The following are some notes and
observations about the El Salvador elections and the roles Eileen
Robertson-Rehberg and I shared as election observers -- as always,
contradictions that are complex appear differently when viewed from a
particular perspective, and mine is that of a nonviolent human
rights activist and liberation theologian, with an effort to be
impartial.
As had been predicted near the campaign's end, Antonio "Tony" Saca of the conservative ARENA
party defeated Schafik Handal of the Faribundo Marti National Liberation
Front (FMLN), by a margin wider than estimated, 57.7 percent to 35.6 percent ratio, with
two other party candidates registering a final vote tally in single
digits. ARENA's Saca took many FMLN municipalities, which registered
surprise to some political observers. ARENA (National Republican
Alliance) is the party whose founders were associated with military
death squads involved in the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero 24 years
ago, four U.S. nuns, Jesuits at the University of Central America in San
Salvador, and thousands of others, but appears to have since shed some
of that historical image, though its intent to exploit fear yet remains.
The FMLN has had its
difficulties shedding historical images, too, particularly an extreme
left-wing tendency. It is a party divided between moderates and former
guerrilla forces, with the moderates losing the FMLN presidential
primary before the presidential election by a very narrow, and, as some
moderates assert, questionable vote. Schafik Handal, the primary winner
and a former guerrilla leader and former president of the El Salvadoran
Communist Party, was an easy target for ARENA, which waged a campaign of
fear that included threats that Handal's election would jeopardize
economic links with the U.S., and lead the country into “situations”
that “exist” in Cuba and Venezuela today, even if unfounded. The FMLN
moderates are very unhappy with the outcome, and the party is today
going through a struggle for "transformation." The question is whether
the moderates, who have called for the resignation of the party
directorate, will prevail, and whether the "orthodox" left will yield.
Saca, who is of Palestinian descent, is a former radio broadcaster who
owns several stations, and has been able to use the media and its
conservative thrust to his advantage, and to negatively exploit a
“communist” image that the FMLN hard-liners appear to present.
Regarding election observation, many of us felt and reported to our
sponsoring organization, the Center for Exchange and Solidarity in San
Salvador, that the election process, though complicated, appeared to run
quite smoothly and transparently, where rival partisans more often had
warm rather than heated exchanges. This conduct was also surprising,
though what we saw was in the polling places. The campaign, on the other
hand, was vicious and dirty, as mentioned, which analysts suggest
clearly affected the outcome. And there were charges of vote-buying from
all parties, including on buses provided by the two major parties to
bring voters to polls, as well as vote coercion of workers by ARENA
employers. Polling places aren’t “residential,” so some voters live a
great distance from the ballot box and need to rely on transportation.
The voter turnout was exceptional, suggested as a factor that helped
ARENA and Saca. We saw many older persons and young people voting,
apparently for the first time.
We observers were generally treated with respect at polling places,
though we certainly had difficulty entering the country. Many, many were
detained for up to as long as 26 hours and almost deported as a result
of hard right-wing elements that influenced immigration offices. More
moderate elements prevailed, however, with the help of the Supreme
Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which certifies observers, though it too is a
divided organization. Eileen and I were detained for about two hours,
and told we were not on the approved list of observers of the TSE. We
knew we were, and insisted so, and after the delay and phone calls, were
admitted into the country.
Other
notations:
The contradictions in El Salvador are yet abundant. Stark differences in
lifestyle certainly still exist between those who are extremely
impoverished, a growing middle class, and the wealthy. Solutions seem
beyond reach, but as one cab driver said with a measure of pride, while
passing a maquiladora (free trade area factory), "The people now have
work." On the other hand, the same factories are associated with long
work hours, poor working conditions, and employee harassment, and
efforts to create a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA),
similar to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) come under
fire from the left because such maquiladoras would proliferate, while
CAFTA efforts are supported by conservatives. It should be noted that
Asian economic influences also build, run and exploit maquiladoras.
Regarding the “work” the cab driver noted, progressive economists assert
this "work" doesn't provide enough money for families, that rising
family costs partly resulting from privatization of basic services and
the “dollarization” of the economy, outpace incomes, and that the
country's economy yet depends enormously on the "remittances," the
money sent to El Salvadorans from those working abroad, particularly in
the United States. Saca campaigned that if Handal was elected, those
remittances would be threatened. U.S. embassy representatives we spoke
with called Saca’s threat unfounded, said they would counter it, but
there was no evidence that this happened before the election.
The contradictions also can be seen in a changing political landscape
that showed up in the March 21 elections, with sharp polarizations, as
mentioned, yet existing between the extremes of the orthodox
conservative and left-wing party tendencies in both major parties. Yet,
moderating influences reportedly have exerted themselves from both the left and the
right, and within the center, influences that speak of an effort to shed
old hard-line divisions toward more conciliation. Hector Silva, a
center-left candidate of the coalition Christian Democratic Party and
United Democratic Center, spoke the theme of conciliation throughout his
campaign, a message obviously not well heard by voters.
Conciliation is difficult, given the long history of guerrilla warfare
and military repression, of exploitation of the poor, of connections
with the U.S. that had not served human rights but instead served U.S.
interests, and still do, as embassy officials clearly expressed to us
last week during one presentation before the 270 election observers that
had come from 14 countries to work with the Center for Exchange and
Solidarity in San Salvador in the election observation process.
But the historical memory of aggravated and bloody repression and
guerrilla warfare appears to be fading as a force that feeds conflict.
Where bodies were dumped on the outskirts of San Salvador by a murderous
military, there are political disputes over municipal boundaries, not
gunfire. Street gangs, their robberies and murders, have gained a
notoriety that now draws the attention of those who seek security with
"la mano dura," the iron fist of security forces, now not aimed at the
"orthodox" extreme of the political left, the old guerrilleros, but at
the "mareros," the gang members.
Another measure of contradiction -- On a bus, one can ride within
minutes from the lavish, huge and multitiered shopping mall called the
Metro Center, filled with shoppers and goods associated with malls,
ATMs, cell phone kiosks (cell phone use has risen dramatically), to the
multiplicity of "colonias" of corrugated metal homes, some with open
sewers running down narrow, unpaved and steep walkways.
In the church, the contradictions are sharp as well. The tomb of
Archbishop Oscar Romero, slain in on March 24, 1980 by the repressive
military and considered an apostle for the poor, is only accessible for
a couple of hours in the morning and afternoon in the main cathedral,
while upstairs in the sanctuary, the doors are open throughout the day
by the orthodox present archbishop, as if to still the progressive
church voices, those who yet espouse liberation theology that sees
Christ having a “preferential option” for the poor. Religion shows its
intransigent conservative side, as well, with growing pentecostal and
evangelistic Protestant churches, often promising salvation in a hereafter,
when the "Second Coming" arrives, telling congregants to hang in there
in the midst of poverty until they die. But Romero's memory is still a
persuasive counterpoint for progressive Christians, who hold strongly to
this phrase in the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven ..." -- "on earth" the operative moment of
God in the world.
