The people take action

Although there were reported to be 5,000 election observers registered to work on Sunday, it is the civilian´s actions in their home communities that had a dramatic effect in preventing rampant fraud.

A tactic that has proven to be successful in past elections is to import people to vote for a specific party. ARENA has been charged with ´hiring´people from surrounding countries and sending them with fake DUIs (the id card needed to vote) to polling stations with clear instructions on who to vote for. Very few of these operations have been stoped or investigated by the authorities.

In the very early hours of Sunday March 15, a call from Cuscatlan went out for assistance from a group of civilians who had been monitoring a sports stadium in their community. Over 100 large school buses had been hurriedly driven into the stadium and the tall fence doors closed behind them. A group of election observers from Quebec answered the call and were on the site by 2am. At that time, they could see through the chain link fence the buses lined up in the parking lot and spoke briefly to two bus drivers who were standing by the gate. The drivers claimed they did not know what they were they would be sent, who had hired them or what the assembly was for. The Observers asked to be let into the stadium grounds to look around but were not allowed. Shortly after their exchange, rocks thrown from inside the fence began to rain down on the Observers and civilians.

The Observers then went to the local radio station that is part of a network of left wing stations. They gave an update on the situation in Cuscatlan and answered questions from callers and the staff. While in the station, calls came in from other regions of full buses crossing the boarder into El Salvador and even a report of civilians stopping boat loads of foreigners from landing on Salvadoran beaches.

Near the Guatemalan boarder, another group of civilians saw a suspicious bus load of peasants entering their community. When the passengers gave said they were all coming to El Salvador to pick up their pay cheques, the towns people called the passenger´s bluff by offering to call their boss. When no name or phone number could be produced, they put the bus load under a citizens arrest and held everyone until the police arrived and escorted them back out of the country.

Fewer reports were made of the important DUI cards being counterfeit or stolen however a brave citizen did prevent fraud by pulling a knife on would be DUI thief on a public transit bus. When thief was challenged, he fled and dropped his bag of ID cars a few blocks form the bus. The bag contained the DUIs from the last bus he had robbed as well as many others including a number of counterfeit ones.

The March 15 presidential elections are being described as without significant fraud and the impressive number of Observers is often pointed to as the reason. However, at one press conference held by FUNDASPAD the Observers admit they saw few irregularities at the polls. Many of the would be fraudulent voters had already been apprehended by the vigilance of people within their communities. People were determined to prevent another vote be stolen and were willing to put their own safety on the line to do so.

FMLN wins

On Monday morning the city´s usual buzz of activity is more sedate.

We all have the election hangover. Through my window I hear the occasional chant from somone on their way to work. Shouts of ¨Funes!¨ are answered by ¨Viva!¨ from anyone within ear shot. The election was fairly close but still the FMLN won by enough to be decisive, with 90% of the vote counted, FMLN has 51.27% and ARENA 48.73%.

Last night the streets in San Salvador became an open air party as thousands took to the streets and converged around the monunet Salvador del Mundo. Youth waving flags on car tops, children in tree tops, families decked in head to toe red, even seniors being helped along by their loved ones, they all joined the celebration.

Today as we have our breakfast, stories of last nights festivities, our shock when we first heard the results and our predictions for the future are shared.

Visiting ARENA

I had mixed feelings about visiting the ARENA office but decided to go along with the group. What I saw confirmed to me that I do not belong among their ranks.

Our group was received warmly even though we were a few minutes early. Three women busily brought us coffee and water. A number of male party officials introduced themselves and shook everyone´s hands, said they were glad we came to visit and hope we would see that the upcoming elections are fair and democratic. All this was pretty standard political fare. But the inanimate objects in the office told the rest of the ARENA story.

We were taken on a brief tour and the majority of meeting rooms and even some hallways had groupings of 8-10 promotional images from the movie 300. All of the images were of heavily muscled Romanesque men killing one another. The film was said to the the ARENA leaders favorite because it is a story of struggle and victory.

In the main office we spoke with Adolfo Torrez, the Director General for the department of San Salvador. He is a well tanned fit man with lots of jewelery and a substantial flashy watch. His demeanor was casual and he often joked with us. But all the while that we were in the ARENA office, a young man of about 6 feet was video taping us and during the meeting with Torrez, 2-3 people were photographing us from ever angle. If one of the group asked a question, the video lens closed in on them and remained there for a disproportionate amount of time.

In the main office the walls are covered with photos of previous ARENA presidents as well as global leaders such as Agusto Pinochet. The ARENA leader who is widely named as the leader of the death squads, D´Aubuisson, was shown in many pictures. Also decorating the room were models of warriors, some fictional such as elf fighters from the Lord of the Rings series, others Roman gladiator types. There were also a number of racks displaying long swords from various cultures.

All of these pictures, model figures, constant videotaping and photographing as well as some sexist remarks created a very tense atmosphere. Of course, that is the intention. ARENA has come as far as they have largely through force and intimidation and even though they claim to be wanting a fair, democratic election, their aggressive platform and continued intimidation techniques suggest it is business as usual.

Our group, consisting of mainly internationals but many Salvadorans discussed the meeting at length afterwards. Emotions ran high as one of the members broke down into tears as she tried to release the stress from the day and express how she would never have felt safe in the ARENA office if she had not been surrounded by our group of supportive, like minded individuals. Other Salvadorans expressed similar cathartic feelings and one Chilean woman told of having to not look at the Pinochet portrait for fear of forgetting her herself and being overcome by her emotions.

I am sure the next time I see the ARENA officials, they will be using the same intimidation techniques but now that I have been into the heart of their operation, I feel I am better prepared to anticipate their actions and steel myself for them.

The media switches gears

March 12/13
We are now in the first days without campaign ads in the newspaper, TV and radio.

I expected it to be quieter but the media has switched gears and rather than official ads for the parties, they now run interviews with ´experts´ who continue the smear campaign against the FMLN by continuing to advance the ARENA party line. Also claiming that ARENA has been in power for 20 years and they have maintained peace and prosperity. They are trying to position themselves as a populist party but a walk past their main office in San Salvador, with its Hummers and luxury sports cars proudly on display, tells a different story.

The newspaper, La Prensa Grafica, although not technically an ad for them, have a large colour picture of an ARENA member in full red white and blue regalia on its cover page. Buried deeper in the paper is a small article quoting FMLN´s secretary of communication, Sigfrido Reyes, denouncement of false DUI cards. DUI (documentos unicos de identidad) are the main form of identification for Salvadorans but many report have been made of fake DUIs being used to generate electoral fraud.

The non partisan television commercials are dominated by the election offices. There is an extensive campaign to educate and remind civilians that Sunday is the day to vote and what items they need to bring with them. The turn out for the January municipal elections was quite low at just over 50%. This low number is being attributed to voter scepticism, dis-interest, and a general feeling from the public that no matter how they vote, it will not matter due to the high level of historical electoral fraud.

Friday night at midnight the country will become (technically) dry. Hopefully the sobre minds will lead voters to a vote for change and away from the corruption that has been rampant for decades.

Last day of Campaigning in El Salvador

Salvador Sanchez Ceren FMLN´s
Vice Presidential candidate

Wed March 11

It is the last day of campaigning and the media has been worked into a fevered pitch. The TV is dominated by smear campaigns from the right wing ARENA party and the newspapers and radio are just as bad. The most popular tactic is to compare a vote for Funes to a vote for Chavez, to say explicitly that FMLN will limit religious freedoms, the remittances from the US and other countries will be discontinued and various other ridiculous and fear mongering charges.

Funes´s and the FMLN´s campaign meanwhile have been comparatively classy. In TV commercials, long shots of children playing and happy workers welcome the imminent change to a left wing government.

News reporters tried to charge FMLN supporters with an attack on a group of ARENA campaigners. A street fight occurred today where rocks were throw from one side of the street to the other. Initial reports said the FMLN had been shooting guns but it quickly came out that no shots were fired. However, the retraction is essentially worthless as once a report of such as gunfire on the streets attributed to one party had been sent out on the air, the desired effect of fear and suspicion is created immediately. No retraction or eye witness accounts can undo damage. These false reports support ARENA´s charge that FMLN supports are gang members and ARENA is needed to maintain the tenuous peace that exists today.

The newspapers, El Diario de Hoy and others, are running full page ads in the form of letters to the readers from concerned citizens. One such letter requested the body of the author´s dead relative to be returned to the family for a proper burial. Although not explicit saying the FMLN were responsible for the death, the right wing controlled media are using deaths from the civil war years as a thinly veiled threat that a change in the governing body may cause the war to start anew.

The city streets are covered in red, white and blue paint and posters for the two presidential candidates. There were other parties with candidates up until a few weeks ago but they have all since dropped out leaving the two main rivals.

The campaign ban imposed for the last three days before an election will cause the parties to be creative. Direct advertising is not allowed but undoubtedly there will be many ways for the parties to maintain their media presence.

El Salvador's bitter sweet Municipal elections

Violeta Menjívar at a campaign rally

On January 18 2009, thousands of Salvadorans headed to the polls in what is set to be a monumental year for El Slavador.

In addition to the January municipal elections, a second vote will take place March 15 for the country’s president. According to all polls, the FMLN’s candidate Maricio Funes is in the lead. If Funes wins, it will be the first time the FMLN will hold the presidential seat as well as the first regime change in over 20 years.

The municipal elections, although bitter sweet, were declared a victory by the FMLN as they increased their number of seats in the National Assembly to 35 out of a possible 84, and will be leading 36 more municipalities, to make a total of 96. Sadly, the capitol city of San Salvador, after a 12 year reign, fell to ARENA. The incumbent Violeta Menjívar lost her position. She was campaigning to the end, even shutting the main intersection of Blvd. Constitucion and Calle San Antonio Abad to throw a New Year’s party complete with multiple music stages, spectacular fireworks, speeches, dancing and general merriment by all. After her speeches that night Menjivar walked through the crowd stopping to shake hands, pose for pictures and answer questions. Her popularity seemed high but San Salvador is just as divided as the rest of the country. So while one area of town was chanting, “Violeta Sigue!” another area was hoping for ARENA to take the city with their mayoral candidate Norman Quijano.

Blanca Flor Bonilla

Also busy campaigning for a mayoral seat was Blanca Flor Bonilla. A long time member of the FMLN, she was running in the municipality of Ayutuxtepeque. Bonilla won her position and will be taking the city’s lead in May when the new term begins. Her plans for the mostly rural city are to create a showcase for eco agriculture. During a strategy meeting with her team, Bonilla explained in her clear, matter of fact way that pollution should not be seen as just damaging the environment, “If it’s bad for the trees it is bad for the people.” While Ayutuxtepeque will undoubtedly gain much having Bonilla as their mayor, after working for the FMLN since 1974, the Party will surely feel her loss.

All eyes are now turning to the Presidential elections which are set to take place Sunday March 15.