Deysi Cheyne is the executive director of the Women's Institute for Research, Training and Development, known here as the IMU – Instituto de la Mujer. She spoke with us about the significance of the 1992 Peace Accords in El Salvador (her husband was one of the FMLN signers of the accords). Cheyne insists that although the Peace Accords began the process of cultivating political democracy in this country, the social and economic equality that they proposed has not yet become a reality here. She discussed the devastating implications of CAFTA and multinational agricultural corporations on the work and lives of rural farmers. It is now virtually impossible for farmers in El Salvador to grow their own food, leading to social problems of urban drift and migration outside of the country, particularly to the United States.

Cheyne also discussed the high rates of violence against women both during and after the civil war. She made links between migration, the intensifying problem of gang violence, and the disintegration of the family structure in Salvadoran society. All of these factors work together to create a context that is particularly difficult for women in this society.