EL Salvador: FMLN Victorious, Funes wins.

Cincinnati - BNB
EAMR
03/16/2009

Latin America continues its shift to the Left. This time was El Salvador's time to take a step forward. The Salvadorean people sends out a clear signal to Washington and the world."Latin America is Changing". US hegemony in the region takes another low blow.

Funes represents new hope and change for El Salvador politics and to an extend the region with a possible adhension to the ALBA bloc which neighboring Honduras and Nicaragua are part of. The Bolivarian Alternative against neoliberalism reflected in the US promoted FTAA (ALCA) trade agreement.

The Obama precidency and his CIA advisor better get it right this time, we are tired of arrogant imperialist policies and intervention. The US must change its view of Latin America. Peace will come only with mutual respect. We definetely don't want a repeat of the US sponsored dictatorships and civil wars of the 60's & 70's in the region, this time the resistant will be continental and backed by millions.

Ali Primera: Pueblo Salvadoreño

Dispatches from El Salvador: Elections

San Salvador - CB-MLK
Jorge Marin
03/13/2009

We arrived at San Salvador on Tuesday. It is a very warm and modern city. We had our training for observers of the electoral process yesterday. I am sorry to say that the possibility of fraud is high. The selling of votes happens, where people turn in their ballots to the buyer, rather than depositing it in the ballot box and then the chain of pre-dispose votes begins. The next voter already goes in to vote with a ballot which he/she uses to vote and their own ballots are turned in to the buyer, and so on. It is up to us to make sure that every voter deposits a ballot in the ballot box.

The two parties, FMLN and ARENA, have been defending and attacking each other on the media. ARENA using the power of the government in their favor to make public some of the campaign donations to Funes (FMLN) from busisness interest. Funes has defended himself well. The polls we were shown, that were concluded on March 10th, shows the FMLN with 8% ahead of ARENA. People are showing their colors without feeling intimidated in the capital.
So far so good...