Civil society organizations Coordination for Peace, Dignity, and Social Justice (CPDJS), the Foundation for the Study of the Application of Law (FESPAD), and the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining all denounced the murder as politically motivated, and called on the PNC and Attorney General to carry out an exhaustive investigation to determine the intellectual authors of the crime. In a joint press conference, the institutions stated “Marcelo was being threatened by members of the ARENA party in San Isidro and by those that impose death projects in the area [a reference to the proposed mines], which Marcelo always opposed, and for this he was defamed and denigrated.”

Social movement organizations argue that a thorough investigation in this case is impeded by the ongoing vacancy in the office of Attorney General. The Legislative Assembly has remained deadlocked on the question of appointing an Attorney General since the outgoing official's term ended three months ago. Adjunct Attorney General Astor Escalante has taken on the responsibilities of the office, despite the Salvadoran Constitution’s requirement that the Attorney General be elected with 56 votes in the Assembly. Critics have denounced Escalante for usurping the position, and worry that his close ties to the ARENA party make it likely he will carry on the office’s history of allowing impunity for politically-motivated crimes.  Go here for more information and a video of Marcelo’s funeral.

FMLN and ARENA spar over response to Honduran coup

On Sunday, July 5th, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya – deposed in a military coup a week earlier – flew to El Salvador after the Honduran military prevented his plane from landing at Tegucigalpa's airport. In El Salvador, Zelaya met with fellow presidents Mauricio Funes of El Salvador, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay. José Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and Miguel D'Escoto, President of the United Nations General Assembly, were also on hand.

Earlier in the day, Zelaya attempted to return to Honduras to resume his duties as president, but military vehicles and troops on the airport runway prevented him from landing. Two Hondurans were killed and many others wounded when the military opened fire on a peaceful demonstration welcoming the President's return. A large crowd of well-wishers also greeted Zelaya upon his arrival in El Salvador.

In a press conference at San Salvador's Comalapa Airport, President Funes reiterated his support for Zelaya, saying the only possible outcome of the situation is Zelaya’s unconditional reinstatement. Funes also condemned the attacks on civilians by the Honduran military, acting under the orders of de factoHonduras, I demand of you, I order of the soldiers, to stop repressing the people of Honduras.” president Roberto Micheletti. Zelaya, for his part, appealed directly to the Honduran soldiers, invoking the words of Monseñor Oscar Romero’s last homily: “In the name of God and the people of

Funes’ party, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), released an official denouncement of the coup, stating “The coup d’état in Honduras was ordered and coordinated by those minds that understand democracy in a totally restrictive sense, confined merely to electoral events, forgetting that democracy is a concept far broader and far deeper that has to do with human development and with citizen participation in the major decisions of a society.” The FMLN’s statement concluded with three demands: The immediate reinstatement of President Manuel Zelaya, the rejection of any government that came to power through this institutional rupture, and respect for the human rights and sovereignty of the people of Honduras.

El Salvador’s other major party, the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), released its own statement on July 7th in a paid-advertisement in the La Prensa Gráfica newspaper. The statement declares “If it is true that an error was committed in the forcible removal of President Zelaya, an action that we must condemn, it is also true that President Zelaya committed grave constitutional violations.” ARENA also condemned the FMLN’s response, saying “We lament that the FMLN, following the lead of directors outside of Central America, are intervening and running over the sovereignty of the Honduran people.”

Salvadoran social movements have been organizing regular marches and demonstrations at the Honduran Embassy in San Salvador and at the border between the two countries to express their solidarity with Hondurans who are condemning the coup and calling for Zelaya's return. “This was a military coup, plain and simple,” said community organizer Laura Soriano. “The only conceivable solution is the return of Mel Zelaya, who was elected by the people of Honduras. The [Salvadoran] right’s response to the coup is truly troubling because, even though they aren’t saying it exactly, they are essentially recognizing the coup-plotter government. It scares you about what they might think they can get away with here in El Salvador.”

After two weeks of deadlock and vacancies in Supreme Court, consensus is reached

For over two weeks, El Salvador's Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) had been without 5 of its 15 magistrates, including the court's president, as the right and left-wing factions in the legislature struggled to find consensus on the election of new magistrates. The Salvadoran Constitution dictates that new magistrates must be elected with 56 votes, a two-thirds majority that neither bloc has on its own.  After weeks of negotiations, mediated by President Mauricio Funes, the Legislative Assembly finally came to an agreement on the 5 magistrates on Thursday, July 16.

The tense negotiations finally found a resolution in the election of the lawyer José Belarmino Jaime as the court’s president.  Jaime, a financial lawyer, is associated with the right politically but does not have public ties to any party.  Medardo Gonzalez, General Coordinator of the FMLN and president of the FMLN fraction in the Legislative Assembly explained, “No, [Jaime] wasn’t the FMLN choice, it’s clear that it wasn’t our choice, but the result is that he is a lawyer with recognized credentials in the legal world, and he has a clean record as far as we know, and we were able to reach consensus, allowing us to move on [to other topics].”

During the 16 days of vacancy in the CSJ, several of the remaining magistrates had taken it upon themselves to rearrange the court, with Magistrate Nestor Castaneda having named himself acting-President.  This decision had caused controversy among the magistrates, and a meeting called by Castaneda ended when four magistrates abruptly left due to disagreements about whether the court itself could appoint magistrates to new positions. The FMLN faction in the Legislative Assembly introduced legislation reaffirming that the Assembly is the only body with the authority to elect CSJ magistrates and appointing the court's president. The proposed bill was met with opposition from the ARENA party, which classified it as legislative intervention in the powers of the Court.

According to FMLN Legislative Deputy Ricardo González, the right-wing was attempting to continue governing in a de facto form “through adjuncts, as in the case of the Attorney General and PGR [General Ombudsperson of the Republic], or by changing magistrates from one chamber to another in the Court.” Both the Attorney General’s office and the PGR have been taken over by adjunct officials linked to the ARENA party while the Assembly attempts to find consensus on who to name to these offices. “ARENA has not recognized that it lost the elections… it must understand that the institutions need to change,” Gonzalez asserted.

Now that the magistrates to the CSJ have been named, negotiations will begin to name the new Attorney General.  President Funes plans to continue mediating in this negotiation.

Funes announces “House for Everyone” plan

Thursday, July 16, President Mauricio Funes announced the implementation of his “House for Everyone” (“Casa para todos”) plan in a televised address to the people of El Salvador.  The plan is expected to benefit 27,947 rural and urban families in the poorest municipalities of the country and generate 41,886 jobs directly and at least 60,855 jobs indirectly.  The financing of the project will come from both the State’s Social Housing Fund as well as the private sector and will amount to an investment of $232.5 million.

Two additional programs were also announced.  The “Floor and Roof” program will provide building materials to families living in homes with dirt floors and damaged roofs and benefit over 20,000 families with a total investment of $5 million.  The other program, “Integral Improvement of At-risk Urban Settlements,” will begin a series of public works to protect communities that are in danger of destruction do to mudslides, flooding, and earthquakes.  It is anticipated that 3,079 public works projects will be undertaken, totaling an investment of $11 million.

Funes finished his public address by calling on the people of El Salvador to participate in the process of change.  “It will not be this president alone that will change from night to morning a reality as dramatic as the one we live in; nor will the group of men and women who accompany me do it.  It will require the invincible force of the people prepared to advance towards a future of dignity, peace, and union in order to close the wounds of the past and overcome the miseries that are causing us pain,” he stated.