MARCH 2014 BACKGROUND READING PACKET COMMITTEE IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR MARCH 2014 DELEGATION OBJECTIVES: 1. Accompany our Salvadoran allies – particularly the FMLN and organized social and political movements– throughout the March 9 presidential election period, bear witness to the Salvadoran people’s democratic process, and contribute to an open and transparent electoral process; 2. Respond to major domestic and/or international efforts to manipulate the electoral outcome or to otherwise undermine the will of the Salvadoran people; 3. Provide ongoing news and analysis on the electoral process to Salvadoran and international media throughout the elections period – through interviews, articles and writing post‐elections reports as necessary; 4. Share our experiences as election observers and the perspectives of our Salvadoran allies with our communities by organizing post‐delegation media work and community presentations. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Getting to know CISPES • CISPES mission statement………………………………………………………………………………….……………..1 • CISPES Anti‐oppression Mission Statement………………………………………………………….……………2 • The CISPES Solidarity Model – Diane Green………………………………………………………….…………..3 II. Getting to know El Salvador • History of El Salvador…………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….5 • Excerpt from Oscar Romero: Memories in Mosaic by María López Vigil……………………..…….15 • FMLN Combatant Profile – an interview with Sonia Umanzor………………………………..…………23 • El Salvador in Numbers…………………………………………………………………………………………………….24 III. The First FMLN Administration (2009‐2014) • Historic Advances in El Salvador…………………………………………………………………………….…………25 • Education Reform Gets High Marks in El Salvador – Frederick B. Mills, COHA………………..…26 • Reflections of a Social Work Student on Witnessing Healthcare Reform in El Salvador – Rachel Bedick……………………………….…….33 IV. Lead‐up to the 2014 Elections and US intervention • The 2014 Presidential Elections: New Rules, New Numbers……………………………………….…….36 • El Salvador’s Electoral System………….………………………………………………………………………………37 • Previous Right‐Wing Electoral Fraud………………………………………………………………………………..38 • Derailing Democracy: Attempted US Intervention into El Salvador’s Recent Presidential Elections…………….………39 • Otto Reich Emerges As Key Figure In Anti‐FMLN Corporate Lobbying……………………………...41 • Reps Lobby for Right‐Wing and US Intervention in Honduran, Salvadoran Elections………..42 • U.S. Government Declarations of U.S. Neutrality in 2014 Elections………………………………….43 V. The First Round of the 2014 Elections – February 2 • Special Report: Ex‐President Flores and the $10 Million Scandal – A Timeline………….……..45 • Press Statement from CISPES and other solidarity organizations on Feb 2 results…………..46 • Press Statement from US Embassy in San Salvador on Feb 2 elections……………………….……48 • Union‐Backed Candidate Wins First Round in El Salvador Election‐Emily Rodriguez…………48 • FMLN Likely to Retain Salvadoran Presidency‐David Grosser……………………………………..…….51 • President Funes reports that 24 companies have been charged with influencing votes..….53 VI. Suggested Further Readings…………………………………………………………………………………………………….54 1 I. GETTING TO KNOW CISPES The CISPES Mission Statement We are a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the Salvadoran people’s struggle for self‐ determination and social and economic justice. The alternative that they are building –an alternative based upon democratic and socialist ideals–is an example to all people who seek a world free of domination and exploitation. We support that alternative because we believe that capitalism is a fundamentally unjust, oppressive and ecologically unsustainable economic system. We join with poor and working people, immigrants and refugees in the struggle against neoliberalism– the current manifestation of capitalism imposed by the United States government and its state, institutional and corporate allies. Neoliberal policies continue to produce enormous suffering and destabilization around the world. We focus our work on El Salvador because of the U.S. government’s continuing military, economic, and political intervention on behalf of U.S. corporate interests, and because the Salvadoran people’s tenacious and inspiring struggle to build social justice. We work to achieve three basic goals: 1. To end U.S. economic, political and military intervention in El Salvador and by extension Central America, the Caribbean, and all of the Americas. In the current context we work to end U.S.‐imposed global economic policies that devastate local cultures and economies, specifically in El Salvador. 2. To give political and material support to the grassroots movement in El Salvador for self‐ determination, economic democracy and social justice. The groups we strive to support and collaborate with include labor, women’s, youth, LGBT and other grassroots organizations. We stand in solidarity with the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), as we have since our founding, because of its central role in building a new, egalitarian society. 3. To help build a broad‐based progressive U.S. social movement and an international, working‐class led movement for economic and social justice. We challenge ourselves to reflect in our own work the ideals and the vision we have of a society free from all forms of injustice. CISPES’s organizing methodology is an anti‐oppressive model of building power and leadership while accounting for the individual privileges we hold and oppressions that we face. CISPES uses a wide variety of creative tactics to achieve our goals. These include: public protest and education, grassroots lobbying of policy makers and fundraising for both our own work and material aid to El Salvador. Part of our mission is to build and strengthen the progressive movement in this country, by forming alliances with organizations that share our vision, especially grassroots organizations. We also support other progressive forces in Central America, the Caribbean, and all of the Americas which are working for human rights, democracy and social justice. Inspired by the growth of Left political parties and social movement organizations, CISPES works in coalition with other forces in the U.S. that are supporting social movements and governments building a people‐centered alternative in Latin America. In addition, we support fundamental human rights for Salvadorans and other immigrants and refugees in the United States, regardless of their so‐called “legal” or “illegal” status. 2 CISPES Anti‐Oppression Statement What follows is CISPES’ national mission statement on anti‐oppression. This statement is part of our national recommitment to becoming a more inclusive organization in solidarity not only with the struggle in El Salvador, but with oppressed people everywhere. CISPES is committed to working for a world without oppression. We recognize that the roots of oppression run deep in our society and in ourselves, and that all freedom struggles — from El Salvador’s battle for self‐ determination to domestic challenges to racism, sexism and heterosexism — are linked. CISPES’ commitment to challenging oppressive behaviors springs from a strong desire for community. We seek a community where we can grow and respect each other, and not feel the need to dominate and control other people. Through inclusive organizing, we believe we can achieve community and help build a mass grassroots movement to effectively challenge injustice. We recognize that barriers to inclusive organizing — racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ageism, ableism and other domineering behaviors and attitudes — stem from an ideology of oppression ingrained in our social institutions as well as in each of us. Oppression is fostered through the ignorance and prejudice that characterize our schools, the media and government institutions. Oppression is enforced through violence, ranging from physical attacks on women – including the forced sterilization of women of color — to assaults on gays and lesbians. Oppressive behavior can be obvious, such as the beating of Rodney King or the Senate inquisition endured by Anita Hill. Or oppression can be manifested in more subtle ways, as when women’s comments are devalued at CISPES meetings or CISPES fundraising activities are geared toward whites and heterosexuals. This behavior diminishes our collective work, while isolating and disempowering individuals. Confronting and dealing with oppressive behaviors, then, must be a centerpiece of our work in CISPES. We need to strengthen continuously the mechanisms of inclusive organizing, including affirmative action, educational workshops, and coalition building with movements led by the oppressed. We will continue to study and articulate the history and dynamics of oppression. We have a responsibility to forge a model of inclusive organizing, within our own organization and within the national and international progressive movements. We must hold ourselves accountable — to educate and to develop ourselves in order to make all of us feel at home in CISPES. Ultimately, we’re striving to create a safe space for the victims of oppression, a space where those who are discriminated against can find allies in the struggle against injustice, and validate their pain, anger and frustration when they are victimized. Since its foundation, CISPES has acted on a vision of self‐determination and social justice. That vision cannot be limited to one country or one people. Solidarity means mutual support in ending discrimination and injustice, 3 while building