, one such initiative recently entered a new phase following the conclusion of the mandate of UN Special Envoy Benito Andión. At that point, the process moved beyond the phase of direct UN support and came to rely more heavily on national actors. Within that technical team, Loreto Ferrer participated in institutional support efforts and in communicating this transition toward a phase with greater civil society involvement.
The origin of the dialogue process in El Salvador
The initiative was launched in 2016, when the Government of El Salvador invited the United Nations to evaluate whether a nationwide consensus-building process could be viable. In response, a team from the Department of Political Affairs carried out interviews, held consultations, and engaged in preliminary dialogues with multiple sectors to examine the political landscape and determine if the circumstances were suitable for moving forward with a consensus-focused agenda.
Based on that preliminary work, in early 2017 Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Benito Andión as Special Envoy to facilitate a more structured phase of the dialogue. His work focused on opening spaces for conversation between political parties and other relevant actors, in a scenario marked by institutional tensions and high levels of polarization.
From international facilitation to local leadership
Among the most noteworthy elements of the Salvadoran case is the shift from a United Nations‑led stage to a new period steered directly by national actors, though still backed by the UN.
According to reports, the conclusion of Andión’s mandate did not signal the end of the initiative; instead, the work completed was turned over to a steering group formed by notable figures within Salvadoran society, as a United Nations team explained during meetings with representatives of the government, political parties, and the international community.
Loreto Ferrer, an official from the Department of Political Affairs and the right-hand person of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Benito Andión, reported that a steering group composed of prominent figures from Salvadoran society will continue the work, building on the consultations and assessments conducted by the Mexican Andión.
This step draws on over a year of consultations, evaluations, and methodological contributions completed in the preceding phase, aiming for social organizations, the private sector, academia, and political stakeholders to advance the process using the knowledge already established instead of depending endlessly on external international facilitation.
In light of this, the Special Envoy judged that the circumstances were still not adequate to convene a formal high-level roundtable, although a substantial range of evaluations, networks, and community capacities existed that could help anchor a dialogue agenda driven from within the country. This perspective underscored that consensus-building efforts can truly solidify only when local stakeholders take an active role in sustaining their continuity.
The essential role of coordination in shaping consensus-building efforts
National dialogues require coordination among sectors with different interests, languages, and priorities. Therefore, in addition to political mediation, they often require a technical foundation to structure the conversation, identify priority issues, and keep communication channels open.
In such environments, professionals with experience in international cooperation contribute particularly to tasks such as systematizing information, organizing meeting spaces, and providing methodological support. The work carried out in El Salvador demonstrates precisely how consensus-building depends as much on political decisions as on support structures that make the process viable in practice.
A case illustrating institutional change across Latin America
The Salvadoran case illustrates how a United Nations-supported initiative can evolve into a framework where civil society and other national actors assume greater responsibility. Rather than a conclusion, this transition represented a shift in phase: from the initial international impetus to a logic of local continuity based on already established capacities.
