Starting at 7am on Sunday March 15, Salvadorans headed en masse to the polls to cast their ballots for the future president; by 9:30pm Mauricio Funes, presidential candidate of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), pronounced himself President-elect of El Salvador—the very first leftist head of state in the country’s history.
The historical significance of this shift in power cannot be understated in light of the repressive rule that the Salvadoran right-wing has exerted over the people since the massacre of nearly 30,000 indigenous campesinos in 1932. In electing the FMLN, the political party formed in 1980 as an alliance of popular armed forces that fought back against widespread state repression, the Salvadoran people have created an opportunity to realize the goals of social and economic justice. Furthermore, in rejecting the ARENA party, one of Washington’s closest and longest-standing allies in Latin America, Salvadorans have dealt another blow to the Washington Consensus and to the United State’s presumption of free reign throughout the Americas.
Analyzing the official results
The official results from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) show the FMLN winning the election by 51.3% over 48.7% for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), with a margin of roughly 70,000 votes delivering this historic victory to the left.
It was “an emotionally charged experience,” says Cecilia Martínez Vásquez. Martínez Vásquez, who witnessed the elections from her hometown of Apopa, El Salvador, grew up during the 12-year civil war between the military and guerilla movement. She vividly remembers sleeping under her bed for several weeks during outbreaks of violence. In 1990, eight months after Apopa was invaded by the military, Martínez Vásquez and her family left El Salvador for the United States.
With memories of strife and fear still lucid, Martínez Vásquez remarks that “to see a country fulfill its potential and to move in a direction where change will happen — there is a lot of hope.”
Thanks to Real Change and reporter Will Voinot-Baron!
• The “global outsourcing community” should not fear the Funes administration, says Datamonitor (an “independent market analyst”). This article assuages fears that El Salvador will no longer be “an optimal location for business process outsourcing (BPO) delivery,” whatever that means. During the campaign, ARENA told voters that international investment would dry up if Funes were elected. Not true, according to Datamonitor.
Free Speech Radio News interviews Joaquin Chavez, NYU Department of History Fellow, reporting from San Salvador. Particularly interesting commentary regarding the reaction of el Diario de Hoy, El Salvador’s most conservative newspaper to the FMLN’s victory.
América dispuesta a trabajar con nuevo gobierno salvadoreño 16 de Marzo de 2009, 01:52PM ET WASHINGTON (AP) – Estados Unidos y varios países latinoamericanos felicitaron a El Salvador por la realización de elecciones democráticas el domingo y expresaron su disposición de trabajar con el nuevo gobierno que asumirá en junio, encabezado por el izquierdista Mauricio Funes.
El portavoz del Departamento de Estado, Robert Wood, dijo el lunes que el gobierno electo con el triunfo del ex guerrillero Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) en los comicios presidenciales fue “elegido democráticamente… Esperamos trabajar con el nuevo gobierno de El Salvador en nuestra agenda bilateral”.
“El pueblo de El Salvador tomó una decisión, y la voluntad del pueblo necesita respetarse. Como dije, fue una elección democrática, justa y muy libre. Esto es algo que nos gustaría ver en todo el hemisferio y el pueblo de El Salvador merece unas felecitaciones,” agregó.
Though the TSE has yet to make an official pronouncement, the FMLN will be the winner of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections of 2009! With 51.3 % of the vote the FMLN defeated the governing ARENA party, which garnered the remaining 48.7% of votes. The TSE results are based on a count of more than 90% of the total votes.
At this moment, TV coverage of Mauricio Funes’s acceptance speech is punctuacted by excited cheers and chanting, while outside people flood to the streets. Around San Salvador, we can hear celebratory fireworks from street corner victory parties… and we will forward more details as we get them, but for now we want to join the fiesta!
CISPES also wants to pass on a profound congratulation for the Salvadoran people, who today triumphed over fear and joined the countries of Latin America who are proving that indeed another world is not only possible, it is in formation!
The Voting Centers have closed and the vote count is beginning. The TSE has said they will have a preliminary result by 7:30 PM based on 45% of the votes.
Los Centros de Votación han cerrado y el escrutinio ha empezado. El TSE ha dicho que van a publicar un resultado basado en 45% de las actas a las 7.30 PM.
