Left-wing candidate is the leading contender in El Salvador's presidential race

The left-wing candidate in the March presidential election has been leading in polls in a polarizing El Salvador campaign.
BY Liza Gross - lgross@MiamiHerald.com

Sixteen years after failing to seize power in a bloody civil war, the left in El Salvador is closer than ever to achieving its goal through the ballot box, as a jittery nation witnesses a furious and dirty campaign to elect the next president. (Foto FMLN: Funes enters town of Comacaran)

All sides contending in the March 15 presidential race, as well as in January's municipal elections, agree that the hostile tone of the two main candidates and their supporters has worsened the polarization endemic to Salvadoran politics.

Mauricio Funes, 49, the candidate of the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), is viewed by detractors as a communist who would throw El Salvador into chaos. His opponent, 44-year-old Rodrigo Avila of the Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA), is viewed by critics as a conservative who would champion the wealthy elite at the expense of the poor.

The election results will have repercussions for the United States, which was heavily involved in El Salvador's 12-year civil war that claimed an estimated 73,000 lives.

The United States poured in billions of dollars in aid and deployed military advisors to support the embattled right-wing government during the conflict. The U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, a fortresslike complex, remains a symbol of the special relationship between the two nations.

Today, almost three million Salvadorans, about a third of the country's population, live in the United States and make frequent visits home.

Also, the U.S. Navy maintains a facility near San Salvador to support aircraft and crews that monitor and intercept drug traffic. This Forward Operating Location is the only one of its kind in Central America.

A deterioration of relations could potentially shut down the facility, considered by many here as the only barrier to what would otherwise be a straight shot for drugs shipped from South America into the United States.

Funes has consistently led in polls, even as results differ dramatically from survey to survey, giving him a staggering margin or a thin edge.

The FMLN, known here simply as the Frente, is the former coalition of five Marxist guerrilla groups that battled the government during the civil war that began in 1980 and ended in 1992 with the signing of peace accords. The Frente, metamorphosed into a political party, became the main opposition force as the right-wing ARENA maintained continuous control of the presidency.

Funes is a glamorous former TV journalist who was never an FMLN militant. For 14 years before the launch of his political career, he was a hard-charging government critic, until he was fired by his employer, Channel 12.

Funes says he would bring needed economic growth coupled with a reduction of poverty and social inequality if he is elected. He also vows that El Salvador would remain a staunch U.S. ally and would not become a satellite of Venezuela or any other regime, as the opposition contends.

Detractors say Funes and the FMLN would align the country with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, alienate foreign investors, jeopardize relations with the United States and ultimately destroy the country.

According to Miguel Lacayo, a former minister of economy under ARENA and now owner of a chain of drug stores, the FMLN's agenda is ''full of hot air'' and its program is ``scary.''

''The Frente preaches to its members negativity and models that would be a disaster for this country,'' said Salvador Samayoa, a member of the National Development Commission, a nonpartisan group developing long-term strategies for El Salvador.

Moreover, Samayoa added, Funes may be overestimating his ability to moderate the influence of hard-line factions within the Frente.

''I don't think he knows the Frente very well,'' said Samayoa, himself a former FMLN commander who later broke with the party.

David Rivas, Funes' spokesman, denied that his boss is an FMLN puppet.

''Mauricio has been very clear in that when the people elect, they will be electing Mauricio for president, not the party,'' Rivas said.

Alex Segovia, Funes' main economic advisor, said that ``the government plan is being coordinated directly by Mauricio. This is very important.''

However, Segovia acknowledged that the Frente has work to do to appeal to business leaders.

''The Frente has a problem of lack of trust,'' he said. ''We are devoting a lot of time to talking to domestic and foreign business owners.'' As for seeking an alignment with Venezuela, it ''does not mean that we will be their satellite,'' Segovia said.

PARTY'S `EROSION'

ARENA, seeking its fifth consecutive electoral victory, is bogged down by questions about its inability to solve intractable problems, such as crime and a lack of economic opportunity for large sectors of the population.

''ARENA's erosion is a natural thing. We must adapt to the changing times and put our efforts toward the welfare of the family and society, and accept the things we must correct,'' Avila, an industrial engineer and founder of the National Civil Police, told The Miami Herald.

Avila's proposals include tackling abuses by businesses accustomed to operating without controls, curtailing government bureaucracy, fixing the pension system and reducing the cost of medicines.

Among ARENA's successes, Avila points to an improvement in public education, which has reduced illiteracy from 30 percent to 11 percent. He also cites the doubling of households with access to drinking water and the growth of a prosperous middle class.

But many say ARENA may not be able to overcome charges that it has been in office too long.

''It's been 20 years of ARENA with baggage, and people want a change,'' Samayoa said. ``It's logical.''

''The trouble with ARENA is typical of many governing parties,'' said Fabricio Altamirano, publisher and owner of El Diario de Hoy, a newspaper traditionally identified with conservative views. 'Over the course of the years, the party tends to keep the most `loyal elements' in its ranks, which inevitably leads to a situation of group-think and intolerance for different ideas.''

Avila said he plans to maintain El Salvador's status as a staunch ally of the United States.

''The United States is a very important country for us,'' he said.

``The idea is to strengthen relations, strengthen every exchange.''

The FMLN has also announced that it plans to remain on good terms with the United States.

RECOVERY FROM WAR

Since the end of the civil war, El Salvador has enjoyed political stability and freedom of expression. The middle class has grown as the economy has changed from agricultural to service-based.

Some Salvadorans say they plan to leave the country if the FMLN wins the election, as has often happened in Latin America when populist or leftist candidates gain power.

Altamirano does not plan to leave. He was 13 when his family went into exile during the civil war. He remained away for 12 years.

''If the FMLN wins, if ARENA wins, I will stay,'' he said. ``I have something to contribute.''

Source: Miami Herald 4/1/2009

Newer Post Older Post