Rundown of Observer-Generated Media in Round One of the Elections
One of CISPES’ primary objectives during our round one international observer delegation (January 25th-February 5th) was to generate quality, in-depth media coverage of the Salvadoran elections. Our 70+ observers got to it, and contributed to the creation of over 10 different articles, podcasts, news segments, and interviews during the delegation. What follows is all the observer-generated media coverage posted online that came out of these efforts.
- "Union-Backed Candidate Wins First Round in El Salvador Election." Emily Rodriguez, a union staffer from Philadelphia, explains in an article she wrote for Labor Notes why the Salvadoran labor movement has chosen to support the FMLN presidential ticket through describing President Funes’ successful efforts these past 5 years to recuperate the Salvadoran economy and reduce the cost of living for average citizens.
- "Free, Fair and Historic: Witnessing the Left's Win in El Salvador." Mark Sullivan, a Santa Cruz-based member of the National Lawyer’s Guild, and Martha Pskowski, an activist and researcher currently based in Mexico, wrote a piece for Alternet providing comprehensive background on El Salvador´s history as it affects the elections, including descriptions of the candidates and an overview of the CISPES international observer experience.
- "El Salvador Elections Offer New Hope." Allan Fisher, longtime activist from the Bay, gives his analysis of Election Day through an examination of ARENA’s and the FMLN´s campaign strategies as well as what’s at stake for U.S. interests in El Salvador’s elections in his article written for Beyond Chron.
- "Washington Keeping an Eye on Its 'Backyard.'" Patrick Walsh, an activist and phone banker with the Seattle CISPES chapter, and Ana Fisher, a Salvadoran San Francisco-based activist, are interviewed in a detailed article in Counterpunch outlining El Salvador’s electoral panorama through an understanding of how a global, U.S.-based right has contributed to dirty campaigning, privatization efforts, and an increased homicide rate during election season.
- "CISPES Observers at Salvadoran Elections 2014." Karl Kramer, a longtime labor and CISPES San Francisco activist, and Carolina Castro, a new addition to New York CISPES from Hoboken, share some comprehensive background on CISPES and on El Salvador’s current electoral landscape, including what CISPES’ anti-interventionist participation has been this electoral season, on this 18 minute podcast from Latin Radical (featuring CISPES exclusively!), a weekly New South Wales, Australia-based radio program.
- "February 3rd, 2014 Headlines." Matt Hurt, current San Salvador Office intern and Olympia-based cispista, contributed Election Day footage to Democracy Now!’s February 3rd coverage of the Salvadoran elections in their headlines section (begins at 5:40).
- "Rettigs Observe Transparent El Salvador Presidential Election." Jim and Jan Rettig of Woodinville, WA are interviewed about their personal experiences as international observers during the elections in the Woodinville Weekly. The article also provides historical and political context for the elections, and tells of how Jim became involved with Central American solidarity in the 1980s.