CISPES 2009 Salvadoran Elections Blog

CISPES 2009 Elections Analysis: The Road to Victory and Beyond

burke — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:18:54 +0000

March 24, 2009

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.

read the rest of this analysis

Article in Seattle’s Real Change newspaper

Cameron — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:33:23 +0000

The front page feature article in this week’s Real Change is an overview of the Salvadoran presidential election, highlighting the role of CISPES observers and Salvadorans living in the Seattle area.

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!

Great video overview of Salvadoran election

Cameron — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:23:38 +0000

Thanks to The Real News Network for their great work on this video!

Obama congratulates Funes

Cameron — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:06:18 +0000

On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama called Mauricio Funes, President-elect of El Salvador, to congratulate him on his victory in Sunday’s election. Obama also looked ahead to April’s Summit of the Americas, to be held in Trinidad and Tobago, where the two leaders will have their first opportunity to meet in person.

Boston Globe interviews CISPES election observer

Cameron — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:16:12 +0000

From the Boston Globe’s “Worldly Boston” blog:

Salvador support rewarded — finally

Video: FMLN wins presidency in El Salvador

burke — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:13:52 +0000

from Adam Kufeld’s photo blog:

State Department stands by commitment to work with FMLN government

Cameron — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:42:36 +0000

The U.S. Embassy in San Salvador has congratulated President-elect Mauricio Funes and reiterated its commitment to work collaboratively with his administration. The State Department in D.C. made a similar statement.

2 days after history is made in El Salvador: Reactions and analysis from across the world (and the political spectrum)

Cameron — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:39:55 +0000

• L.A. Times editorial: A new El Salvador

• The government of Taiwan wants to make sure El Salvador does not break off diplomatic relations in favor of mainland China

• 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

Alexis — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:56:30 +0000

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.

Gobiernos del hemisferio felicitan a Funes

Cameron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:27:28 +0000

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.

El presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez dijo en un comunicado que la victoria de Funes “consolida la corriente histórica que, en esta primera década del siglo XXI, se ha levantado en toda América Latina y el Caribe, y abre las puertas a otros pueblos hermanos en los retos que tienen por delante”.

Afirmó que “en este momento crucial, los hijos de Bolívar tendemos nuestra mano solidaria al presidente Mauricio Funes, para que juntos avancemos en la consolidación de la nueva época que estamos viviendo, superando unidos el atraso y la pobreza”.

El presidente de Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, se sumó a las felicitaciones y advirtió que “el triunfo del FMLN debe llamar la atención de los conservadores de Honduras, que deben poner sus barbas en remojo… y tienen que hacer cambios políticos”.

El presidente guatemalteco Alvaro Colom destacó en un comunicado “el alto espíritu democrático” del pueblo salvadoreño e hizo votos “votos por que las relaciones bilaterales entre ambos países encarrilen de manera definitiva el proceso de integración, del cual El Salvador y Guatemala son ejemplo en la región”.

El tribunal electoral informó el domingo por la noche que con el 90,68% de las actas escrutadas, Funes obtuvo el 51,27%, mientras que el candidato de la oficialista Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena), Rodrigo Avila, alcanzó el 48,73%.