Francisco Quiñonez, President BEMISAL

Businesses need a stable economy and a fair, independent and transparent legal system to succeed. The current government is successfully providing both requirements," remarks Francisco Quiñonez, the president of the industrial packaging firm Bemisal. The company exports flexible paper packaging throughout Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean and has enjoyed some success in the United States.

With two factories and $10 million in sales last year, Bemisal is investing in expanding its markets, but unlike other members of the Salvadoran business community, Mr. Quiñonez sees the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the United States as having limited local impact. "I can't see the treaty bringing big changes to the Salvadoran economy," he says. "The immediate benefit would be to convert existing concessions into treaty agreements."