What's Happening in the El Salvador Elections and Why it Matters for Us

I've been an activist on the subject of Central America since the 70's. I rallied, demonstrated and worked to focus attention on the struggles of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala [and before that, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Brazil in South America] to shake off Uncle Sam and those subsequently identified as neo-cons. There were many victories. Mostly partial ones, but good ones. But many problems remain, and it won't do any good to blame them on the overwhelming might of the US. Yeah, that's always been there. What's different in 2009? Here's one suggestion:

This is a response to a posting (awaiting moderation--I hope they let it in although it's not precisely the "party line") on the CISPES Web site on the municipal elections in El Salvador, in which the FMLN LOST (for God's sake!) the mayoralty of San Salvador. I'm afraid I was not surprised. Violeta Menjívar blew it. I don't know why, but I can make a pretty good guess how.

PLEASE don't kill the messenger here. Violeta did not lose because of election irregularities, imports of buses of ARENA supporters, vote tampering or any other excuse. Sure, there was all that, but there always has been that, and the people saw through it. She lost because she didn't do diddly while in office. I was pulling for her. I was disappointed.

Think about it, people; the huge municipality of San Salvador is full of poor people. I've seen it. Poor people are everywhere. HOW could they get fooled into not supporting the revolutionary party, or voting ARENA after the revolutionary legacy of the past couple of decades? Poor people are NOT DUMB; they're tough survivors. So why? It's easy: they were not fooled; they just didn't want Violeta. FMLN, at least in San Salvador, ceased to be a mass movement.

She has participated in what I will call (not original to me) the NGO-ization of the FMLN. At least in San Salvador, they ceased to be a mass movement. Sure, some rallies, blah blah blah, but no real peoples movement. Gangs are still the gangs, drugs are still drugs, poverty and homelessness are still poverty and homelessness, there is no HOPE. HOPE is what makes peoples' movements folks; that turns gang members into revolutionaries, that makes people sacrifice for their children, organize and face the guns, and Violeta didn't do it. She failed to inspire that kind of hope

Because they lapsed into seeing themselves as an NGO--go after UN money, US charitable money, foundation money, European money, be a willing participant in the war on crime, blah, blah, blah--rather than a revolutionary organization OF THE PEOPLE. The people are who died, fought, sustained the hope for a better life throughout the history of El Salvador, and, you know what?

Violeta and the FMLN did not repay those same people with clarity of insight and action once they gained office, and that's a shame, because once people lose faith in you it's gonna be hard getting it back; they're gonna see you as just another person with their hand in your pocket and that's too bad after all the blood, sweat and tears of the last thirty--and many more--years.

Why should this matter to us? We just elected Barack Obama to be our president. It was the real hope of change that motivated us to get out there and work and sacrifice for his election. Now he's President, and if he cannot sustain the hope and trust of the people; if he continues to make war in the Middle East; if he forgets about us losing our homes and jobs; if he continues business as usual, it will be a horrible shame. We need to support him, but at the same time demand that he give us the courage that we are pretty-damn-sure he has, and to do the right things. Violeta was elected on a similar platform of hope. She blew it.

Please leave your thoughts.