The 1991 trials and convictions in El Salvador of two military officers for the massacre of the Jesuits was followed up by a 1993 Amnesty Lawgranting amnesty to crimes committed during the Civil Warand the officers release.  The Spanish criminal complaint brings hope that justice will be brought to the victims of the murders, massacres, and human-rights abuses committed by the US-backed and US-funded Salvadoran military and death squads.  It also brings hope that a renewed effort to do away with the Amnesty Law could bring justice to the countless victims of crimes and human rights abuses here in El Salvador.

Presidential campaign officially begins

November 14, 2008 marked the official beginning of El Salvadors presidential campaigns, formally inaugurating the various political parties ability to ask the people of El Salvador for their vote.  The FMLN launched their campaign with a national mega-caravan that left San Salvador Saturday morning with presidential candidate Mauricio Funes and vice-presidential candidate Salvador Sánchez Cerén.

The caravan traveled across the country from San Salvador to Santa Ana to La Union - drawing huge crowds waving FMLN flags and chanting, ¡Vamos por el cambio!  ¡Vamos a la Victoria! ¡Funes, Funes!  Funes declared, Were going to defeat the Right in the Western region, 20 years of poverty and exclusion will be defeated next year, to a sea of red cheering him on at a stop in Ahuachapán.

Dirty campaign and violence against the FMLN

Though the campaign just now officially started on November 14, a smear campaign against the FMLN by the Venezuela-based Fuerza Solidariaallies of ARENAhas been underway for several weeks.  Television spots, pamphlets, and posters all attempt to link the FMLN and Funes to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and claim that an FMLN presidency would be the end to friendly relations between El Salvador and the United States.  The FMLN has filed a complaint against ARENA and the Fuerza Solidaria before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for the use of images of President Chavez as well as for accusing and defaming Funes in violation of the Salvadoran Electoral Code. 

In response to ARENAs claims that Fuerza Solidaria is an independent organization not related to them, FMLN spokesperson Sigfrido Reyes called Fuerza Solidaria a ghost organization.  Jaime Ricardo Handal, who represents Fuerza Solidaria in El Salvador, is an ARENA militant and former candidate for the municipality in San Salvador.  The FMLN is requesting the TSE to use its authority to put an end to this dirty campaign which, according to Reyes, offends the public morale and violates the rights of the people.

ARENA has also filed an official complaint against the FMLN before the TSE for an incident of electoral violence.  ARENA makes these charges against the FMLN despite multiple incidences of campaign violence perpetrated by members of their campaign.  In early September of this year, supporters of ARENAs San Salvador mayoral candidate Norman Quijano, violently attacked FMLN party employees leaving several wounded.  Quijano confirmed the next day that many of his campaign activists are armed and should be considered dangerous.  Earlier this month, over 100 Quijano campaigners entered the Montserrat Market in San Salvador and became hostile and violent with people not interested in joining the campaign.  The ARENA members broke and destroyed kitchen utensils belonging to Doña Antonio Calderón, a 71-year-old woman who sells food in the market. More violence is expected as ARENA becomes desperate before polls giving a clear advantage to the FMLN.

Salvadoran Healthcare Workers Strike

Members of the Trade Union of Healthcare Workers of El Salvador (SIGEESAL) stopped all outpatient appointments and surgeries at Benjamin Bloom Childrens Hospital and Rosales Hospital on Monday, November 10 and during the morning of Tuesday, November 11, referring urgent matters to the emergency room and other hospitals. The demands of SIGEESAL include: a budget adjustment to provide enough funds to finish the year; an additional $7.9 million in funds to purchase sufficient medicine and food, as well as repair the dryers for bed linens and hospital clothes, at the 30 public hospitals; a $300 bonus for 26,000 employees; and an end to repression against unions, specifically against a group of employees at the Psychiatric Hospital who were penalized for organizing.

Bloom and Rosales Hospitals, along with the other 28 public hospitals in the country, currently face shortages of food for patients, bed linens and hospital gowns, basic medicines, equipment, and anti-microbial soap for surgeons.  We are asking for a space for dialog with the Minister of Health.  For him to demonstrate his good will and speak with us, explained Evelyn Aguilero, SIGEESAL spokesperson at BloomHospital.  Members of SIGEESAL ended the strike at 2 PM on Tuesday, November 11, when Minister of Health Guillermo Maza agreed to several of the demands and opened a permanent space of negotiation to discuss the others.

The strike and its wins demonstrate the strength of the Healthcare Workers Movement in El Salvador and their commitment to make healthcare a human right for all.  They have also led the struggle against privatization of public healthcare.  The current situation at the public hospitals is a stark example of the current ARENA governments neglect towards social programs benefiting the poor majority of El Salvador.