After weeks of following him on the campaign trail, Upside Down World finally caught up with FMLN Presidential candidate, Mauricio Funes. In this exclusive interview, Funes clearly frames himself and his candidacy within the seachange that is Latin American politics today. Salvadorans will vote in January and again in March 2009 (don’t ask).
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Semi-secretly established in 2005, a Salvadoran branch of the International Law Enforcement Academy, a U.S.-sponsored global network of police schools, has angered critics and human rights activists, who wonder if it will perpetuate long-standing patterns of police and military abuse in the country.
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), illegally targeted in the 1980’s by the largest FBI Internal Security investigation of the Reagan era, has in recent months again received threatening communications from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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On the morning of January 9th, leaders from the rural community of Las Casitas in the municipality of Alegría, Usulután waited for the arrival of their mayor and his staff to discuss the construction of a soccer field in their community. But Moises Funes, the 31-year-old mayor from the FMLN party, never arrived. […]
"These laws are never intended to solve crime," says FMLN deputy Lorena Peña, "but to criminalize the poor. Now there’s the anti-terrorist law and the people of the informal sector, unions and organizers have come under increased repression – all under the guise of stopping crime…" […]
Wilber Moises Funes, mayor of Alegria, Usulután, was assassinated on January 9 while visiting community projects in the Las Casistas area of his municipality. Wilber Funes, one of the youngest mayors in the country, was dedicated to creating projects for the benefit of the poorest communities in his area while defending the interest of public services still owned by the municipality. […]
On December 7th, a coalition of Salvadoran legal rights and activist organizations working to pressure the Salvadoran government to investigate the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero will unveil a new campaign to end ongoing impunity in the case. […]
As the US political juggernaut gears up for the primary battles that will define the 2008 Presidential election here, El Salvadorans are already fixing sights on their own 2009 race to replace President Antonio Saca.
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