Dr. Violeta Menivar, first woman mayor of San Salvador, began her term on Monday, March 1st alongside her team of 16 city council members. In a short ceremony at the Feria Internacional, she officially took the reigns of the municipality of San Salvador from Carlos Rivas Zamora. Carlos Rivas Zamora had been elected for mayor on the FMLN card, but resigned from the FMLN last year to form part a group of FMLN dissidents - the FDR. Menivar's first action was to decrease the council's salary by 20%, at the same time publicly promising transparency via citizen accountability and a commitment to exploring a sister-city relationship with Caracas, Venezuela.