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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'>FMLN
Strength Increases Fear in ARENA; Saca Visits <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
and Calls for Increased Intervention in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>CISPES
Update<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>December
6, 2007<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy;font-weight:bold'><img width=336 height=267 id="_x0000_i1029"
src="cid:image002.jpg@01C8380F.267A18E0"><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i><font size=1
face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:italic'>Salvadoran
President Antonio Saca continues his strong ties to President Bush during a
meeting on November 29<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>In late November, <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>t</span></font>he
Public Opinion Institute of the Central American University (IUDOP) conducted a
poll showing the leftist FMLN party with a clear advantage just over a year
before the Salvadoran legislative, municipal, and presidential elections of 2009.
In terms of the presidential race, the FMLN had 34.5% of voter’s
preference while ARENA came in second with 27%. At the same time, popular
FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes received a 74% approval rating. Jeanette
Aguilar, coordinator of the IUDOP stated that “there is a clear FMLN
advantage in the three levels of elections,” which will be held in
January and March of 2009. A strong FMLN candidate and the failure of the right
wing government of ARENA to solve the country’s problems are cited as
reasons for an FMLN advantage in the ratings. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>ARENA Responds to FMLN Gains<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Currently, the FMLN’s strength has frightened the right-wing ARENA
party into taking desperate measures, attacking the FMLN and paving the way for
electoral fraud. Last week, ARENA and the PCN party moved forward with a series
of electoral reforms in the Legislative Assembly. The right-wing parties
declared that they only need 43 votes from the National Assembly to approve the
reforms. The reforms, which were denounced by the FMLN’s Electoral
Commission, would eliminate the seal and signature on voting ballots, increase
the requisites for creating new parties and coalitions, and limit and
criminalize voters migrating from one municipality to another for electoral
purposes. If the reforms were to pass the process for implementing them would
start on March 2008. According to FMLN deputy Walter Duran, “these
reforms are dangerous as they promote electoral fraud.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>At the municipal level, ARENA has recently given interest-free loans
for municipal services to municipalities where the FMLN might win the 2009
elections. The right has also continued to attack FMLN San<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> </span></b>Salvador Mayor Violeta Menjívar, primarily
around issues related to garbage collection and the distribution of the vendors
stands. Menjívar and the Municipal Council continue to negotiate with vendors
regarding the location of their stands in response to the recent conflict
between right-wing vendors and the San Salvador Police which resulted in
violence in mid-November. Menjívar stated that the violence was caused by
people hired by the right-wing parties to destabilize downtown <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City> and its municipal
government. In fact, the lack of formal employment and the poor
administration of the public transportation system have created the tense
situation in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City>;
furthermore, many of these problems are not under municipal jurisdiction, but rather
issues that the Salvadoran government and the Transportation Ministry should
resolve. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Finally, in the community of Santiago de Maria, ARENA concessioned the
Laguna Alegria Natural Park to a community development association called
ADESCAM in 2006 before handing over the administration of the town of to the
FMLN. Then in November former major Carlos Antonio Luna said that the
park was given away to maintain its tranquil and pleasant environment because
“we don’t want the park to become a place full of garbage and
street vendors like <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City>.”
The FMLN has countered such blatant propaganda as part of a strategy to undermine
FMLN municipalities, which also has occurred through depriving them of
resources and public services. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Saca Warns of “Socialist
Cancer” in <st1:place w:st="on">Latin America</st1:place></span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Last week, Salvadoran President Antonio<b><span style='font-weight:
bold'> </span></b>Saca traveled to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> to visit President
Bush, World Bank Chief Robert Zoellick, and to receive the “freedom
award” from the International Republican Institute (IRI). During
his trip Saca called for increased <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
funding for security in Central America through the <i><span style='font-style:
italic'>Iniciativa Merdia </span></i>program, complaining about the fact that <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region> is set to receive $500 million through the
plan while all of <st1:place w:st="on">Central America</st1:place> will only
receive $50 million. <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320&Itemid=29">Check
out the CISPES press release about the Saca visit here.</a></span></font> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Saca also made a call to the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
government and business groups to beware of the expansion of of “socialist”
governments in <st1:place w:st="on">Latin America</st1:place>, specifically in
relation to the Salvadoran elections of 2009. Saca stated that the <st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> “can help out a lot in preventing
citizen support for certain proposals offered in the upcoming elections,”
referring to the FMLN [during the 2004 Salvadoran presidential race, the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> government
openly supported the fear campaign launched by ARENA.] FMLN
Communications Director Sigfrido Reyes decried the hypocrisy of Saca for requesting
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
intervention in the Salvadoran electoral process while simultaneously
criticizing the FMLN for supposedly being financed by the Venezuelan
government. According to Reyes, Saca is “definitely full of panic,
probably due to the FMLN’s strength.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Salvadoran Legislative Assembly
reprimands Director of National Civilian Police for Attacking Community of
Cutumay Camones <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Parties in the Legislative Assembly—with the exception of
ARENA—demanded last week that Police Director Rodrigo Avila explain the
excessive use of force to “dissolve” protests in the community of
Cutumay Camones. Legislators of different parties heavily questioned the brutal
police attacks against peaceful protesters resisting the construction and
operation of a garbage dump in their community. One deputy from the
center-left CD party stated that the National Police “cannot defend the
interests of a private company that does not even fulfill legal requisites to
operate,” referring to the series of irregularities that have been
overlooked in the approval of the construction permits awarded to the private
company Presys. <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Avila</st1:place></st1:City>
was reprimanded for not heeding to the special legislative commission created
for the case inearly November, which recommended that the National Police not
intervene in the conflict between the community of Cutumay Camones, the Presys
Company, and the local government. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On November 27 Cutumay Camones residents—in negotiations mediated
by the Human Rights Ombudsman Oscar Luna—temporarily agreed to stop
blocking the road as an action of protest. Community leaders presented a series
of proposals to Presys and to the municipality to reach a solution to the
ongoing conflict, but both the private company and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Santa Ana</st1:place></st1:City> mayor Orlando Mena were unwilling
to come to a solution. Luna said “neither the mayor nor Presys chose to
accept the proposals; on the contrary, they left the negotiation table.”
Presys and the local government have chosen to ignore the proposals,
putting the fragile agreement in danger and demonstrating their lack of
interest in reaching an agreement to stop the conflict. Meanwhile, all 27
protesters arrested last week were released on bail and damages charges were
dropped, but they will continue to be charged with public disorder.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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