(click here for more information about the public event in Washington DC on Wednesday, December 19 )

Mauricio Funes, the recently anointed presidential candidate for the leftist FMLN party in El Salvador, will visit Washington DC from December 18-19 to speak about his vision for change in El Salvador. Recent polls show Funes, the popular independent journalist, with a 7 point lead over the governing ARENA party more than a year ahead of the March 2009 presidential elections in El Salvador.

Funes was certified as the FMLNs candidate at the partys recent convention, along with historic leader Salvador Sanchez-Ceren as the vice-presidential candidate. Some 70,000 celebrated the announcement in San Salvadors largest stadium, and much excitement has been generated in El Salvador and amongst Salvadorans living in other countries about the possibility of a Funes victory in 2009.

Salvadoran President Antonio Saca has built a close relationship with President Bush and visited the U.S. recently to warn of the expanding influence of left-leaning social movements and political parties in the Latin America region. Funes arrives shortly after Sacas visit seeking to demonstrate his willingness to build relationship with the U.S. Congress and multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He also plans to meet with a variety of international policy and human rights organizations to discuss the current political and economic situation in El Salvador. Finally, he will meet with Salvadoran-American organizations in an effort to shore up relations with Salvadorans living in the U.S., and hold a large public event in the Salvadoran community. 

El Salvador has suffered from slow economic growth in recent years, despite promises of prosperity following the implementation of the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The failure of free trade policies to alleviate poverty has lead to increased opposition to the governing ARENA party, and President Sacas approval rating is at its lowest level since he took power in 2004. Funes and the FMLN are working to build a broad coalition to defeat ARENA in the all-important legislative, municipal, and presidential elections of 2009, and local FMLN activists recently held an open social dialogue to solicit the input for the partys platform of local Salvadorans.

Other events open to the press include a meeting with local businesspeople, a dinner with local religious leaders, and the public event with the Salvadoran Community. For details call Fredy Tejada at (202) 256-6390 or Burke Stansbury at (202) 521-2510.