Iceland comes to El Salvador

A small article in the IcelandReview showed up in my searches for stories about El Salvador in the world's press. The article describes the start up of a small geothermal electricity plant in the area near Berlin, El Salvador:

The first Icelandic geothermal power plant to be built on foreign ground has launched operations in the geothermal area of Berlin in El Salvador, as announced by Icelandic geothermal energy company Enex on Saturday.

“This is a significant milestone for Icelandic geothermal knowledge,” managing director of Enex Thór Gíslason said in a statement, adding:

“Progressive operations on geothermal power plants in Iceland for the past ten years along with the development of new and improved technology have created a strong basis for exporting knowledge that is sought-after in many foreign countries.”

Once fully operational, the power plant will produces 9.3 MW of electricity. It is operated in partnership with local energy company LaGeo. The agreement between LaGeo and Enex is worth USD 13 million (EUR 10 million).

Geothermal energy, which uses the heat from underground volcanic sources to power electrical turbines, provides a significant amount of electricity for El Salvador. A paper from the 2000 World Geothermal Congress describes the location of El Salvador's geothermal fields and notes that this power source provided as much as 41% of the country's electricity in 1981.

El Salvador 2 - USA 2

The national soccer teams of El Salvador and the USA fought to a 2-2 draw in an exciting game in San Salvador's Cuscatlan Stadium. The home team managed to get a 2-0 lead with 20 minutes to go before 50,000 screaming fans, but could not hold off a strong US rally to tie the game.

Going into the match, the USA was ranked 17th in the world and El Salvador 106. The 2 Salvadoran goals were their first scores against the US since 1997. El Salvador will play its next match in World Cup qualifying Wednesday against Costa Rica in San Jose.

The Economy -- Fruit of the Loom in El Salvador

Underwear maker Fruit of the Loom is the largest employer in El Salvador according to the US embassy. So it is not good news when the company announced today that it would temporarily layoff some 3000 of its 12,000 employees. The layoff was blamed on declining orders from the company's customers due to overall economic conditions. Despite the layoffs, the company reiterated its commitment to its factory operations in El Salvador.

Fruit of the Loom is based in Kentucky, and is a subsidiary of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway. A 2005 story from a Kentucky newspaper describes the company's El Salvador operations and the role of the maquiiadora sector in El Salvador's economy.

According to La Prensa Grafica, the overall textile sector in the country employed 104,000 workers in its maquila factories at the end of 2008, down 6,000 from the prior year.

US v. El Salvador in World Cup qualifying match

El Salvador continues its quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup soccer championships in South Africa in a match against the US team Saturday night at Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador. The ESPN web site has a preview:

Are the Blues the weakest team in the Hexagonal? Probably. Are the Americans heavy favorites to triumph against El Salvador this Saturday? Without question. But that doesn't mean the proceedings at the Estadio Cuscatlán will be straightforward. True, the Americans own a 2-0-1 record against the Cuscatlecos in World Cup qualifiers played outside the U.S., and they're 2-1-2 all-time in San Salvador. But despite these marks, the Americans know a difficult night -- similar to their 1-0 win at Guatemala in the semifinal round -- awaits them. After all, we're talking about a venue where the behavior of the fans in last month's 2-2 draw with Trinidad & Tobago led FIFA to impose over $25,000 in fines to the El Salvadoran Football Federation.

"The crowd's going to be noisy, and no one really knows what the field conditions are going to be like," said defender Frankie Hejduk, who played in the Americans' 2-0 win in San Salvador back in 2004. "It's going to be tough; it's going to be physical with lots of fouls, in typical World Cup qualifying fashion."

Fans in the US can watch the game on ESPN2 at 9:00 PM, Eastern time on Saturday night.

The Sports Illustrated website has an article on the Salvadoran team titled
El Salvador's World Cup march is sullied by unsavory accusations which is less than flattering for the team in blue.

Top Romero Quotes

Today is the 29th Anniversary of the assassination of Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero. To commemorate the day, I am republishing one of the most popular posts on this blog, a listing of the top 10 quotes of Romero, compiled by the San Romero Discussion Group.

---

The San Romero Yahoo! Discussion Group has made its selection of the TOP TEN OSCAR ROMERO QUOTES of all time, and the slain Salvadoran archbishop's impassioned assassination-eve plea to his country's military to "Stop the repression!" has topped the selections. Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 to 1980, raising his voice to defend the interests of the poor masses and to stave off a civil war that finally exploded after his March 24, 1980 assassination in a San Salvador suburban church. The previous day, the popular cleric had delivered a stinging rebuke that culminated in a fervent entreaty, the quotation topping the list. "In the name of God, then," Romero had said, "and in the name of this suffering People, whose laments rise to Heaven, each day more tumultously, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the repression!"

Carlos Colorado, the moderator of the group, explained that he was inspired to undertake the project when he was approached on behalf of a Catholic school to supply Romero quotations. "I realized," Colorado said, "that most people familiar with Romero know mostly that he was killed, but he was killed for his preaching, and therefore it is important to know what he preached." The National Catholic Reporter backed that view last year when it quoted a bishop attending a Romero conference as asking, "Can you tell me anywhere else in the world where people are studying the homilies of a bishop who's been dead for 25 years?"

The quotes selected by the Romero group are:

• 10. "The Church of the Paschal Mystery." (Title of Romero's first
  pastoral letter, said to have influenced the Latin American Church's
  view of its identify and function.)
  
  
• 9. "We believe that from the transcendence of the Gospel, we can
  assess what the life of the poor consists of and we also believe that
  placing ourselves on the side of the poor and attempting to give them
  life we will know what the eternal truth of the Gospel consists of."
  (Feburary 1980 speech at Louvaine University, Belgium.)
  
  
• 8. "Do you want to know if your Christianity is genuine? Here is
  the touchstone: Whom do you get along with? Who are those who
  criticize you? who are those who do not accept you? Who are those who
  flatter you?" (November 1977 Sermon.)
  
  
• 7. "We are never embarrassed of saying, 'The Church of the
  Poor'." (Christmas Eve 1978 Sermon).
  
  
• 6. "If God accepts the sacrifice of my life, may my death be for
  the freedom of my people ... A bishop will die, but the Church of
  God, which is the people, will never perish." (Interview, a couple
  of weeks before his assassination.)
  
  
• 5. "May this Body immolated and this Blood sacrificed for Mankind
  nourish us also, that we may give our body and our blood over to
  suffering and pain, like Christ -- not for Self, but to give harvests
  of peace and justice to our People." (Uttered seconds before a
  gunshot pierced his heart as he prepared to consecrate the Eucharist.)
  
  
• 4. "Before an order to kill that a man may give, the law of God
  must prevail that says: Thou shalt not kill! No soldier is obliged to
  obey an order against the law of God." (First of two quotes from
  Romero's last Sunday sermon.)
  
  
• 3. "May God have mercy on the assassins." (Last words.)
  
  
• 2. "If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people."
  (Second quote from the interview weeks before his death.)
  
  
• 1. "Stop the repression!"

Originally posted July 3, 2006.

Arrests made in case of Katya Miranda

Law enforcement authorities in El Salvador made arrests this weekend in the case of Katya Miranda. A year ago I described how Salvadoran bloggers and others had begun a campaign demanding justice in the 9 year old case which symbolized the problems of impunity in the country.

The facts of the case are heinous: Katya's mother left her two daughters at the home of her paternal grandfather along El Salvador's coast with a promise to pick them up in the morning. Yet when morning came, nine-year-old Katya was dead -- raped, beaten and murdered. Despite the presence of members of her father's family and their employees at the home, nobody claimed to have seen or heard anything. The father, grandfather and other male relatives are high-ranking officials in El Salvador's military and the National Civilian Police.

Most believed that because of the positions of the suspects, the prosecution was abandoned by the attorney general's office for lack of proof in 2000. Subsequently, Katya's case was advocated by the Human Rights Institute at the University of Central America which pushed for resumption of the case.

Now Katya's grandfather and seven other men were arrested this weekend in connection with the notorious crime, just two weeks before the 10 year statute of limitations for the crime would have prevented any prosecution. They have been charged with kidnapping the child and also with planning to murder a witness to the crime. No one has yet been charged with the actual rape and murder of the little girl.

It's one step towards justice in a single case. But perhaps symbolic of a little stronger justice system and a little less impunity for the powerful and well-connected in El Salvador.

Guerrilla ecotourism

In the north of El Salvador, in the department of Chalatenango, attracting tourists to see sites of guerrilla struggle during El Salvador's civil war, is a way of preserving a forested environment. Raúl Gutiérrez describes the efforts in an article on IPS titled Guerrilla Ecotourism:

La Montañona, a forested mountain in northern El Salvador that reaches 1,800 metres above sea level, was a stronghold of the FMLN guerrillas during the country’s armed conflict. Today, its forests and stories of bombings and rebel hideouts have begun to draw ecotourism.

At the top of the mountain, the view is spectacular. A chain of volcanoes and mountains stretches towards the horizon, obliterating the border with neighbouring Honduras. The fresh mountain air makes it easier to forget the poor state of the road leading to La Montañona, in the department (province) of Chalatenango, around 100 km from the capital.

An ecotourism area was designed on 300 hectares of land on the mountain, with hiking trails, camp sites and tunnels to explore, by the Representative Committee of Beneficiaries of La Montañona (Corbelam), made up of 155 former guerrillas and local residents keen on "salvaging the collective memory." (more).

Worth reading

As you might imagine, a lot has been written in the past two weeks about El Salvador in the press around the world. Usually when there is something written in the English language press about El Salvador, I can bring it to your attention but there is way too much right now.

Instead, I'd like to point you to some essays which merit reading because they go a little bit deeper than the standard story-line of the television journalist turned candidate for the former Marxist guerrillas who campaigns against the conservative governing party which relied on fear as a campaign theme.

A pair of articles, one before the election and one after, written by Roger Atwood for Mother Jones, benefit from the fact that he lives in El Salvador. His understanding as a resident of the country are apparent in El Salvador's Left Turn and El Salvador's Quiet Revolution.

Make sure and read the series of blog posts by Roberto Lovato, who returns to the homeland of his family to write about the elections. One of the best posts is Izalco, El Salvador and the Way Beyond the Silence, which explores El Salvador's political conflict by looking at Izalco and its complicated history started with La Matanza of 1932. But make sure and read the rest of Lovato's posts as well.

Salvadoran bloggers reflect on the elections

Salvadoran bloggers brought an independent voice to politics in El Salvador over the past 5 years, a voice which was not present in the last presidential election. David Mejia was part of live coverage given to the elections and the tallying of the votes by the Salvadoran blogosphere. He reflected on the importance of the internet and the election results:

Esta vez me atrevo a decir con propiedad, el internet ha sido muy importante esta vez en las elecciones, debido a que el público joven, lo ha utilizado en vez de los medios tradicionales, y quiero felicitar a los partidos políticos por habernos tomado en cuenta en muchas ocasiones.

No hay que olvidar que El Salvador esta vez tiene que estar más unido, dejar las diferencias, aferrarse a Dios para poder tener un mejor país, ya que todos unidos lo podremos lograr, y así poder lograr el verdadero CAMBIO, no solo cambio de gobierno, sino cambio de actitud.

This time I dare say with propriety, the internet has been very important in the election this time because the young audience used the internet instead of the traditional media, and I congratulate the parties for having taken that into account on many occasions.

Do not forget that this time El Salvador has to be more united, leaving behind the differences, clinging to God in order to have a better country, because all together we will be able to achieve and can achieve real change, not just a change of government but change of attitude.

Juan Martel, active in Salvadoran politics and a writer at the Hunnapuh blog found that the day had gone according to a fabulous script:

A las 5 PM terminó la votación en todo el país, votaron los que ya estaban en las filas, luego se comenzó a contar los votos y a llenar las actas de JRV. Millones de salvadoreños vimos a través de la Televisión como se contaban nuestros votos, lo hacían con eficiencia y mucho respeto, hubo algunas discusiones sobre la valides de algún voto, pero al final arreglaron. ¡Todo de película!...

El FMLN ganaba 17 años después de firmada la paz, el objetivo de los acuerdos de paz se cumplen por fin, el pueblo hizo posible esta victoria. ¡De película!

Los salvadoreños, nos ganamos varios Oscares por nuestra actuación este día.

At 5 PM the voting ended across the country, those who were in line voted, then the votes began to be counted and the reports of each voting table completed. Millions of Salvadorans saw on television as our votes are counted, it was done efficiently and with much respect, there was some discussion on the validity of a vote, but ultimately it was resolved. As great as a movie! ...

The FMLN won 17 years after signing of the peace, the goal of peace agreements are fulfilled at last, the people made this victory possible. What a movie!

Salvadoreans, we won several Oscars for our performance today.

The dean of Salvadoran bloggers, Ernesto Rivas-Gallont, a former ambassador from El Salvador to the United States during its civil war, looked towards the future:

Estamos frente a un cambio profundo no solo de estilo de gobierno sino que de política gubernamental. Solo esperamos que el cambio no sacuda la estructura fundamental del país y que se respete la institucionalidad. La gobernabilidad debe ser la primera prioridad del gobierno de Mauricio Funes.

Por nuestra parte le reiteramos al presidente electo nuestras felicitaciones y le deseamos éxito en la difícil tarea que tiene por delante.

We are facing a profound change not only in style of government but of government policy. We can only hope the change will not shake the fundamental structure of the country and respect institutions. Governance should be the first priority of the government of Mauricio Funes.

For our part, we reiterate our congratulations to President-elect and wish him success in the difficult task ahead.

A group of bloggers at the spirited-leftist blog El Trompudo reflected on what the moment meant for them:

No es momento de revanchismos políticos. Momentos difíciles se avecinan. El cielo es sombrío, amenazador. Momentos difíciles esperan al mundo, y en particular a países frágiles como el nuestro. Felizmente, hay un rayo de luz que ilumina nuestra patria. Finalmente, después de casi dos siglos de sometimiento del pueblo.

Presidente Funes gobernará para todos. Seamos humildes en la victoria, ponderados, amistosos, conciliantes. A El Salvador no lo podemos salvar la mitad más uno. No. Lo salvaremos TODOS!

Emociones fuertes impiden que seamos ponderados y, quizá, hasta equilibrados en estos momentos. Hasta ahí dejaremos nuestra reflexión. Iremos a celebrar este triunfo con todas las fuerzas de nuestros corazones. Lo merecemos. Y celebraremos en nombre de nosotros, de nuestros hijos y de todos aquellos salvadorenos que ya no están con nosotros : los que murieron y los que partieron para huir sufrimientos y persecusiones.


This is no time for political revenge. Difficult times lie ahead. The sky is dark, threatening. Difficult times await the world, particularly fragile countries like ours. Fortunately, there is a ray of light that illuminates our homeland. Finally, after nearly two centuries of subjugation of the people.

President Funes will govern for all. Let us be humble in victory, high-minded, friendly, conciliatory. In El Salvador, we can not save just one half plus one. No, we will save all!

Strong emotions prevent us from being high-minded and perhaps even balanced at the moment. So we are going to leave off on our reflections. We're going to celebrate this victory with all the forces in our hearts. We deserve it. And we will celebrate on behalf of ourselves, our children and all those Salvadorans who are no longer with us: those who died and those who left to escape suffering and persecution.

The journalist blogger Solava looked for constructive engagement from those who participate in the blogosphere and elsewhere as the new government moves forward and not blind party loyalty:

El papel del ciudadano en una sociedad democrática no encuentra su mejor expresión en la participación militante en un partido, sino en una interacción crítica hacia el gobierno, incluso si ese gobierno es del partido por el que se votó. Lo que un ciudadano no debe olvidar nunca es que las personas electas para una posición pública son servidores públicos. Están ahí, en sus puestos, para obedecer a la ciudadanía y no al revés.

The role of the citizen in a democratic society is not best expressed in the participation of the party militant, but in interaction critical towards the government, even if that government is from the party for which they voted. What a citizen should not forget is that people elected to a public office are public servants. They are there, at their posts, to obey the public and not vice versa.

You can find more reflections of Salvadoran bloggers summarized by blogger Hunnapuh and translated on the Global Voices website here.

Post-election interview with Mauricio Funes

Roberto Lovato at New American Media interviewed Mauricio Funes shortly after the election victory and the translation of the interview into English is available here. Among other things, Funes discussed the change in focus his new government will bring:

Where will the effects of the transition in power be felt most immediately?

We're going to change the way we make policy. And one of the most significant changes is that we will no longer have a government at the service of a privileged few. And we will no longer have a government that creates an economy of privileges for the privileged. Now, we need a government like the one envisioned by Mons. Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who in his prophetic message said that the church should have a preferential option for the poor.

Paraphrasing Mons. Romero, I would say that this government should have a preferential option for the poor, for those who need a robust government to get ahead and to be able to compete in this world of disequilibrium under fair conditions.

This government implies a break from traditional policymaking. Now, what we're going to do is put the government and the structure of the state at the service of the Salvadoran people––the totality of the Salvadoran people – but, fundamentally, to that great majority who are oppressed and excluded from the country's social and economic development. Not just the last 20 years, but for the last 200 years or more, have not had the possibility of participating in the formation of public policies.

A government like the one I'm going to create will give them the protagonist's role, which until now they have not had.

Video of interview from New America Media on Vimeo.

Torture verdict against Carranza upheld

A federal appellate court in the US today upheld the civil judgment against Nicolas Carranza. In 2005, a jury in Memphis found that Carranza failed to stop crimes against humanity when he was a top commander of El Salvador's security forces. He was held responsible in civil claims by four Salvadoran victims who said they were tortured or that their family members were killed by soldiers under Carranza's command. The appeals court's opinion rejects arguments Carranza made based on the statute of limitations, the Salvadoran amnesty law, and various evidentiary rulings.

The decision continues the impressive string of favorable court rulings achieved by the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability which is also involved in bringing the case of the Jesuits into the courts in Spain.

Post-election edition

Election night in San Salvador

The front pages of today's newspapers in El Salvador:

It was interesting to see today this picture on the US Embassy website of Mauricio Funes and US Chargé d'Affaires Robert Blau with their wives taken last night after the Funes' victory speech:



The news story on the Embassy website was also of interest:

The election campaign was heavily marked by attacks and aggressive accusations between the two parties. The debate also was focused on the doubts whether the possible FMLN victory would trigger a change in the bilateral relations with the US. However, Charge Blau congratulated the people and the government of El Salvador for building a democracy where calm elections were celebrated: “Mauricio Funes has won in a fair and free election. We have said many times that our intention is to continue with the good relations with El Salvador from government to government, and from people to people”, said Mr. Blau.

During the State Department’s daily press briefing in Washington DC, the Robert Wood, the acting senior spokesman congratulated the civic and participatory spirit of the people of El Salvador who exercised their democratic right to vote during the presidential elections on Sunday, March 15. He congratulated Mauricio Funes for winning the presidential election and reiterated the United State’s commitment to work with the new democratically elected government as friends and partners of El Salvador.

He also stated that relationship between the US and El Salvador goes far deeper than from one government to the next government. He highlighted the shared history of the two countries spanning several decades and the fact that there more than two million Salvadorans in the United States.

Somebody should send a copy of the photo to Congressman Rohrabacher.

Here is some of the coverage of Funes' victory by the English language media:

Tim Padgett of Time Magazine has some good analysis of Funes' win:

The manner of the FMLN's victory tells the story of a leftist movement eschewing its armed-rebel image for more mainstream political branding: Funes, 49, a former television journalist, is the first FMLN presidential candidate who was never a guerrilla commander.* In El Salvador's last presidential election, in 2004, the FMLN led in early polls until it announced its candidate — the former communist and guerrilla chief Schafik Handal — and went on to be crushed by the ARENA incumbent.

This time, the right-wing party managed to narrow Funes' early lead in the polls by painting him, often maliciously, as a puppet of the more radical Latin left led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The Chavez gambit may have helped defeat the leftist candidate in Mexico's presidential election in 2006, but it didn't work in El Salvador on Sunday — chiefly because Funes successfully painted himself as an ally of the more moderate Latin left headed by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

For those tired of the Bush vs. Chavez polarization that has mired the Americas of late, it was an apt coincidence that Lula had been huddling at the White House a day before the Salvadoran vote with the hemisphere's other alpha moderate, President Barack Obama. Funes had identified himself with the spirit of the pragmatic, bipartisan Lula Left in his campaign, and met with the Brazilian a number of times. He hit the stump not in the lefty-red attire favored by FMLN leaders (and by Chavez) but in white guayabera shirts. He also assuaged voter fears by convincing his own party to drop its insistence on lifting El Salvador's amnesty for civil war crimes, on revising the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on reversing El Salvador's 2001 adoption of the U.S. dollar as its currency.

* Actually, Padgett is wrong when he says that Mauricio Funes "is the first FMLN presidential candidate who was never a guerrilla commander". That would be Rubén Zamora, who forced Arena to a run-off election but lost to Armando Calderón Sol in that second round. Zamora was a prominent member of the Christian Democratic party before the war, but in the 1980's joined the FDR, a non-guerrilla grouping of leftist parties. He became well known for participating in the peace talks. (Thanks to Solava for pointing this out in a comment).

The New York Times article on Funes' victory points out that the president-elect "sent a strong message that he intended to continue El Salvador’s close relationship with the United States, by meeting with the charge d’affairs at the United States Embassy shortly after his victory speech."

The Reuters article on the election has a major mistake. The article states:

Tens of thousands of Salvadoran immigrants in the United States flew home to vote in a tense race that has reopened wounds from the 1980-92 Cold War-era conflict.

In fact, only 201 Salvadorans living outside the country returned to cast a vote.

The LA Times story includes some quotes from ordinary Salvadorans about their votes:

Eduardo Ramon Recino, 46, a trash collector, said he had always voted for Arena. But supporting a wife and five children on a salary of about $15 a day, living in a tiny cinder-block home where a hammock is the main piece of furniture, made Recino reconsider.

"It's our tradition to vote for Arena," he said. "But you know, they haven't really done a lot to solve our problems. For good or for bad, the country needs a change."

Silvia Gomez, 51, of the San Salvador working-class suburb of Soyapango remembered the military patrols that spooked her neighborhood and took away her brother-in-law, never to be seen again.

"We knew this day would come one day," she said of a likely FMLN victory. "Not like a dream, but like something you see out there and it just takes a little more effort to reach it."

Salvadoran supporters who favored Funes took to the streets in cities and towns throughout the country as the victory became known.

Here are just some of the photo galleries you can view to see Salvadoran democracy at work and the night's celebrations:

La Prensa Grafica photogalleries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

El Diario de Hoy photogaleries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

El Faro gallery here.




Thanks to Karina for sending me some of her photos.

Funes speaks of reconciliation; Avila accepts defeat

On the evening of his historic election as the first president from a leftist party in El Salvador, Funes came to the microphone in the Sheraton Presidente Hotel in San Salvador to declare himself the winner of the elections. After thanking the party members and family who had worked for his election, Funes immediately struck a note of reconciliation, calling to renew the spirit of reconciliation which had been the basis for the 1992 Peace Accords. Noting that ARENA had now "passed into the opposition," Funes also let it be known that he intended to listen to them and they would be "respected and heard." Funes indicated that he would seek to work together with president Tony Saca for a smooth transition of government. Funes struck the moderate leftist themes which had marked his campaign, assuring small, medium and large business owners that he understood the need to have a vibrant economy and a government which was respectful of contract/property rights. But Funes also indicated that his administration would act with a "preferential option for the poor," a reference to liberation theology and the work of murdered archbishop Oscar Romero. El Faro covers the speech here.



Rodrigo Avila came in front of the cameras later with ARENA party faithful and President Tony Saca standing close by. Avila promised a constructive opposition, made a call for unity to his party, and asked God to give wisdom to Mauricio Funes and the FMLN as they govern the country. El Faro covers the speech here.

Mauricio Funes wins historic election in El Salvador

All indications tonight are that Mauricio Funes, the former television journalist, achieved victory today in the presidential elections in El Salvador. Very early on, the election returns being reported by the media showed that the candidate of the leftist FMLN had garnered support throughout the country sending red clad FMLN supporters into the streets to celebrate and sending the conservative ARENA party to defeat for the first time in two decades. By 8:45pm El Salvador time, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal had released results showing Funes with 51.6% of the vote and Avila with 48.4%. This reflected a tally of 73% of the votes.

Funes will assume the presidency of a country with many problems. Among those problems are high levels of crime and violence and an economy that does not provide jobs sufficient to support a large percentage of Salvadoran families. He will have a divided government -- the FMLN will have a plurality in the National Assembly, with conservative ARENA and PCN having a potential majority coalition.

The country is highly polarized as a result of an election campaign which featured nonstop negative campaigning by ARENA.

Presidential election day 2009

8:40 p.m. -- TSE just released its latest tallies: FMLN 51.60% ARENA 48.40% (73% tabulated)

8:30 pm -- still waiting for the TSE to release more official results. ARENA was just on TV asserting that their data is favorable.

7:45 p.m. -- The TSE just released its first preliminary results:

With 33.26% of voting table reports tabulated:

Arena: 426,108 48.72%
FMLN: 448,554 51.28%

Stay tuned.

6:45 pm Channel 21 Megavision has a preliminary count showing the FMLN winning 57% to 43%. TCS shows the FMLN with 53%. It's not looking good for ARENA.

6:30 p.m. -- Preliminary results from the government won't be released for another hour. Looking at the Channel 21 and some results they are displaying on the screen, it looks like the FMLN and Funes have the advantage in the early counting.

5:00 p.m. -- The polls in El Salvador are closed. People in line to vote at 5 will be allowed to vote. Then the votes are counted at each table with respresentatives of each party and election observers looking on. The media have agreed with the TSE that no preliminary results will be released until 7:30 El Salvador time. There do not seem to have been major irregularities discovered today.

4:30 p.m. -- UpsideDown World is broadcasting live audio reports from El Salvador. Go to this link for instructions. There is music when they are not doing news reports.

From Voices on the Border:

As a new report emerged that police have arrested 3 people for voter fraud in San Miguel, the University of Central American Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP) held a press conference during which they recognized that the elections have been smooth and with only a few issues.

During a television interview, a TSE representative stressed this same point, that while there have been a few people that have tried to commit fraud, the majority of Salvadorans have taken part in these historic elections.

These declarations are being made as rumors of large numbers of foreigners voting around the country persist.

4:00 p.m. -- With one hour left to vote, Channel 21 reports that turnout levels are approaching 70%.

LPG put on its website a photogallery of the election day activities of Mauricio Funes.

3:30 p.m. -- With an hour and a half before the polls close, one user on Twitter writes: "There are no expressions of jubilation in the streets of San Salvador, there is anxiety." [my translation]

3:15 p.m. -- You can also follow the election on Twitter, with updates from many Salvadorans. Go here for the Twitter feed.

From the Twitter feed I learned of the press release of the Public Opinion Institute at the UCA which has observers throughout the country. The IUDOP found that the start of voting this morning was generally problem free, although it criticizes ongoing media coverage through the day as being limited and partial to ARENA.

There's also an excellent post (in Spanish) by Hunnapuh on his blog rounding up the opinions of the Salvadoran blogosphere.

2:15p.m. LPG reports that the police have detained 15 foreigners in San Salvador from Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras who were traveling in a pickup with ARENA markings and who carried Salvadoran identity cards (DUIs).

2:00 p.m. La Prensa has reported that through the first 5 hours, 1.5 million Salvadorans had voted out of a registered total of approximately 4.2 million eligible. If this rate continues, this would suggest a turnout of approximately 70%, up from 54% in the January elections.

LPG has posted a gallery of photos from this morning as Salvadorans go to the polls. See the photo gallery here. EDH has a gallery of photos from the voting in San Miguel here.

1:00 pm. Channel 21 just broadcast an interview with the PDDH (Human Rights Ombudsman) Oscar Luna. The PDDH has voluntary observers at voting sites whose role is to generate reports about any irregularity that they observe. Luna commended the civic spirit of Salvadorans and the peaceful process occurring throughout the country. Luna commented that unlike the situation in January, more than 90% of the voting centers opened on time. He had some concern that representatives of the Attorney general were not onsite at all the locations. Halfway through the day, there was nothing observed in terms of irregularities that was of major concern to the PDDH. Luna did confirm that the PDDH is investigating various reports that business owners told employees that they needed to vote in a particular way.



First post -- Noon El Salvador time:

The polls have been open in El Salvador for five hours and there are five hours left to go. Reports in the press and elsewhere indicate that turnout is good, although it is still too early to know what the final level of turnout will be.

There are a variety of snafus and problems in the early going, but nothing unusual yet for a Salvadoran election. Thousands of blank ballots were destroyed by water flooding at the center where Salvadorans who live outside the country can come and cast their vote. The attorney general's office did not have representatives at certain voting centers when they opened this morning. La Prensa Grafica reported that a woman in San Miguel with a Salvadoran identity card was detained after neighbors asserted that she was a Nicaraguan. At various locations there have been incidents of party propaganda too close to the voting centers.

There are a number of ways to follow the news of the elections today. Two Salvadoran TV stations stream live over the Internet -- Channel 21 here and Channel 33 here. The major newspapers are regularly posting updates -- El Diario de Hoy here and La Prensa Grafica here. US based organizations which are observing the elections and blogging in real time in English are CISPES here and Voices on the Border here.

And of course, for the rest of the day, you can look for coverage here at Tim's El Salvador Blog. I'll be updating this post, with new information added at the top of the post. If you get your updates from the blog by email, you will not get new emails each time I update the post. You will need to go to the website luterano.blogspot.com to see the updated post.

The transparency of Salvadoran elections

It is the eve of El Salvador's fourth presidential election since the end of the civil war in 1992. The former warring factions are now the country's leading political parties. If Mauricio Funes of the FMLN wins, it will mark the country's first transfer of power to a leftist government.

The elections in El Salvador, in my view, have a great deal of transparency. The reason is that the political parties are permitted to have observers, "vigilantes," at every single voting table in the country. They scrutinize each step from the verification that a person's name and ID appears on the election roll, to the counting of the votes. In addition, some 4000 observers, both national and international, have been accredited to watch every step of the process. Besides that, the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDDH), will also have 1500 observers in the field at polling places.

To see how the process works at each individual polling place, you may want to review the instruction booklet which the TSE provides to the poll workers. The booklet covers everything from the setup of the polling tables, to assisting blind voters, to filling out the report of the final vote count for each table.

In simplified form, the process is as follows:

1. Every Salvadoran who is registered to vote is assigned to a polling place in his or her municipality alphabetically. Thus, in San Salvador, you might live in one corner of the city but your polling place might be in the opposite corner of the city because your last name starts with the letter "R" which only votes in one location in San Salvador.

2. At each poll location, there are voting tables, one for every 450 voters. The voter must find her table by locating her name on the electoral roll which is posted at the poll location.

3. The voter approaches the poll location and hands over her DUI (national identity card). The card is matched to the name and photo on the list of voters for that table and the voter receives a ballot and a crayon.

4. The ballot contains the logo of the FMLN and the logo of ARENA. The voter marks an "X" over the logo of the party of her pick for president.

5. The voter then deposits her ballot in the ballot box.

6. The voter signs the voting list to indicate she has voted; she dips her finger in indelible ink to prevent her from voting twice that day; and she receives her DUI back.

7. The polls close at 5 p.m. Every person in line to vote at that time is permitted to cast a ballot.

8. The votes are scrutinized and counted with everyone watching.

Despite this fairly transparent process for casting and counting votes, there are still many warning about the possibility of fraud. The fraud they worry about is the possibility that a political party (usually asserted to be ARENA) will transport in foreigners by the busload who will then cast fraudulent votes. Of course, this would require several things -- first, it requires that the "padron electoral" the list of eligible voters -- must have been compromised and that it has been altered to add fake identities for many foreigners. Second, it requires generating fake national identity cards -- DUIs -- for thousands of foreigners. Third, it requires moving thousands of foreigners into the country to vote with no one noticing. I guess it could happen, and in San Isidro in January it apparently did happen, but I remain skeptical that this could really work on any large scale without being detected.

Tomorrow we will see how the process works out in reality. I'll be blogging throughout the day and as the results come in. Please send me your reports of what you are observing throughout election day. Let's hope for an overwhelming turnout and a peaceful election day.

Keys to the presidential election

Lots of articles are being written with predictions of what is key and important in this Sunday's election. (They can't all be right).

The Christian Science Monitor writes that evangelicals are key to El Salvador elections. The articles describes a movement of the evangelical Christian population of El Salvador towards the left, compared with a strong preference for ARENA in 2004.

The Associated Press has an article stating that the difference could be Salvadorans who live in the US:

"Potentially, the people who send remittances have a privileged status over those who receive the remittances, who could listen to the political message that their family members want to give them," said sociologist Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, professor of immigration and labor at the University of California, Los Angeles. "It's an interesting political exercise—an indirect influence."

In an article titled A win for El Salvador leftist appears less certain, the Los Angeles Times sees the possibility that ARENA's advertising focusing on linking the FMLN to the violence of the civil war may tip the balance in voter's minds:

Major Salvadoran newspapers, most of which are controlled by right-wing interests, have warned that an FMLN victory would jeopardize the country's relationship with the U.S. and the immigration status of the 2.5 million Salvadorans who live in the United States, as well as the billions of dollars they send home.

Even though a quarter-million first-time voters expected in this election were born too late to remember the war, the images may have succeeded in touching raw nerves.

"This type of campaign is less effective than it used to be, but it still has impact," said Jeannette Aguilar, director of the Public Opinion Institute at San Salvador's University of Central America. "There is a segment of the population for whom it creates a powerful, paralyzing feeling."

My own take concerning the key to the elections comes down to some basic political issues. First, which party can get its supporters to the polls? The FMLN seems, perhaps, to have a more spirited base as seen in its ability to mobilize an enormous crowd for last weekend's rally in San Salvador. Mauricio Funes has a star power which Rodrigo Avila can't match,similar to that of Barack Obama. But ARENA has money, organization, logistics and practice in getting out the vote. I saw their operation in San Salvador last January, and it is a force not to be underestimated.

Second, how much has the barrage of negative advertising by ARENA and its allies created a dynamic similar to the 2004 election? ARENA is using the same playbook -- assert that an FMLN victory will damage the relationship with the US and the status of Salvadorans living there and link the FMLN to a violent past. That climate of fear was very effective in 2004, and no doubt it will impact some voters again.

Third, how much do Salvadorans in the middle of the political spectrum desire change? Poll after poll shows die hard support for each major party runs at about 30% -- both ARENA and the FMLN can count on 1/3 of the electorate, but the rest is undecided, not telling, or favors a minor party. In 2004, all those voters rejected the FMLN when it ran the hard left Schafik Handal as its presidential candidate. In 2009, the desire for change after 20 years of ARENA rule and a much more moderate FMLN candidate in Funes could tip the balance.

Watch El Salvador's two presidential candidates

There was never a debate between Mauricio Funes and Rodrigo Avila, but you can compare them in these two interviews conducted by Jorge Ramos of Univision:

Funes interview video.


Avila interview video.

The Official US Government Position

The US State Department has responded to the outcry created by statements by certain Republican lawmakers:

Thank you for your concern regarding the elections in El Salvador.

The Government of the United States reiterates its official position that it does not support either candidate in the upcoming presidential election in El Salvador on March 15. The Embassy of the United States in El Salvador has stated this position publicly and repeatedly since November of 2007.

The separation of powers and freedoms in the United States allows the debate in which members of the U.S. Legislature have expressed their opinions, which do not reflect the official position of the United States.

Alberto Rodriguez
A/Public Affairs Officer
Agregado de Prensa/Press Officer
Embajada de Estados Unidos
San Salvador, El Salvador

It is doubtful that El Salvador's far-right El Diario de Hoy will give this statement the same bold, front page headlines it gave Rep. Rohrabacher's and Florida Congressman Connie Mack's comments:

US Congressmen: TPS in danger with FMLN /
Representatives from California and Florida will ask
for strict control of remittances.

UPDATE:
In statements published in Friday's La Prensa Grafica, embassy officials in San Salvador went further, noting that TPS is a humanitarian measure, which does not depend on the nature of the government in place and pointing to the example of Nicaragua which also has the benefit of TPS. The idea of remittances being cutoff was dismissed out of hand by the embassy. (La Prensa Grafica decided to place these comments at the bottom of an interior page, below a much larger article highlighting the remarks of the handful of Republican Congress members who were threatening TPS and remittances.)

Congress members ask for neutrality and one idiot does the opposite

Thirty-three members of Congress signed a letter last week asking the Obama administration to make it clear that the US will be neutral and respect the outcome of the presidential election. In part, the letter states:

As Members of Congress, we reject the threats of 2004 and any effort to instigate another US intervention in Salvadoran politics. We feel that U.S. immigration policy should not be made into a political instrument used to influence foreign elections. Similarly, we reject the suggestion that the US government would seek to financially punish Salvadorans, in this country or in El Salvador, for exercising their right to elect a government of their choosing. As members of Congress, we will not support any such measure.

We believe that the proper position of the U.S. Congress and government is one of neutrality and respect for El Salvador’s independent democratic process, thus allowing the Salvadoran people to make a free choice of personal conscience, a choice which can only be done in the absence of coercion and threats.

You can read the full text of the letter here and you can also watch a video interview of Congressman Paul Grijalva of Arizona who was one of the prime backers of the letter.

I completely agree with the sentiments in this letter. And so it was with complete disgust that I read remarks submitted today to the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican representing Orange County, California, which calls on the US to end Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans and to control the flow of remittances back to El Salvador if Mauricio Funes wins this Sunday's election. These remarks, submitted to the public record, can be seen as nothing but a cynical ploy to influence the election and to help ARENA campaign on the basis of fear, just as it did in 2004.

To those readers of this blog who are Salvadoran, please realize that Rohrabacher's letter does not reflect in any way the policy of the US government. A Congress member can say anything he wants in any forum -- but it doesn't make it true or right. The real question I have -- who is the source who wrote these remarks and gave them to Congressman Rohrabacher to put in the record, three days before the election?

Last day of the campaign

Today is the last day El Salvador's political parties are permitted to campaign prior to the presidential election on Sunday.

Greg from the SHARE Foundation, sent me this note:

As the SHARE Foundation prepares to guide International Observers, mostly from all over the United States, the propaganda has taken over the streets of San Salvador. Just from my first few days back in the country since 2007, there have been more electricity poles splashed with FMLN red and white masking the blue of ARENA. This technique actually making it pink and white, which is just more symbolism of the desperate campaigning techniques of both sides. There are no laws or boundaries of respect for campaign materials. ARENA clearly has more money for campaigning in San Salvador taking more space than the FMLN on the radio.

The anxiety and energy are felt everywhere, either in the grocery story or a pupuseria. There are multiple stories in Diario de Hoy or Prensa Graffica trying to smear the FMLN campaign. It is fairly obvious which party has been in control for the last 20 years. Every Salvadoran has a strong opinion of the election from the taxi driver to the woman making a pupusa. Political marches wake you up in the morning and by the afternoon you have seen 10 trucks with political paraphernalia all over them.

It is five days from the election and it seems like campaigning will not lighten up. It will be interesting to see what the final campaign attempts will be.

You can see photos of FMLN activists putting up campaign ads at Adam Kufeld's website El Salvador Elections 2009. (Check the March 6 photo gallery). Adam is the photographer behind the book El Salvador which features his photography from the country during the 1980s. He is photo and video blogging this week to cover the elections.

The gangs of El Salvador

Friend of this blog, Ethan James, has a gallery of his photographs of gang activity in El Salvador published on the website of the Miami Herald this week. Click here to view The faces of El Salvador's gangs.

These images are an appropriate illustration to this week's appalling news that the first two months of this year were the bloodiest January and February in the past 5 years. There were 689 murders in the first two months, an average of more than 12 per day. The government blames the high murder rate on the gangs in the country. For more, check out this story on El Salvador's violence from National Public Radio.

It is worth noting that Rodrigo Avila was head of the national police or otherwise involved in government safety efforts throughout the current ARENA government's completely ineffective attempts to reign in the violence.

What's in a political slogan

I have noticed in the past few weeks that the Funes and Avila campaigns have started to emphasize new slogans. The new slogan for ARENA is "Vota con Sabiduría" -- Vote with Wisdom. There is a de-emphasis on the original campaign slogan "Pais Mas Justo" -- A More Just Country. This new slogan goes hand in hand with advertising by ARENA and its political allies which emphasizes fear of the FMLN as communist guerrillas responsible for years of conflict in the country. The new message is -- think about that violent past before you cast your vote -- vote wisely.

The new campaign slogan being emphasized by the Funes campaign is "Esta vez es diferente" -- This time is different. You can listen to a jingle with this slogan at www.mauriciofunespresidente.com I can't say that I am a real fan of this slogan, because it rings a little defensive. It seems to be saying -- let's forget about our big loss in the 2004 presidential election, now we finally have a credible presidential candidate. Frankly I still prefer the original slogan "Nace la esperanza. Viene el cambio" -- Hope is being born. Change is coming.

Slogans can be tricky things. Avila's foes are having fun with the vote wisely slogan:

Vote wisely. Don't vote for the ex-policeman.

What others are writing

A young friend from Germany wrote the following about the parties' campaign closing rallies this weekend:

Yesterday we were on the Alameda Juan Pablo II to observe the final event of the campaign of the FMLN. It was really an incredible feeling, 200.000 people in the street, a sea of red. Usually you only see people waving flags of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Karl Marx in history books, but here history is living!
And then they all together sang the ode to joy from Beethoven and I put the hand on my heart and sang the hymns of Europe on the top of my voice.

Today in the Estadio Cuscatlan ARENA put an ARENA Cap, a bag of water and a flag on every single seat!

The difference could not be bigger...

From around the web, there are a number of new articles written in English about El Salvador's elections. The basic theme is that the upcoming election is a big opportunity for the left:

• The Washington Post has a story today, In El Salvador Vote, Big Opportunity for Leftists.
  
  
• Alexandra Marshall writes an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe today titled In El Salvador, A Voice for Unity.
  
  
• Mike Farrell wrote a piece in the Huffington Post, El Salvador: Same Old, Same Old.
  
  
• Jacob Wheeler's article in In These Times is titled El Salvador's Left Turn?
  
  
• Mark Engler writes in Foreign Policy in Focus, Will the Winds of Change Reach El Salvador?
  
  
• Aquiles Magaña wrote Reflections on the 2009 Presidential Elections in El Salvador in Online Opinion

Parties close their political campaigns with rallies

On the final weekend before El Salvador's presidential elections, the political parties held big rallies in San Salvador to energize the party faithful. The FMLN conducted its rally on Saturday, taking over the Avenue Juan Pablo II, with a large stage and thousands of red-clad partisans waving FMLN banners. "Todos queremos cambio" -- we all want change -- was a refrain from the musicians energizing the crowd. Then Funes took the stage to talk about change, hope, and the necessity for his supporters to go to the polls next Sunday. The Funes campaign asserted on its website that more than 300,000 people filled the avenue to attend the rally, while some 200,000 were watching over the internet and more on television. You watch a videoon YouTube of caravans arriving with FMLN followers for the rally.

ARENA conducted its Festival of National Unity Sunday morning at Cuscatlan Stadium in San Salvador. ARENA faithful marched to the stadium dressed in the tri-color red, white and blue of the party. The seats and field were filled with tens of thousands to hear Rodrigo Avila. Avila promised an administration which would build thousands of houses for those who live in champas, he promised to generate good jobs, and promised that the gang members and extortionists did not want him to win. Avila decried the communists of the FMLN who still had not erased hatred from their hearts and exhorted the gathered thousands with ARENA's values of "God, Country Family and Liberty."

The political parties can campaign through Wednesday under Salvadoran law.

The candidates and the churches

One aspect of the campaigns of El Salvador's presidential candidates is their interaction with the country's churches, particularly the evangelical churches which are the fastest growing segment of churches in the country.

Rodrigo Avila meeting with evangelicals in Santa Ana.



Funes meets with 600 evangelical pastors.

From what I can observe, the FMLN appears to be more intentional in its outreach. This may reflect the fact that at least some observers felt the evangelical vote in El Salvador went primarily to Tony Saca and ARENA in the 2004 elections. I recently received a copy of an FMLN document distributed to the country's churches. The document is titled "Moral Rescue Plan" with a subtitle "God as the center and engine of the change that is coming. Without morality, there is no hope." The objective of the plan is described as joining hands with the moral forces in the country to confront the evils that afflict the society. The plan describes efforts to work with the churches for rehabilitation of gang members, to stem the disintegration of families as a result of migration, and to combat HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy through teachings of abstinence and sexual fidelity.

The conservative parties stumbled in their relationship with ELIM church, the largest evangelical church in El Salvador. One of the associate pastors at the church, Jose Tomas Chevez, was the presidential candidate for PCN. Yet after the January 2009 elections, the PCN and ARENA cut a deal in which the PCN leadership threw its support towards ARENA and Avila and jettisoned Chevez over his objections. In a statement following the PCN/ARENA deal, the pastors of ELIM church decried the betrayal by the PCN of its presidential ticket. This week, Chevez threw his support behind Mauricio Funes, breaking with the PCN leadership.

At least some churches are resisting being lured into presidential politics. On its website, the ELIM church has a statement noting that the political preferences of evangelicals vary in pretty much the same way as the rest of the Salvadoran population and the opinion of one pastor or another was not going to alter that fact. In November 2008, the Catholic bishops of El Salvador called on the priests in the country to stay out of politics during this election season. Contrast those positions with the politicized religiosity which David Holiday noted from some churches (supporting the FMLN) in the days before the 2004 elections.

Saca says "no" to Pacific Rim

Next week, with El Salvador's presidential election looming, the Canadian gold-mining company Pacific Rim may commence a multi-million dollar international arbitration against the government of El Salvador under the DR-CAFTA trade agreement. As the SHARE Foundation's blog reports, the current president, Tony Saca, has no intention of settling with Pacific Rim:

President Antonio Saca recently declared that he will not grant extraction rights to Pacific Rim, a Canadian-based mining company that has been exploring gold mining options in El Dorado, El Salvador. His announcement comes just before the three-month period for the amicable negotiation between the government and company ends and the dispute goes before international arbitration. President Saca added, “I want to make something clear, I prefer to pay the $90 million dollars [for arbitration] than to give them a permit.”

President Saca stated that he wants a business that can demonstrate that its practices will not harm the environment. The idea of “green mining,” Saca says, is “a very superficial thing.”

Amnesty and impunity in case of the Jesuits

An article this week from the Chicago Tribune looks at El Salvador's amnesty law passed after the end of the civil war and its effect of preventing justice in the case of the six Jesuit priests slain in 1989:

El Salvador is still wrestling with how to achieve justice after a 12-year conflict between Marxist rebels and a military regime propped up by the Reagan administration.

While international human-rights groups say prosecution is the only logical avenue, both leading candidates in March's presidential election have taken the opposite approach, vowing to keep the amnesty law in place.

That angers [Jesuit Father Jose Maria] Tojeira, now rector at Central American University, which houses a shrine to the slain priests. "We call it an insult to the victims of El Salvador," he said. "The amnesty law attempts to say that nothing happened here, that the living are the ones who count and the dead don't matter. It is a lack of respect to human dignity."

The facts of the murder of the Jesuits have been re-affirmed by national and international investigators. El Salvador's truth commission determined that high-level military officers planned the attack on the priests, who were considered "subversives" because they favored peace talks and had contacts with FMLN rebels.

The lack of prosecution in El Salvador has led human rights attorneys to open a case in the Spanish court system.

Funes and Avila both talk about the need to avoid reopening old wounds when they describe why they oppose repealing the amnesty law. The delicate balance achieved following the peace accords could be disturbed if there was a quest for vengeance.

As quoted in the Tribune article, Benjamin Cuellar, head of the Human Rights Institute at the UCA, has a rejoinder:

Likewise, Cuellar doesn't oppose pardoning the perpetrators but says they must face a legal process and have their guilt publicly affirmed.

"We have to get rid of the cliche that says, 'we can't reopen old wounds,' " he said. "Yes, it is important to turn the page. But first you must read the page and learn the lessons."

Report on issues facing El Salvador

Three organizations with an interest in El Salvador have teamed up to publish the report, The 2009 El Salvador Elections: Between Crisis and Change.

Topics in the report range from the campaigns and the economy, to militarization and the diplomatic front, and much more. These sections are, in turn, divided into more specific issues, such as free trade, water privatization, Plan Mexico, regional integration, and potential relations with the new Obama administration. This timely report seeks to reflect on El Salvador’s current situation as well as the possibilities and challenges ahead at this pivotal moment for the nation’s future.

The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), and Upside Down World collectively edited the report. As one would expect, the report is supportive of Mauricio Funes and the FMLN and reflects the left-leaning views of the sponsoring organizations.

While I have often taken issue with these groups on various issues from time-to-time, and don't agree with everything in this document, the report does offer in one place a comprehensive listing of many of the current issues being debated in El Salvador.

Invitation to contributors

As many of you know, I fractured my knee while in El Salvador as an observer for the January elections. The knee is healing fine, but my biggest disappointment is that I will not be able to travel to El Salvador for the presidential election. So I am looking for contributors who are, or will be, in El Salvador for the presidential elections two weeks from today. As I try to make available comprehensive coverage of the presidential election, write up your observations of election day and the days leading up to March 15 and send them to me using the link in the right hand column. I can't promise I'll post everything I receive and I reserve the right to edit, but I look forward to anything you care to send. Thanks.

Families continue search for missing migrants

In January I wrote about COFAMIDE, the Committee of Family Members of Migrants who have Died or Disappeared, formed to get answers about the disappearances of migrants lost on the way north from El Salvador to the US. The group has now been able to conduct a trip to Mexico to seek information about the missing, as this article from IPS reports:

The Caravan of Hope held a five-day march earlier this month, with economic support from two U.S.-based organisations: the Central American Resource Centre (CARECEN), which provides assistance to migrants, and the Catholic group Nuestros Lazos de Sangre.

The members of the Caravan of Hope met with officials from the federal police and the National Migration Institute (INM) in Tapachula, the capital of Chiapas.

The officials promised to meet with the activists again on Mar. 10, to present them with a list containing all of the available information on Central Americans who have been arrested or killed, or who have gone missing, in Mexico, as well as any new developments in the cases documented by the women.

"Although there are laws, and the authorities have pledged to respect them, we see with pain that our young people are assaulted or go missing here in Mexico and that our women are raped – it is not fair," said Celaya.

"We hope that what they told us are not just empty words," said Celaya. "If they live up to their promises, there will be some hope of finding my son," whose disappearance she reported to the police over six years ago.

Mexico, a traditional gateway to the United States for immigrants from Central and South America, and to a lesser degree for people from Asia and the Middle East, is a dangerous hurdle for migrants, who face the risk of abuses of all kinds at the hands of criminals as well as the police and other authorities, according to human rights groups like Mexicans without Borders and the All Rights for All coalition. (more)

A small step, perhaps a seed of hope.