Highlights
– First leftist President elected in El Salvador
– Critics wary that former rebels will promote radical policy
– New administration will likely maintain moderate policies and close ties with the US
On March 15, 2009, Mauricio Funes, a political moderate representing the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), unseated El Salvador’s ruling-conservative party in the country’s 2009 presidential election.
Mauricio Funes won the Presidential election by a slim margin. Approximately 60 percent of the electorate cast a vote. Primary concerns for voters were eradicating poverty, unemployment, escalating crime levels and corruption. El Salvador remains divided by vast social and economic inequality, as a large underclass continues to struggle to afford food and medicine.
We believe the new administration will uphold a moderate political and economic position in the near-term, and will maintain El Salvador’s traditionally strong ties with the United States (US).
Background
The FMLN formed October 10, 1980 as an umbrella group for five leftist guerilla organizations, known as the Fuerza Populares de Liberacion Farabundo Marti (FPL), the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP), the Resistencia Nacional (RN), the Partido Comunista Salvadoreño (PCS), and the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores Centroamericanos (PRTC). The FMLN waged a civil war with the state for 12-years until 1992 when both sides signed the Chapultepec Peace Accords, which established the FMLN as a legitimate political party, and the second major party behind the right-wing Arena Party.
Municipal Elections
Municipal elections on January 18, 2009 were the sixth series of elections in El Salvador since the 1992 signing of the peace accords. The elections appeared to be a milestone for the nation, with the FMLN benefiting from the popularity of its presidential candidate, Mauricio Funes, an affable former television journalist and latecomer to the party.
The Progressive Party won 36 of 84 deputies in the January election, more legislators than any other party. It gained control of several key cities, such as Santa Ana, the main departmental city of La Union, as well as all municipalities’ surrounding San Salvador.
The Funes Platform
During his campaign, Funes often compared himself to current US President Barack Obama, as being an agent of change in El Salvador. He advocates political reconciliation and national unity. He highlighted that his first priority would be to tackle the economic crisis facing El Salvador’s poor.
Funes recently indicated to mainstream media that he hoped to model his economic policies on those of Brazil’s moderate leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Funes also intends to crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy, create jobs for Salvadorean immigrants returning from the US, and invest in farming to reduce dependence on imported foods.
Funes stated that he hopes for even closer US relations than were upheld under Arena in order to tackle joint issues like migration, street gangs and drug smuggling.
El Salvador relies heavily on foreign investment, as well as remittances from its 2.3 million citizens living abroad. Demand has also weakened for El Salvador’s factory exports due to the US economic recession, despite its regional free trade deal.
Those in the opposition fear that although Funes is a pro-business moderate, his Vice President Salvador Sanchez, and many key leaders in the new administration, are veteran FMLN rebel leaders who may present a more radical position. They fear the FMLN will turn El Salvador into a subscriber to Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez’s anti-American and anti-business policies. Former Arena party leaders recently announced to local media they would make sure El Salvador does not turn authoritarian under the FMLN.
Outlook
Much of the popularity of FMLN has less to do with ideology and is more a matter of disaffection with the Arena party that ruled for two decades while the country endured extreme poverty and crime. We believe the FMLN will take a moderate approach and maintain good relations with the United States. The new administration will focus on initiating social programs and strengthening law enforcement in local municipalities in the near-term, rather than on the promoting extreme socialist agendas. FMLN will likely attempt to forge relations with other moderate-leftist nations, such as Brazil in the near-term.
