[Cispes-update] Mauricio Funes continues to build support one month before Salvadoran presidential elections

[CISPES]

Mauricio Funes continues to build support one month before Salvadoran
presidential elections
CISPES update
February 14, 2009
funes

also in this update:

*	Minister of Defense attends ARENA campaign event
*	El Salvador completes 6th round of Free Trade discussions with
European Union


The Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) presidential
candidate Mauricio Funes continues to grow his broad base of support as
political parties, community leaders, and social movement groups endorse
him. On February 10, the National Democratic Front (FDR) gave their support
to the FMLN presidential ticket. The announcement of support came both from
the party leadership as well as its voting base, who pledged to work with
him to win the March 15 presidential elections.  Ex-legislative deputy
candidate for the FDR Ernesto Ramos spoke to the party base saying, “I feel
convinced that Funes is an incorruptible person and the only option to stop
the corruption in the government is to change the party in power.”  FDR
national leader, Julio Hernández, has endorsed the Nationalist Republican
Alliance (ARENA) party formula, effectively alienating him from the base of
his party.

The same day, the National Council of Field Workers (CNTC) pledged their
support and the 100,000 votes of their members to Funes and FMLN
vice-presidential candidate Salvador Sanchez Cerén. The FMLN formula’s plans
for reviving the agricultural sector in the country appealed to the
organization and its members. Raul Carrillo, a national coordinator for the
CNTC, said, “Funes’ plan says that he will immediately reactivate
agriculture, while [Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) candidate
Rodrigo] Avila says that it will be necessary to lease out lands.”

On Thursday, January 12, Funes held a rally in La Libertad that was attended
by over 5,000 people waving FMLN, Christian Democratic Party (PDC),
Democratic Change (CD) party, and National Conciliation Party (PCN) flags.
Various PDC mayors have publicly endorsed Funes and the FMLN ticket,
including the mayors of La Libertad,  Sesori, and Texistepeque.

The wave of endorsements show the continued growth of support for Funes.  In
the month leading up to the March 15 elections, Funes says he will continue
to build alliances with political parties and community groups—not to win
the election, but to better govern the country after he is elected.


Minister of Defense attends ARENA campaign event

On February 4, El Salvador’s Minister of Defense Jorge Molina attended a
campaign event for ARENA’s presidential candidate Rodrigo Avila.  As head of
the Armed Forces, his attendance violates article 211 of El Salvador’s
constitution which requires the Armed Forces to be apolitical.  Article 218
goes on to state that “Functionaries and public employees are at the service
of the State and not of a specific political fraction.  They should not
utilize their positions for party politics.  One who does will be sanctioned
in conformity with the law.”

When asked whether his presence violated the constitution, Molina responded
that he was only there to learn more about the proposals of the political
parties; however, he then admitted he had not attended any other party’s
events.  When questioned about the evening’s presentation and the comments
made by various speakers that the FMLN was a risk to national stability, he
responded, “Different positions that show themselves as extreme or orthodox
could put [national stability] at risk.”

Media analysts and movement leaders denounced ARENA for using the Armed
Forces in their campaigning in September of 2008 when Avila gave a military
salute to a group of 15,000 veterans.  At that event he went on to warn the
Armed Forces as an institution about the supposed risks that an FMLN victory
would bring, using the rhetoric that the “reds” would take away civil
liberties.  .

El Salvador completes 6th round of Free Trade discussions with European
Union

During the first week of February, Salvadoran officials attended the 6th
round of discussions surrounding the Association Agreement of the European
Union and Central America (AdA) in Belgium.  The agreement, very similar to
the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), has received harsh
criticisms.  Raul Moreno, an economist with the Foundation for the Study of
the Application of Law (FESPAD) and an observer at the negotiations, said,
“We are before an instrument of domination, before a hegemonic instrument.”
He went on to say, “The purpose of this instrument of domination is to
exercise control over our natural resources, over our water, over our
biodiversity, over our mineral resources, over our energy resources.”

Much like CAFTA, the AdA would open commercial opportunities for the
European Union in Central America including: privatization of public
services and state-owned business, deregulation and greater protection for
investors, control of natural resources by private businesses, and an
increase in what is considered intellectual property.  El Salvador’s
Minister of Economy Ricardo Esmahan, disputed Moreno saying El Salvador’s
small and medium business would “benefit the most.”  Despite this statement,
he later admitted that, “Mr Moreno is correct in that there is a certain
disadvantage [for El Salvador] in some specific products.”

El Salvador, under 20 years of ARENA party administrations, has followed a
program of implementing neoliberal economic policies such as CAFTA with the
support of foreign governments.  Social movement leaders have blamed these
policies for increased costs of basic services, the decline of the
agricultural industry, and the acceleration of megaprojects like mining and
dams that have provoked backlash from environmental groups.  Economists have
expressed concern that the AdA will increase the economic crisis and that it
will weaken the countries’ sovereignity.  “Any measure that obstructs the
use of
 resource[s] as an object of commerce can be interpreted as an
indirect expropriation [of international corporations], exposing the state
to monetary penalties by international tribunals” said Moreno.  The mining
corporation Pacific Rim has recently threatened to sue El Salvador under a
similar investor protection article in CAFTA.

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