[Cispes-update] Public Pressure for U.S. Neutrality Statement Succeeds after Republican Congressional Representatives Intervene in Salvadoran Election

Sat Mar 14 20:58:12 EDT 2009

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Public Pressure for U.S. Neutrality Statement Succeeds after Republican
Congressional Representatives Intervene in Salvadoran Election

FMLN Appears Poised for Victory on Eve of March 15 Election

Check out updates throughout election day at
http://cispes.org/09electionsblog 

Also check out Adam Kufeld’s Photodocumentary Project:
http://www.elsalvadorelections2009.org/

Also in this update:

*        FMLN closes presidential <>  campaign with massive carnival,

underscores need to defend against fraud <> 

*         Nicaraguans <>  and Hondurans bussed into Antiguo Cuscatlán

*         Salvadorans march against <>  Free Trade Agreement with Europe

*         ARENA <>  denounces CISPES

On Wednesday, March 11 — just four days before El Salvador's historic
election for president and vice-president — 5 Republican Congressmen gave
speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives threatening that
Salvadorans living in the U.S. would lose their immigration status and be
outlawed from sending money home to their families if voters in El Salvador
elect the opposition FMLN party's candidate on Sunday.  "Those monies that
are coming from here to there I am confident will be cut, and I hope the
people of El Salvador are aware of that because it will have a tremendous
impact on individuals and their economy,” stated Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN).
Similar threats by U.S. officials were made during the 2004 Salvadoran
presidential campaign. 

The Republicans’ statements were on the front pages of the widest
circulating daily newspapers on the morning of Thursday, March 12, the day
after the presidential and vice-presidential campaigns legally closed,
leaving the FMLN unable to respond to the threats  CISPES, along with many
partner organizations around the country, mobilized its activists in the
U.S. to demand public statements of neutrality from the State Department in
Washington and the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador.

After receiving what it referred to as an “inundation” of phone calls from
citizens around the U.S. on Thursday the 12th, the State department released
a statement of neutrality, saying “The U.S. government reiterates its
official position that it does not support either candidate in the upcoming
presidential election in El Salvador on March 15th
 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 necessarily
reflect the official position of the United States.” Later that day, the
U.S. Embassy in El Salvador also released a statement saying, “The U.S.
Government will respect the will of the Salvadoran people and will seek to
work constructively with whoever wins that election.”

Then the next morning, Friday March 13, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) stated,
“As Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, I am confident that
neither TPS [temporary immigration status granted to Salvadorans in the
U.S.] nor the right to receive remittances from family in the United States
will be affected by the outcome of the election, despite what some of my
colleagues in Congress have said.”

At a press briefing later that day, Thomas Shannon, the State Department’s
top diplomat for Latin America stated, “We are committed to free and fair
elections in El Salvador. And we've also made it very clear that we will
work with whomever the Salvadoran people elect.” All of these statements of
neutrality were subsequently covered in the Salvadoran media, and come on
the heels of a March 5 letter signed by 33 members of Congress calling for
the Obama administration to take just such a position. That letter was
published in its entirety in El Salvador's highest-circulation newspaper, La
Prensa Gráfica, on March 14.

FMLN closes presidential campaign with massive carnival, underscores need to
defend against fraud

On Saturday, March 7, the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front)
held a massive carnival to celebrate the closing of the presidential
campaign and the upcoming election on March 15th.  Over 300,000 supporters
converged on the Alameda Juan Pablo II in a sea of red to listen to
speakers, enjoy music, and fill the area with chants vocalizing their
support for FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes and vice-presidential
candidate Salvador Sanchez Cerén.  

Caravans of people arrived from all over the country to join in the
celebration that was scheduled to start at 4 PM, though people began
arriving hours earlier. As the sun set, fireworks lit up the sky as the
crowd raised their fists and sang “El Pueblo Unido Jamas Será Vencido” (“The
People United Will Never Be Defeated”). Saturday’s festivities highlight the
popular support for the FMLN presidential “formula,” which is leading in the
polls and continuing to build alliances and receive endorsements from
outside the party.

Sanchez Cerén addressed the women in the crowd, anticipating Sunday’s
celebration of International Women’s Day and encouraging all women to be
protagonists of change in El Salvador. The carnival concluded with a speech
by Funes, in which the candidate called for a massive turnout on Election
Day and for everyone to take responsibility to defend the victory.  He
expressed concern about the potential for fraud on March 15 and urged those
present to be vigilant.

The governing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) closed its campaign
the next day at the Estadio Cuscatlán, gathering 70,000 people and
encouraging them to protect El Salvador from “the reds.”

In the weeks and months leading-up to the March 15th presidential election,
international observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) and
independent non-governmental organizations have expressed concern over the
potential for irregularities. The OAS report of January’s municipal and
legislative elections stressed the failure of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal
(TSE) to make the Electoral Registry available in its entirety to all
political parties. To date, the FMLN has not had access to this list of all
eligible voters, which has prevented investigation into numerous reports of
irregularities in the Registry.

Nicaraguans and Hondurans bussed into Antiguo Cuscatlán

On Monday, March 9, residents of Antiguo Cuscatlán in the department of San
Salvador reported the presence of buses filled with Nicaraguans and
Hondurans who were being given Salvadoran ID cards (DUIs), presumably to
vote in the March 15th presidential election. International observers
affiliated with the Salvadoran Foundation for Local Development and
Democracy (FUNDASPAD) responded to the citizen denouncement and found two
buses parked in front of the City Hall that were full of people who hid when
the observers approached. The observers noted that the bus passengers spoke
with Honduran and Nicaraguan accents. Nearby business owners reported that
there were many other buses that had come and gone during the day.

The citizen denouncement reported that the foreigners were being taken to
the fourth floor of the City Hall parking garage and given false DUIs.  An
individual wearing an ARENA shirt who spoke on the condition of anonymity
told journalists that buses had been arriving all day from the East and the
passengers were being taken to the parking garage for a meeting about the
March 15th presidential election. The FUNDASPAD observers saw a line of
individuals leaving the City Hall parking garage and rapidly returning to
the buses.

In the days before the January 18th municipal and legislative elections,
Nicaraguan and Honduran individuals with Salvadoran DUIs were detained in
route to Voting Centers in Morazán, La Unión, and San Miguel.  An audit of
the Electoral Registry conducted by the Organization of American States
(OAS) in December of 2007 found numerous irregularities, including the
presence of deceased people and people who had migrated to the United
States.  The OAS provided instructions for purging the Electoral Registry
that the TSE never completed.  This, along with the reports of foreigners
with DUIs, and the fact that a private company produces DUIs, has raised the
concern of many International Observers about the potential for fraud in the
March 15th presidential election.

Salvadorans march against Free Trade Agreement with Europe

One Tuesday, March 10, families participated in a march against the Free
Trade Agreement between Central America and Europe (AdA) that is currently
being negotiated between the European Union and El Salvador.  Many of the
signs being carried also called for a repeal of the Central American Free
Trade Agreement with the US (CAFTA).  A statement outlining ten reasons to
be opposed to the AdA was circulated.  Amongst the reasons were that the
treaty would increase the gap between the wealthy and poor, privatize public
services, and legalize the depletion of biodiversity and natural resources.
The march, organized by a group called Red Sinte Techan, concluded at the
Legislative Assembly, where a statement outlining the group's position was
delivered.

One of the participants of the march, an 80-year old man who identified
himself as Germán, said, “The assets [of El Salvador] are for us
we cannot
just endure while they eat well and fill their pockets with money.”  Many of
the marchers have never had a suitable home.  Mirna Esperanza Herrera, from
Santa Ana, told reporters she had always lived along the railroad tracks.

The AdA is very similar to CAFTA in that it would remove import taxes from
most goods and allow private companies to sue governments for lost
investments.  Many economists have faulted CAFTA for El Salvador’s economic
crisis and the downfall of its agricultural industry.  Economist Raul Moreno
has also pointed out the danger of CAFTA’s provision that allows companies
to sue governments for lost investments.  In 2008, a US subsidiary of the
Canadian-based Pacific Rim mining company filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to
sue El Salvador for lost investments on a mining project in Cabañas.  The
lawsuit, which could be filed any day now that the NOI waiting period has
expired, would be the first lawsuit of its type for the country and could
potentially cost the government millions of dollars.

Right wing denounces CISPES

A March 6 article by the EFE wire service reports that an ARENA party
representative in Miami, Florida, José Alfredo Ávila, criticized CISPES for
its support of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva's March 5 letter in support of free
and fair elections in El Salvador. Thirty-three members of the United States
Congress signed the document that asked President Barack Obama to publicly
state his administration's position of neutrality and respect for the will
of the Salvadoran voters.

Ávila dismissed the lawmakers' call for U.S. neutrality, saying “they
[CISPES] were the ones who came up with this idea for the letter and asked
the Members of Congress for their support.” 

ARENA rejects the premise that the United States has intervened in past
elections, and on these grounds views the Congressional letter as “an
insult.” The ARENA spokesman said that the relationship between the United
States and El Salvador has “never” produced any intervention in the internal
affairs of either country. However, the Congressional letter was accompanied
by extensive documentation of interventionist statements and threats made by
high-ranking U.S. officials during El Salvador's 2004 presidential campaign.

In their letter, the Members of Congress stated their own commitment to
“honoring and respecting the will of the Salvadoran people when they go to
the polls on March 15,” and affirmed that they look forward to working
toward a positive relationship with whichever party is elected on Sunday.

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© 2008 CISPES - The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
CISPES National Office | ph. 202-521-2510 | 1525 Newton St. NW, Wash. DC
20010| cispes at cispes.org

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