Farabundo Marti must be happy wherever he is now, and Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his coffin. The first is a popular hero that fought for justice and equality in El Salvador.The latter is a former US president who illegally financed a 12-year civil war in El Salvador that caused the death of over 75 thousand people, and assured power for the ruling right-wing military and civil coalition that controls that Central American nation until today.
Art by Leo Samayoa
In about 20 days from today, a leftist party is expected to win elections in a country where its progressive and hard working population is still deeply divided by politics and social violence, and that has become the most violent in the hemisphere, plagued by gangs and drug trafficking.
Presidential elections in El Salvador will be held on March 15, 2009 and the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN party is the favorite as recent polls show a 11 points margin over ruling right-wing ARENA. The FMLN used to be a guerrilla group but they joined civil society after the peace accords signed in Mexico City in 1992.
FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes is a very popular and charismatic radio host and journalist, who is running in a platform of unity and peaceful transformation of a country that has become the most violent of the hemisphere. Funes has traveled constantly to the US and has met with Congress members and elected officials to show his commitment to guarantee a friendly and respectful relationship between both nations.
Mauricio FunesEl Salvador shares strong ties to the United States as a political ally in the region. About 25% of Salvadorans live in the US, and the country’s economy is supported mainly by their remittances. Many say the country is run by 14 families, who live mostly in the US but control the land, economics and politics in that beautiful country.
Since the free trade agreement CAFTA was signed in 2005, it has caused negative effects in the Salvadoran rural population, increasing the undocumented migration towards the US, among other social problems. The current Labor Secretary Hilda Solis opposed CAFTA.
This is a historical possibility of change in El Salvador that many don’t want to see it happening. Many say that El Salvador is controlled by 14 families who own most of the land, and run the economy and politics and most of them live in the US. Based on what happened in recent municipal and legislative elections, there is a chance the right-wing political groups might orchestrate an electoral fraud.
The Organization of American States has released a report of the recent Legislative and Municipal elections of January 18, recommending that authorities must prevent any risk of violence in poll stations, noting that they were overcrowded and political groups trying to convince voters in line. Also, there were cases of citizens from Honduras and Nicaragua brought to El Salvador by the ruling party to vote against the FMLN, and rumors are talking about money offers to voter that support ARENA.
Meanwhile, FMLN activists in the US and El Salvador are working hard to assure that elections are conducted in a fair and transparent way, see my next post for more details.
A popular leader for a nation that pleads for unity
Mauricio Funes arrives to a football game in San Salvador
Mauricio Funes arrives to a football game in San Salvador
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