The Election process culminated on March 7, after fierce rallying by both the former Guerillas, the FMLN, and the ruling ARENA party. During the final ARENA rally, scantily clad cheerleaders danced to the lyrics of the ARENA anthem, including the verse El Salvador is the Tomb where the Reds will meet their end. The FMLN rally included live salsa, and a number of promises to aid lower income families through the rigors of Neoliberalism: the privatization of government assets, and dismantling of social programs.

The elections were monitored by several international groups from all over the globe, including the Mission of International Observers, MOI. MOI members observed a significant amount of corruption during the polling process, and have submitted a final report to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, or TSE. During the post-election press conference held in San Salvador, MOI observers reported 2 arrests of ARENA members caught stuffing ballot boxes, an arrest of a Salvadoran mayor for buying ballots, and numerous other violations. One observer from the MOI has filed a report with the Human Rights Ombudsmans office against an ARENA party member. The observer claims she followed several bus-loads of voters back to a house close to the Election areas, suspecting vote buying. Voters left the ARENA house carrying bags of food in ARENA colored bags, and were bussed directly to the voting areas. As she was writing the facts into a notebook, an ARENA party member walked outside of the house, told the observer to leave, then made a motion of a gunshot towards the observers head. Not an idle threat from a country still plagued with the current incarnations of the Death Squads formed during the civil war. During the week before the elections, three human rights workers were kidnapped in rural El Salvador by death squads, then released two days later.

The FMLN has received much criticism in recent months for its current conciliatory stance towards the right wing agenda. This years presidential candidates, Facundo Guardado and Nidia Diaz, ran on a Social Democratic platform that was intended to draw voters from a varied background into the fold. The plan seems to have backfired, as the FMLN received half the votes as ARENA, and during early polling, many voters could not distinguish the platforms of the two major parties. Last week Facundo, the Social Democratic leader of the FMLN stepped down, leaving the leadership open. Many Salvadorans expect that during this years FMLN conference, the more radical elements of the party will attempt a takeover.

Death squads and Clinton

During the elections delegation, President Bill Clinton arrived in San Salvador to give his support to the electoral process, and spend some time during the Free Trade conference in neighboring Guatemala. Clinton apologized for some of the US involvement in the death squad government of Guatemala. This statement left many critics unimpressed, as US involvement in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Colombia was not mentioned. In addition, many critics found it ironic that while Clinton was apologizing for Guatemalas death squads, he was simultaneously raising the Colombian governments military aid to an astronomical 278 Million dollars. This action is reminiscent of 80s tactics, especially considering the high-level officers connections to the Cali drug cartel.

Union Organizing

Unions are taking a beating under the ARENA regime as more government holdings are privatized, and the Free Trade zone system is expanded. Our film crew visited the San Marcos free trade zone, and were greeted by a complex of 5 corrugated metal factories, each holding between 3 and 5 thousand workers, surrounded by concrete walls and heavily armed guards. The factories were amazingly hot, with 110 degree sun baking the steel roofs. We got some hurried interviews with a couple workers, including a worker from the Mandarin plant discussing the changes in working conditions now that international monitors are allowed. Mandarin is the plant that manufactures GAP and Eddie Bauer clothes made notorious by their dismal working conditions. One Mandarin worker claimed that life was 100% better for her since the unions were allowed by the international monitors, and they now have health benefits. She went on to say that the only improvement she could imagine for the factory is more work, and she wished that all workers could get a job at the Mandarin plant. We then asked her how much she made, she answered 42 Colones por dia, about 4 dollars a day which is minimum wage in El Salvador, far less than is needed to pay for food and shelter for a small family.

We also talked with Union organizers from the recently privatized ANTEL telephone company. The company was bought by France Telecom, a mixed capital enterprise, funded both by the French Government and Private investors. As soon as the french company bought ANTEL, they fired the union organizers, claiming they were dangerous and a deterrent to high profits. The organizers have formed a new Union, SUTTEL, and are trying to organize former ANTEL union members from the outside. They also claim that since the company was privatized, several towns that were slated for telephone service have been left behind. The workers claimed that telecommunications were considered a human right, and that many have suffered because of the lack of telephone service in the rural areas. SUTTEL is currently looking for support from Unions worldwide, including the US. Their aim is to create cross-border solidarity, and form global unions, which they see as the only weapon against unfettered capitalism.

Women's Issues

In El Salvador, even with the support of the local women's movement and left-leaning political parties, the womens rights situation is El Salvador is horribly grim. Recently, an amendment to the constitution was passed unanimously in the National Assembly, effectively outlawing all forms of abortion, which now carries a stiff 3 year minimum sentence. There was much outrage in the feminist community in El Salvador, since that bill passed with the OK of several FMLN members. Some FMLN members claim they didnt fight the bill because they knew it would pass regardless, but their actions leave a bad taste in the mouth for any supporter of Human Rights in Central America. To add a little perspective, In El Salvador, the maximum sentence for rape is 3 years. In a scenario where a woman was raped, then tried to receive an abortion, she would serve more time than the rapist!

Nejapa

Not all is bleak in El Salvador, as the FMLN is currently being pulled further to the left, and organizing continues. In a municipality just outside of San Salvador, Nejapa Rene Canjura, an FMLN mayor was elected in the 1994 elections. He has enacted a steady campaign of reform which has provided every house in the Municipality with running water, electricity, and sewage, unheard of in a small municipality. The town turned its prison into a library, and just dedicated their new, two-story market building, with utilities in every stall. The ARENA national government refuses to fund social programs, especially of this magnitude, so most of the funding has come from CISPES and sympathetic Europeans. Nejapa is considered a fine example of what could be in El Salvador.

The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador is currently continuing solidarity efforts with the unions and Hurricane Mitch affected communities. Please contact CISPES at seacispes@igc.org, or call (206) 325-5494. The film crew is also returning to complete filming in May, you can contact them at activ8@speakeasy.org.