CISPES National Office 1525 Newton St. NW Washington DC,
20010 (202)521-2510 Fax: (202)332-3339
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International
observers have denounced recent activities of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for
Democracy (NED) as designed to overthrow democratically elected
presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. A
similar strategy is underway to undermine the electoral process in El
Salvador by striking fear and confusion into voters before legislative
and presidential elections in 2009.
Since
November 2007, El Salvador's leftist party, the FMLN (Farabundo Martí
National Liberation Front), has been consistently polling at a 12-14
point advantage for upcoming legislative, municipal, and presidential
elections—ahead of the right-wing ARENA (National Republican Alliance)
party's presidential candidate and former national civilian police
director, Rodrigo Avila, who has peaked at around 38 percent by
conservative estimates. Because an FMLN victory could deal a profound
loss to Washington and Wall Street by countering attempts to increase
the corporate privatization of land and public services, business media
and government officials have stepped up attempts to defeat them in the
press and behind the scenes.
We hope this finds you in the spirit of struggle and resistance! At this time of year, wouldn’t it be great to give a gift that helps to build a just economic alternative from the ground up?
This holiday season, we invite you to give the gift of solidarity! Give to CISPES in honor of someone in your life would be inspired by our grassroots organizing to stop U.S.-backed repression and to stand up for sovereignty in Latin America.
If you make a donation of $40 or more to CISPES before January 1, we will send you (or as a gift to someone you choose) a collection of the news from the Salvadoran social movement (you won’t find that in the newspapers!), an 8.5 x 11 print of our solidarity mural, and a CD of revolutionary music from El Salvador to inspire you to keep on fighting for justice.
Release: North American academics call for free and fair elections in El Salvador
Thursday, 18 December 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **December
18, 2008**
150 Latin
America scholars denounce U.S.
intervention in Salvadoran elections, call for democracy to be respected as
campaigning intensifies ahead of January and March 2009 voting
**Contact: William Robinson, University of
California-Santa Barbara - 805-259-5455**
A group of 150 scholars from universities and
colleges in the United States
and Candada have released an open letter calling on the U.S. and Salvadoran governments to ensure that El Salvador's
upcoming elections are free of fraud, foreign intervention, and electoral
violence.
On December 9, 2008,
Canadian-based Pacific Rim Mining Corp. filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to begin
arbitration proceedings against the government of El
Salvador. The NOI was filed under Central
America-Dominican Republic-United States of America Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA-DR) laws, and serves as the first step in opening up legal proceedings
against El Salvador (Canada is not a member of CAFTA but the arbitration would
be filed under its US-based subsidiary, Pac Rim Cayman.) The company and
country will have 90 days to amicably resolve their dispute. If no resolution
is reached by March 9, 2009 – just six days before the Salvadoran presidential
election — Pacific Rim can then open arbitration proceedings under the
Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals
of Other States and under the Rules of Procedure for Arbitration Proceedings of
the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)—an
affiliate of the World Bank.
watch new video and join CISPES in El Salvador for the March 2009 elections!
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Watch the new video “Unidos por el Cambio” previewing the elections in El Salvador and highlighting the upcoming CISPES delegation! You can order a copy of the video from CISPES and use it in your community to organize for the upcoming elections.
And, now’s the time to sign up to join CISPES in observing the elections from March 9-19, 2009! Recent polls in El Salvador show that the leftist FMLN party is 14 points ahead over the right-wing presidential candidate from the ruling party. You too can support free and fair elections and learn about the current situation in El Salvador by joining the CISPES delegation - the new deadline for applications is January 15, 2009
Week of January 12-28: Action to Defend Free and Fair Elections
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
CISPES will hold a National Week of Action as part of our campaign to defend democracy and stop U.S.’ intervention in the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections of 2009.
The week of action will be from January 12-18 (The municipal and legislative elections in El Salvador take place on the 18th). We’ve chosen this week and weekend for actions because it is right before elections take place– this means that we will need to raise awareness to defend a victory or denounce fraud and/or US intervention. CISPES committees around the U.S. as well as other allied organizations will hold public actions at some point during that week. For more information contact
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President Saca offers $500 million to private and foreign banks
Thursday, 04 December 2008
FMLN demands that the money benefit
small businesses and the agriculture industry
also in this update:
Mauricio
Funes Travels to the U.S.
to Meet with Leaders of
Financial Organizations and the Organization of American States
Funes and Sánchez
Cerén Promise to Govern
with Policies that
will Benefit the Women of El Salvador
Salvadorans
Living Abroad
Demand the Right to Vote
In
mid-November, Salvadoran President Tony Saca, following in the
footsteps of his
mentor and ally George W. Bush, requested a $500 million loan from the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to inject liquidity into private
and
foreign banks. Citing
El Salvador 's Constitution,
the opposition FMLN
party (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) maintains that the
loan must
be approved by the Legislative Assembly. The Constitution of El
Salvador
requires all sovereign debt to pass a legislative debate and be
approved by a
two-thirds vote in the Assembly.
President
Saca and his ARENA party (Nationalist Republican Alliance) contend that
injecting money into the private and foreign banks will give Salvadoran
businesses and industries access to loans. The FMLN wants conditions to
apply
to the IDB loan to make sure the money stays within the country and
goes to small-
and medium-sized businesses, as well as the agricultural sector. Many
international and domestic economists have agreed with the FMLN’s
proposal, advising Saca that giving the money to private and foreign
banks
would be a mistake. Renowned economist Juan Héctor Vidal explained,
“In
other circumstances these $500 million would be given through other
intermediaries, but I would not give resources to the banks simply to
palliate
them; it is truly sad.”
Stop CAFTA Coalition Releases Report on Three Years of Failed Trade Deal
Friday, 05 December 2008
Groups Who Opposed Central America Agreement Plan to Call for Suspension under Obama Administration
DECEMBER 4, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Katherine Hoyt, Nicaragua Network, (619) 423-2909
WASHINGTON, December 4. Members of the Stop CAFTA Coalition, along
with allies in Central America and the Dominican Republic, have
compiled a report that describes the trends and impacts of the first
three years of the U.S.-Dominican Republic- Central America Free Trade
Agreement (DR-CAFTA). The report, titled "DR-CAFTA: Effects and
Alternatives" is the third in a series of reports by the Stop CAFTA
Coalition; the first was published in September 2006 and the second in
September 2007. The latest report can be downloaded directly by
clicking here. All three are available at www.stopcafta.org.
Recent polls in El Salvador show that the leftist FMLN party is 15% ahead over the right-wing presidential candidate from the ruling party. This only confirms what Salvadorans in the social movement, members of the FMLN, and the general public have been saying all along: El Salvador is the next in line to join the Latin American shift to the left!
The Committee with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) has a long solidarity relationship with the Salvadoran people. One way CISPES continues to support REAL democracy in El Salvador, opposing US economic, military, and political intervention, is by bringing international observers delegations to El Salvador. You too can support free and fair elections and learn about the current situation in El Salvador by joining the CISPES delegation from March 9-19, 2009.
Elections Update: Obama letter, FMLN continues to lead, dirty campaign and attacks continue
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Impact of Obama victory in El Salvador; Open letter to president elect regarding upcoming election in El Salvador
November 2008
The victory of Barack Obama in the United States was heralded in El
Salvador, where people celebrated the end of 8 years of Republican
rule. Perhaps most importantly, Obama’s victory was a major blow to the
Salvadoran right-wing which has depended on a tight relationship with
the Bush Administration to remain in power. Many Salvadoran social
movement leaders recognize that Obama’s victory only represents a
possibility for change and that much work remains to be done to bring
about a significant shift in US foreign policy.
The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections in El Salvador (which
includes the Share Foundation, CISPES, US-El Salvador Sister Cities,
and Voices on the Border) is collecting organizational signatures for
an open letter to president-elect Barack Obama related to the upcoming
elections in El Salvador. The letter calls for US neutrality and
non-intervention in the elections, and asserts that immigration policy
will not be affected by the results; it also pledges that the
undersigned organizations will take action should the State Department
or Congressional members attempt to sway the results of the elections.
The letter can be downloaded at
www.cispes.org/documents/Open_Letter_to_Obama_ElSalvador.pdf
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