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The role of US involvement in the Salvadoran election was ratcheted up a notch yesterday when right-wing US Congressmen threatened the Salvadoran electorate with political repercussions if the country elects Mauricio Funes in this Sunday’s Presidential election. In a move reminiscent of previous Salvadoran elections, Indiana Republican Dan Burton said, “Those monies that are coming from here to there I am confident will be cut, and I hope the people of El Salvador are aware of that because it will have a tremendous impact on individuals and their economy.”
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The dusty roads outside the town of Suchitoto in El Salvador are marked by omnipresent reminders of the coming elections: political propaganda painted on rocks and telephone polls, and homemade flags hanging from trees.  Yet in a ‘back to the future’ twist,’ scattered throughout these small quiet towns are deployments of Salvadoran troops who have been patrolling the region over the last several months.  […]

Over a hundred riot police, two busloads of party sympathizers, and a marching band escorted right wing Salvadoran ARENA party Presidential candidate Rodrigo Avila into the tiny town of Cinquera on Feb. 6, as part of a campaign rally that has sparked national controversy. Avila’s visit to Cinquera, which has long been considered an FMLN stronghold, led to confrontations with community members and accusations by Salvadoran Minister of Education Darlyn Meza that Cinquera’s teachers incited their students to organize a counter protest during class hours. […]

In less than two weeks, three to four million people will mobilize to vote for El Salvador’s next president. It is widely believed that the results of the March 15th election will open a new progressive chapter in the country’s long, violent history of military and civil dictatorships. A victory for leftist Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN) party candidates Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sanchez Cerén seems eminent. […]