Left wins El Salvador elections

In a historic election in El Salvador, the FMLN Party has become the largest party in parliament. From 1980 to 1992, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front was the leading guerrilla force in the El Salvadoran revolution. On Jan. 18, the FMLN won the mayoralties in 82 of El Salvador’s cities, including the port city of La Unión, but lost San Salvador, the capital. The FMLN won a majority of the 262 municipalities, (Telesur, Jan. 19).

“Globalization” and the world economic crisis have impoverished this Central American country. El Salvador is smaller than New Jersey and has a population of 7 million. With unemployment in some areas at 65 percent, low wages, and farm foreclosures, nearly 2.5 million people have left the nation to find work, mostly in the United States.

These economic exiles have no right to vote but their contributions to their families, which nearly equal the value of the nation’s exports, keep the Salvadoran economy afloat.

During the 12-year guerrilla war 1980-1991, Washington backed El Salvador’s ruling class. With strong support from El Salvador’s workers and peasants, the FMLN fought the army, death squads and U.S. “advisers.” The war cost 100,000 lives. A ceasefire in 1992 put the right-wing ARENA Party, with ties to the death squads and army, in power.

President Antonio Saca, head of ARENA, is the U.S. government’s best friend in Central America. Saca has encouraged El Salvador’s use of the dollar as the main currency, promoted anti-labor laws and low wages, and privatized water, beaches and public services. Under his watch, prices have doubled.

FMLN member Carlos Canales told Workers World that ARENA won the mayoralty of San Salvador away from the FMLN by “systematically depriving the capital city of funding for garbage collection and basic services.”

Telesur reported the FMLN won 37 deputies in El Salvador’s 84-member Congress, while ARENA won 33. The FMLN won most of the big cities and the municipalities surrounding San Salvador.

FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes is ten points ahead in the polls for El Salvador’s presidential election, set for March.