CISPES - Solidarity with El Salvador - Elections and Democracy

Elections and Democracy

CISPES statement on the new US Ambassador to El Salvador

Wednesday, 01 September 2010

On August 19th, President Obama appointed Maria del Carmen Aponte to be the new U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. The President’s appointment during the Senate’s August recess broke a hold on her nomination by a few right-wing Republicans like Jim DeMint (R-SC). Her appointment will last until January 2012, when she would be re-nominated and approved by the Senate.

Ms. Aponte is a Puerto Rican lawyer and former director of the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration (2001-2004). She has also served on the boards of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the University of the District of Columbia.

Last summer, CISPES issued some criteria for a new Ambassador to El Salvador, in consultation with Salvadoran community organizations in the U.S. We noted that, “Given the vast importance of the Salvadoran immigrant community in the US, the new ambassador should be prepared to work in support of immigrant rights...”

It is exciting that the U.S. government has finally named a bilingual woman to be the new Ambassador to El Salvador, especially someone like Ms. Aponte who, through her work with the NCLR and other organizations, has advocated for rights of Latinas/os.

El Salvador Election Observation Report from CISPES

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Presidential Elections, March 15, 2009

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Introduction

Members of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) took part in the Misión de Observación Internacional (MOI) to monitor the presidential elections in El Salvador on March 15th, 2009. These elections were between the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) candidate Mauricio Funes and the Nationalist Republican Alliance party (ARENA) candidate Rodrigo Ávila. The MOI was accredited by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and observed the entire Election Day process, from the installation of the voting tables to the final vote count. CISPES members observed in the departments of San Salvador, La Unión, Cabañas and San Miguel. Observers monitored the electoral campaign and studied electoral laws and regulations in the weeks and months leading up to Election Day. During the week before the vote, CISPES members met with civil society organizations, international organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the Organization of American States (OAS), and government agencies such as the Human Rights Procurator’s Office (PDDH).

This report provides the results of CISPES' direct observation of the electoral process on the day of the vote and an analysis of the multiple factors that we believe still prevent the country from achieving a fully free and transparent democratic process. This report is divided into the following sections:

Section I: Pre-Electoral Obstacles

A. U.S. Election Intervention

B. Threats and Employer Pressure

C. Supreme Electoral Tribunal Fraud

D. Public Funds Used Con Propositos Partidarios

E. The Use of Media

Section II: Our Observations

A. Institutional Problems

B. Polling Place Problems

C. Successes

Section III: Recommendations

Release: U.S. activists to attend historic June 1 presidential inauguration

Thursday, 28 May 2009
MEDIA ADVISORY May 28, 2009 - Contact CISPES: 202 521-2510, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it U.S. solidarity activists, Salvadoran-Americans to attend historic June 1 presidential inauguration in El Salvador Mauricio Funes, first leftist president in nation's history, to be inaugurated with foreign heads of state, Secretary of State Clinton in attendance Attendees available for interviews from El Salvador on inauguration day WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several members of CISPES – Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador – will be in attendance for the inauguration of El Salvador's first-ever leftist president, Mauricio Funes, on Monday, June 1st. These representatives, including Salvadoran-American community leaders, will be available for interviews in both English and Spanish on inauguration day and in the following days. Funes' March 15 election highlights the leftward political shift witnessed throughout Latin America in recent years, and marks the rise of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) to win executive power in El Salvador for the first time. The former guerrilla group became an official political party after signing a peace treaty with the U.S.-backed Salvadoran government in 1992, ending 12 years of civil war.
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CISPES 2009 Elections Analysis: The Road to Victory and Beyond

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

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March 24, 2009: Please see http://cispes.org/09electionsblog/ for more complete coverage from Election Day

Starting at 7am on Sunday March 15, Salvadorans headed en masse to the polls to cast their ballots for the future president; by 9:30pm Mauricio Funes, presidential candidate of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), pronounced himself President-elect of El Salvador—the very first leftist head of state in the country’s history.

The historical significance of this shift in power cannot be understated in light of the repressive rule that the Salvadoran right-wing has exerted over the people since the massacre of nearly 30,000 indigenous campesinos in 1932. In electing the FMLN, the political party formed in 1980 as an alliance of popular armed forces that fought back against widespread state repression, the Salvadoran people have created an opportunity to realize the goals of social and economic justice. Furthermore, in rejecting the ARENA party, one of Washington’s closest and longest-standing allies in Latin America, Salvadorans have dealt another blow to the Washington Consensus and to the United State’s presumption of free reign throughout the Americas.

Analyzing the official results

The official results from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) show the FMLN winning the election by 51.3% over 48.7% for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), with a margin of roughly 70,000 votes delivering this historic victory to the left.