Presentation of the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Users of Public Services

March 05, 2008

Remarks of Ambassador Charles L. Glazer

It is my pleasure to be here today to recognize the achievements of the Consumer’s Protection Office as it launches yet another new initiative.  On March 15, organizations in more than 115 countries celebrated World Consumers’ Rights Day 2008 – a day that has its origins in remarks made by former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. 

In a speech to the U.S. Congress more than 40 years ago, President Kennedy identified four basic consumer rights:  the right to safety, to be informed, to choose, and to be heard.  His declaration gave rise to a consumer protection movement that today spans the globe, involving developed and developing countries, government agencies and consumers advocacy groups, working together internationally and in individual countries to ensure consumer welfare by helping to correct market imperfections and failures. 

In August 2005, with the passage of the Consumer Protection Law and establishment of the Defensoria del  Consumidor, El Salvador joined the worldwide movement to protect consumers’ rights and promote consumers’ confidence and welfare.

Today I want to congratulate Ms. Evelyn Jacir de Lovo and her staff for the outstanding results the organization has achieved in a very short time.  The Defensoria del Consumidor has promoted a more efficient market by identifying and correcting imbalances between consumers and sellers. 

During the last two years, the Defensoria’s work has resulted in more than $16 million in illegal fees being returned to consumers’ pockets.  As an investment banker, I can tell you that that’s a very high rate of return on the $5 million invested so far in creating and operating this new office. 

Consumers are more vulnerable to making bad choices about products or services when they lack information.  Also, far too often, consumers lack information on how to seek redress when products or services fail to meet appropriate standards for timeliness or quality.  The new initiative unveiled today to support a Consumer’s Bill of Rights will help close this information gap.  The United States Agency for International Development, USAID, has supported this initiative, and we are happy to say that seven hospitals and three municipalities have already committed to publicly advertise and meet service standards.  In turn, service providers also ask consumers to respect them by meeting minimum standards for customer treatment of service providers.  

Creating a competitive, vibrant economy requires a partnership of government, business and individuals.  Firms do not operate in a vacuum; they require an adequate investment environment.  In addition to investing in infrastructure, education and other public goods that enhance competitiveness, governments will at times need to intervene to enhance the functioning of markets. 

Enforcement of competition laws to prevent monopolies and collusion, ensuring the easy and quick entry of firms into the market place, placing information in the hands of consumers, and offering consumers an institutional mechanism to seek redress when their rights are violated are all measures that will enhance competitiveness and improve consumer welfare.  A strong system of protection for consumers also contributes to creating a culture of transparency, so essential to economic and political development.

I congratulate the Government of El Salvador, together with the Defensoría del Consumidor, for the initiative we are recognizing today and all of their efforts and  achievements in favor of the protection of the consumers.  The U.S. Government is proud to have assisted the Salvadoran Government in establishing the Defensoría del Consumidor and we look forward to working together in this and other Salvadoran initiatives to increase transparency and improve the market’s fairness and efficiency.

Thank you.