[Cispes-update] FMLN mayor assassinated in Usulután

[CISPES National Office]

FMLN mayor assassinated in Usulután



CISPES Update

January 11, 2008

 

Wilber Moises Funes, mayor of Alegria, Usulután, was assassinated on January
9 while visiting community projects in the Las Casistas area of his
municipality. A member of the FMLN opposition party, Funes was shot along
with municipal staff member Zulma Rivera.  Rivera was killed immediately,
while Funes died in transit to a hospital in Santiago de Maria.  Wilber
Funes, one of the youngest mayors in the country, was dedicated to creating
projects for the benefit of the poorest communities in his area while
defending the interest of public services still owned by the municipality.
The FMLN and civil society organizations denounced the killing and demanded
that Salvadoran Attorney General Felix Garrid Safie authorize an immediate,
independent, and objective investigation into the assassinations.  

 

Incidentally, Funes’ government in Alegria was the victim of a privatization
scheme following its election in 2006. Immediately before leaving office,
the preceding municipal administration, from the right-wing ARENA party,
handed over the Laguna Alegria Natural Park to a community development
association called ADESCAM. The privatization of this valuable resource was
part of a broader ARENA strategy to leave newly-elected FMLN municipal
governments without the resources to function. (See previous CISPES update
at www.cispes.org <http://www.cispes.org/> )   

 

2007 closes with increased social and economic insecurity

 

El Salvador emerged from 2007 in even worse economic condition than at the
start of the year, due largely to ARENA’s poor government management.
Despite President Antonio Saca’s discourse about economic growth and the
positive results of his violence reduction plans, the reality for most
Salvadorans is that the economic and social crises intensified in the last
year.  In terms of the economy, the fact that more than 500 Salvadorans
attempt to migrate to the U.S. every day undermines whatever economic growth
Saca’s administration boasts about in the media.  Remittances from family
members in the U.S. continue to sustain the economy, but even that source of
income has come under risk, as more Salvadorans were deported from the U.S.
in the first 6 months of 2007 than during the entire year of 2006. 

 

The dramatic rise in deportations is causing many to question Saca’s
description of U.S.-El Salvador relations as healthy. The much-hyped renewal
of Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for some Salvadorans covers only a
small portion of the 2-3 million who live in the U.S. Meanwhile, El Salvador
continues to be the only Latin American country with troops in Iraq.   

 

Despite ARENA’s “tough on crime” rhetoric, 2007 saw more than 3,500
homicides - an average of nearly 10 per day. At least 10 bodies were found
dismembered, reminding Salvadorans of the atrocities of the civil war.
Politically-motivated killings were commonplace in 2007, as well. The vast
majority of homicides remain unsolved.

 

Another controversy highlighting ARENA’s failure involves a $460 million
“donation” by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC – a U.S. government
institution) to El Salvador. A recent study revealed that El Salvador fails
to meet 9 of the 17 criteria required for MCC funds to be awarded, including
areas such as a lack of social spending, limited protection of natural
resources and the failing justice system.  In terms of social spending, the
MCC requires recipient countries to spend a minimum of 1.88% of their GDP on
education, while El Salvador barely spent 1.4%.  In terms of the justice
system, more than 80% of criminal cases do not get resolved, according to
San Salvador Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez. Saca’s government insists it is
implementing plans that will reverse the situation. A failure to do so would
force the U.S. Congress to cut the funds.

 

ARENA consolidates control of electoral system, but struggles to produce
presidential candidate

In the last days of December 2007, The Organization of American States
officially approved its audit of the Salvadoran electoral registry.
According to ARENA’s legislative Chief of Fraction Guillermo Gallegos, the
“registry is trustworthy.”  However, both social organizations and the FMLN
believe that these results cannot be trusted. 

 

Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) recently ruled that
right-wing PCN party member Julio Moreno Niños may continue serving on the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). The ruling comes almost three years after
the FMLN presented an unconstitutionality claim against Moreno’s position on
the TSE.  According to 2004 election results, the position should have
belonged to two smaller parties, the CDU (now known as CD) and the Christian
Democrat Party (PDC).  However, the right-wing bloc once again maneuvered so
that a PCN member would sit on the TSE, leaving 3 out of 5 votes in the TSE
to the right wing. The FMLN will appeal this case to international court, as
it illustrates what FMLN deputy Jorge Jimenez calls the “macabre alliance of
the right wing and the Supreme Court of Justice.” 

 

Meanwhile, ARENA is struggling to select its candidate for the 2009
presidential elections.  After months of changing dates and putting forth a
long list of possible candidates, ARENA president Antonio Saca announced
this week that the official date of inscription for those interested in
competing for the presidential candidacy will be January 21.  ARENA’s most
talked about presidential possibilities, businessman Roberto Murray Meza,
Security Minister Rene Figueroa, and Water Administration president Cesar
Funes, all declined this week to participate in the race for the nomination.
Some members of ARENA insist the process should be sped up, given the
advantage the FMLN has gained since selecting its presidential ticket last
year.

 

Desperate ARENA accuses Chavez of financing FMLN campaign

The internal divisions within ARENA have led to increased attacks on the
FMLN.  ARENA has criticized the FMLN municipal government in San Salvador,
led by mayor Violeta Menjívar, for soliciting a loan from the Social and
Economic Development Bank of Venezuela, which ARENA believes will be used
for the FMLN electoral campaign.  However, the loan is being requested to
help alleviate problems with garbage collection and its processing. The $10
million loan is for the purchase of garbage compressors and to finance a
recycling awareness campaign. Negotiations for the loan are in their initial
stage, as the bank is doing reinvestment analysis while the municipality is
carrying out an environmental study. According to the Rolando Mata, general
manager of the municipal government, “ARENA is in full campaign mode. Since
they have nothing to offer, the only thing they can do is attack Dr. Violeta
Menjívar”. 

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