“Todos Somos COFOA”: Grassroots Leaders Vow to Continue Organizing Despite Government Pressure

For the past 18 years, Communities of Faith Organizing for Action (COFOA) has operated as a service center of the Catholic Diocese of Zacatecoluca, El Salvador. Now the Government of El Salvador has warned the Diocese to end its relationship with COFOA because of the organization’s advocacy for greater public investment in health care.

This pressure comes amid a broader crackdown, including an anti-NGO foreign agents law in May 2025 and the detention of prominent human rights lawyers and civic leaders.

Without the ability to function through the Catholic Church, COFOA has no choice but to restructure its work. But COFOA is not ending

On March 28, 408 grassroots leaders from across El Salvador came together in a national meeting to take stock of this moment and decide how to move forward.

After prayer, reflection, and group discussion, leaders made a clear decision: to intensify their organizing and take on greater responsibility as volunteer organizers in their communities.

For years, COFOA leaders have said, “Todos Somos COFOA”—we are all COFOA. At this meeting, that idea became concrete.

Leaders committed to:

• Take responsibility for sustaining and growing their organizing teams
• Training new leaders to build new teams in new communities
• Continuing campaigns for land rights, water, electricity, education, health care, and dignified livelihoods

COFOA’s grassroots teams—meeting weekly or biweekly in 128 communities—are moving forward with this renewed leadership.

At the same time, COFOA is restructuring to sustain its work. It has signed agreements to operate as diocesan service centers in Honduras and Guatemala, and plans to reconstitute as a regional organization based in Panama. A Salvadoran foundation is also being developed to support leadership training.

This transition has been years in the making. Through a train-the-trainer program, more than 300 leaders have already been prepared to organize their communities and develop new leadership.

COFOA’s growth is a testament to people standing up for their rights and putting their faith into action. In 2025 alone, more than 64,000 families in El Salvador secured legal title to their land through the RENACER campaign. Over the past decade, grassroots leaders have brought more than $20 million in public investment to some of the country’s poorest communities.

Amid pressure and uncertainty, two things are clear: COFOA will continue as a social movement in El Salvador, and its future will be shaped by the grassroots leaders who are stepping forward to lead.

Faith in Action International remains committed to supporting COFOA during this transition and accompanying grassroots leaders as they organize for a just and democratic country.

→ Read more about COFOA’s work and plans in their 2025 Annual Report 

→ Donate to support grassroots organizing in Central America