CISPES members in California and Washington D.C. took part in publicevents the week before El Salvador's January 18 municipal andlegislative elections. Their actions showed support for Salvadorans inthe quest for elections that are free of violence, U.S. intervention,fraud, and manipulation.
In Los Angeles, CISPES joined allies in a press conference outsidethe Salvadoran Consulate on January 13.  The group was composed of manyorganizations representing unions, academics, lawyers, religiousleaders, different social movements, and college students.  The maingoal of the press conference was to denounce the lack of transparencyand the dirty fear campaign that the right-wing used in the daysleading up to the legislative and municipal elections. CISPES alsoinformed the public about an upcoming meeting with RepresentativeHoward Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  Duringthe meeting, the group presented Rep. Berman with results from thefirst round of elections and concerns they had about the upcoming Marchelections.  Berman agreed to take action during the elections in someway.

   In the Bay Area, CISPES held a candlelight vigil to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords in El Salvador. Supporters not only called for free and fair elections in El Salvador, but also spoke out in solidarity with Palestinians by denouncing the recent violence in Gaza. The vigil was a success, as it attracted the attention of many Salvadoran passersby who were curious about what was going on in their home country. There was even a mysterious musical guest: an unknown woman stepped off of a bus and sang Casas de Carton, a famous revolutionary song, in solidarity with CISPES' struggle against imperialism.
     In Washington, D.C., allies in the Salvadoran community invited CISPES to participate in a press conference outside the State Department on January 14. The goal was to pressure Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon to declare U.S. neutrality with respect to the Salvadoran elections and to refute the fear-based campaign ads being aired in El Salvador by the right-wing group Fuerza Solidaria.

CISPES representatives made the following statement as part of the press conference:
      We have been invited by partners from the D.C.-area Salvadoran community to participate today, and were here to express our complete support of the democratic process in El Salvador. We recognize that there has been a recent spate of violent attacks related to the elections, including the assassination of two activists, a father and son, from the opposition FMLN party on Friday, January 9.
    The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections in El Salvador has also condemned the dirty and deceitful campaign of non-governmental organizations such as Fuerza Solidaria as they relate to the upcoming elections. These groups, seemingly in line with the governing ARENA party, have filled the airwaves in El Salvador with propaganda playing on the relationship between the U.S. government and El Salvador, and threatening the livelihood of immigrants in this country and the money they send home to their families. Such ads which amplify threats to immigrants and warn of the termination of diplomatic relations between the US and El Salvador should the opposition party prove victorious are based entirely on lies.
     Some US officials have made positive statements about US neutrality; however, they have done nothing to back up these statements, and instead have allowed for the lies of Fuerza Solidaria and others to be utilized in the fear campaign.
        
     Numerous media outlets covered the event, and the press conference was one of the opening stories that night on Univisión and Telemundo. Allies around the country also made coordinated calls to Shannons desk at the State Department as a form of concrete action to reinforce the message of the press conference.
     CISPES and its allies were heartened by a public statement made that same week by Charles Glazer, outgoing U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, which reaffirmed that the U.S. would respect the results of the upcoming elections.  However, CISPES also pledged to keep the pressure on the Embassy and the State Department as the elections approach and to organize pressure on President Obama to declare U.S. support for El Salvadors sovereignty.