Literacy Brigade Meets FMLN Presidential Candidate

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When the words, “We've got to look good today folks - we're having a press conference with the Vice President of El Salvador!” came out of my mouth in the early morning hours of June 25 at our San Salvador guesthouse, it was almost as surprising to me as it was to the rest of the 28-person Literacy Brigade. Despite knowing months in advance that the Minister of Education, Vice President of the Republic and historic former guerrilla comandante of the FMLN, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, had made it a priority to receive the very first group of international literacy volunteers, I was struck in that moment by the reality of the new era in El Salvador and in CISPES solidarity. A joint press conference with CISPES and El Salvador's Vice President was the stuff of bad jokes and solidarity nightmares prior to 2009. Publicizing corruption scandals, exposing links to death squads and condemning the hush-hush backroom deals with powerful transnational corporations vying to exploit Salvadoran workers was how we had related to all of the former Salvadoran Vice Presidents since CISPES' founding in 1980. But, thanks to the perseverance and vision of the FMLN, the organized social movement and Salvadoran people, all that changed in March 2009 with the election of the first leftist presidential slate in the country's history. That election just 3 year prior brought us to a conference room in the Ministry of Education, where our first literacy brigade shared the floor with Vice President and Minister Sánchez Cerén.  Cerén  had earned his appointment as Minister for his long history in education, having worked many years as a public school teacher and member of the historic ANDES 21 teachers union before joining the FMLN. During the press conference the Minister remarked, “You are the true ambassadors of the United States, demonstrating your solidarity and commitment to accompany our people as we move forward as a country. For this, we express to each of you our enduring appreciation and respect.” One by one, all of us had the chance to exchange a warm handshake and a few words with this historic leader of the Salvadoran struggle and signer of the 1992 Peace Accords. A few days later, the brigade received another surprise in the midst of our hectic schedule of literacy accompaniment. The humble, mild-mannered Minister of Education who welcomed our group with such apparent appreciation for our solidarity had resigned as Minister in order to shoulder a new set of responsibilities: as the FMLN 2014 presidential candidate. We were delighted! Not just about having met the possible next President of El Salvador, but also about what that would mean for the future of El Salvador. According to 2012 polls by the University of Central America, the Ministry of Education is the highest-rated of all government ministries. The Funes Administration has gotten kudos from the populace for its hallmark education programs such as “Student Packet” which provides uniforms, shoes and supplies to public shool students, and the nutrition programs that are providing a healthy, home-cooked meals and glasses of milk to hundreds of thousands of students. Many critiques of President Funes from the Salvadoran social movement and the population as a whole concern his reluctance to make profound changes in economic policy. Funes has preferred to cultivate close ties with the US government and continue to allow US economic interests (which have traditionally coincided with Salvadoran Big Business interests) drive  economic policy, leaving little room to alter the high poverty rates in the country. On the other hand, FMLN as a party has for years forged “solidarity economy” relationships with ALBA – the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas, the economic block of Latin American and Carribean nations creating mutually-beneficial trade partnerships to eradicate poverty in their countries – to bring cheap gas into the El Salvador with AlbaPetroleos and now more affordable food with AlbaAlimentos.   The FMLN's economic vision will certainly guide Sánchez Cerén  far more than it has Funes. Although the Sánchez Cerén  presidential candidacy – still awaiting the final party vote – brings hope for more dramatic changes to break the severe economic and social inequality that exists, it will also be a hard political road. Even as Vice President, the Salvadoran right and their US allies have slung mud, painting the former FMLN commander as a violent, US-hating, war monger. After the minister's announcement, those of us on the Literacy Brigade began to consider another important way to demonstrate our solidarity. Just as in 2009, we will have to work hard to prevent US politicians and government officials from influencing El Salvador's 2014 elections, where it is clear that an FMLN candidate like Salvador Sánchez Cerén  will draw a lot more fire than Mauricio Funes did.

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