FMLN Appears Poised for Victory on Eve of March 15 Election
Check out updates throughout election day at
http://cispes.org/09electionsblog
Also in this update:
- FMLN closes presidential campaign with massive carnival, underscores need to defend against fraud
- Nicaraguans and Hondurans bussed into Antiguo Cuscatln
- Salvadorans march against Free Trade Agreement with Europe
- ARENA denounces CISPES
On Wednesday, March 11 just four days before El Salvador's historic election for president and vice-president 5 Republican Congressmen gave speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives threatening that Salvadorans living in the U.S. would lose their immigration status and be outlawed from sending money home to their families if voters in El Salvador elect the opposition FMLN party's candidate on Sunday. "Those monies that are coming from here to there I am confident will be cut, and I hope the people of El Salvador are aware of that because it will have a tremendous impact on individuals and their economy, stated Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN). Similar threats by U.S. officials were made during the 2004 Salvadoran presidential campaign.
The Republicans statements were on the front pages of the widest circulating daily newspapers on the morning of Thursday, March 12, the day after the presidential and vice-presidential campaigns legally closed, leaving the FMLN unable to respond to the threats CISPES, along with many parter organizations around the country, mobilized its activists in the U.S. to demand public statements of neutrality from the State Department in Washington and the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador.
After receiving what it referred to as an inundation ofphone calls from citizens around the U.S. on Thursday the 12th, theState department released a statement of neutrality, saying The U.S.government reiterates its official position that it does not supporteither candidate in the upcoming presidential election in El Salvadoron March 15th The separation of powers and freedoms in the UnitedStates allows the debate in which members of the U.S. Legislature haveexpressed their opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the officialposition of the United States. Later that day, the U.S. Embassy in ElSalvador also released a statement saying, The U.S. Government willrespect the will of the Salvadoran people and will seek to workconstructively with whoever wins that election.
Then the next morning, Friday March 13,Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) stated, As Chairman of the House Committeeon Foreign Affairs, I am confident that neither TPS [temporaryimmigration status granted to Salvadorans in the U.S.] nor the right toreceive remittances from family in the United States will be affectedby the outcome of the election, despite what some of my colleagues inCongress have said.
Ata press briefing later that day, Thomas Shannon, the State Departmentstop diplomat for Latin America stated, We are committed to free andfair elections in El Salvador. And we've also made it very clear thatwe will work with whomever the Salvadoran people elect. All of thesestatements of neutrality were subsequently covered in the Salvadoranmedia, and come on the heels of a March 5 letter signed by 33 membersof Congress calling for the Obama administration to take just such aposition. That letter was published in its entirety in El Salvador'shighest-circulation newspaper, La Prensa Grfica, on March 14.
FMLN closes presidential campaign with massive carnival, underscores need to defend against fraud
OnSaturday, March 7, the FMLN (Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front)held a massive carnival to celebrate the closing of the presidentialcampaign and the upcoming election on March 15th. Over300,000 supporters converged on the Alameda Juan Pablo II in a sea ofred to listen to speakers, enjoy music, and fill the area with chantsvocalizing their support for FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funesand vice-presidential candidate Salvador Sanchez Cern.
Caravansof people arrived from all over the country to join in the celebrationthat was scheduled to start at 4 PM, though people began arriving hoursearlier. As the sun set, fireworks lit up the sky as the crowd raisedtheir fists and sang El Pueblo Unido Jamas Ser Vencido (The PeopleUnited Will Never Be Defeated). Saturdays festivities highlight thepopular support for the FMLN presidential formula, which is leadingin the polls and continuing to build alliances and receive endorsementsfrom outside the party.
SanchezCern addressed the women in the crowd, anticipating Sundayscelebration of International Womens Day and encouraging all women tobe protagonists of change in El Salvador. The carnival concluded with aspeech by Funes, in which the candidate called for a massive turnout onElection Day and for everyone to take responsibility to defend thevictory. He expressed concern about the potential for fraud on March 15 and urged those present to be vigilant.
Thegoverning Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) closed its campaignthe next day at the Estadio Cuscatln, gathering 70,000 people andencouraging them to protect El Salvador from the reds.
In the weeks and months leading-up to the March 15thpresidential election, international observers from the Organization ofAmerican States (OAS) and independent non-governmental organizationshave expressed concern over the potential for irregularities. The OASreport of Januarys municipal and legislative elections stressed thefailure of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to make the ElectoralRegistry available in its entirety to all political parties. To date,the FMLN has not had access to this list of all eligible voters, whichhas prevented investigation into numerous reports of irregularities inthe Registry.
Nicaraguans and Hondurans bussed into Antiguo Cuscatln
OnMonday, March 9, residents of Antiguo Cuscatln in the department ofSan Salvador reported the presence of buses filled with Nicaraguans andHondurans who were being given Salvadoran ID cards (DUIs), presumablyto vote in the March 15th presidential election.International observers affiliated with the Salvadoran Foundation forLocal Development and Democracy (FUNDASPAD) responded to the citizendenouncement and found two buses parked in front of the City Hall thatwere full of people who hid when the observers approached. Theobservers noted that the bus passengers spoke with Honduran andNicaraguan accents. Nearby business owners reported that there weremany other buses that had come and gone during the day.
Thecitizen denouncement reported that the foreigners were being taken tothe fourth floor of the City Hall parking garage and given false DUIs. Anindividual wearing an ARENA shirt who spoke on the condition ofanonymity told journalists that buses had been arriving all day fromthe East and the passengers were being taken to the parking garage fora meeting about the March 15th presidential election. TheFUNDASPAD observers saw a line of individuals leaving the City Hallparking garage and rapidly returning to the buses.
In the days before the January 18thmunicipal and legislative elections, Nicaraguan and Honduranindividuals with Salvadoran DUIs were detained in route to VotingCenters in Morazn, La Unin, and San Miguel. An audit ofthe Electoral Registry conducted by the Organization of American States(OAS) in December of 2007 found numerous irregularities, including thepresence of deceased people and people who had migrated to the UnitedStates. The OAS provided instructions for purging the Electoral Registry that the TSE never completed. This,along with the reports of foreigners with DUIs, and the fact that aprivate company produces DUIs, has raised the concern of manyInternational Observers about the potential for fraud in the March 15th presidential election.
Salvadorans march against Free Trade Agreement with Europe
OneTuesday, March 10, families participated in a march against the FreeTrade Agreement between Central America and Europe (AdA) that iscurrently being negotiated between the European Union and El Salvador. Many of the signs being carried also called for a repeal of the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the US (CAFTA). A statement outlining ten reasons to be opposed to the AdA was circulated. Amongstthe reasons were that the treaty would increase the gap between thewealthy and poor, privatize public services, and legalize the depletionof biodiversity and natural resources. The march,organized by a group called Red Sinte Techan, concluded at theLegislative Assembly, where a statement outlining the group's positionwas delivered.
Oneof the participants of the march, an 80-year old man who identifiedhimself as Germn, said, The assets [of El Salvador] are for uswecannot just endure while they eat well and fill their pockets withmoney. Many of the marchers have never had a suitable home. Mirna Esperanza Herrera, from Santa Ana, told reporters she had always lived along the railroad tracks.
TheAdA is very similar to CAFTA in that it would remove import taxes frommost goods and allow private companies to sue governments for lostinvestments. Many economists have faulted CAFTA for El Salvadors economic crisis and the downfall of its agricultural industry. EconomistRaul Moreno has also pointed out the danger of CAFTAs provision thatallows companies to sue governments for lost investments. In2008, a US subsidiary of the Canadian-based Pacific Rim mining companyfiled a Notice of Intent (NOI) to sue El Salvador for lost investmentson a mining project in Cabaas. The lawsuit, which couldbe filed any day now that the NOI waiting period has expired, would bethe first lawsuit of its type for the country and could potentiallycost the government millions of dollars.
AMarch 6 article by the EFE wire service reports that an ARENA partyrepresentative in Miami, Florida, Jos Alfredo vila, criticized CISPESfor its support of U.S. Rep. Ral Grijalva's March 5 letter in supportof free and fair elections in El Salvador. Thirty-three members of theUnited States Congress signed the document that asked President BarackObama to publicly state his administration's position of neutrality andrespect for the will of the Salvadoran voters.
vila dismissedthe lawmakers' call for U.S. neutrality, saying they [CISPES] were theones who came up with this idea for the letter and asked the Members ofCongress for their support.
ARENA rejects the premise thatthe United States has intervened in past elections, and on thesegrounds views the Congressional letter as an insult. The ARENAspokesman said that the relationship between the United States and ElSalvador has never produced any intervention in the internal affairsof either country. However, the Congressional letter was accompanied byextensive documentation of interventionist statements and threats madeby high-ranking U.S. officials during El Salvador's 2004 presidentialcampaign.
In their letter, the Members of Congress statedtheir own commitment to honoring and respecting the will of theSalvadoran people when they go to the polls on March 15, and affirmedthat they look forward to working toward a positive relationship withwhichever party is elected on Sunday.
