Dear Brothers and Sisters
St. Peter’s Parish
Please receive a warm greeting on behalf of our parish. We are very encouraged to know that the people of the United States are working for justice and we share the joy of knowing that you have a new president. We hope that there will be positive changes, especially concerning the migrant community and other groups that continue to be marginalized by society.
With regards to the questions you sent us, we will try to respond based on what we have lived and observed in the Municipal and Legislative elections process.
The ARENA party won the mayor’s office of San Salvador, which for various years was in the hands of the FMLN. It is clear that ARENA used the strategy of bringing people from other municipalities after changing their address to permit them to vote in the capital city. Despite this reality, however, fraud could not be confirmed. But we cannot avoid accepting that this was not the only cause for the FMLN’s loss in the capital. We do not believe that Violeta Menjívar’s campaign was done as successfully as possible. She made many efforts in the communities, but they were not things that called much attention from the general public in spite of the fact that they resolved problems. We believe she did not know how to conduct a good campaign. On the other hand the fact that she is a woman also had a negative influence because of the machista culture in which we live. Some members of the party were not in agreement with her. There is also no doubt that the people wanted a change and perhaps they saw that Norman Quijano (ARENA) offered changes not promised by Violeta (even though we know that later he will not complete them as promised). Violeta’s campaign slogan was “Violeta Continues”, while that of Funes is “Change is coming.”
The FMLN effectively will occupy 35 seats in the Legislative Assembly; the majority required to approve laws is 43 votes. ARENA counts only 32 seats, but at the time of voting they join with the other right-wing party (PCN) which has 11 seats, making a majority, so the structure has not changed much.
Results from the Legislative elections:
Following is a consolidated presentation of the quantity of votes and the deputies according to political party, in which it can be seen that with an insignificant quantity of votes received, the PCN was able to obtain a third of the number of deputies obtained by the FMLN because of the assignation system for deputies.
|
Party |
Votes |
% |
Deputies |
|
ARENA |
854,166 |
38,55 |
32 |
|
CD |
46,971 |
2,12 |
1 |
|
FDR |
22,111 |
1,00 |
0 |
|
FMLN |
943,936 |
42,60 |
35 |
|
PCN |
194,751 |
8,79 |
11 |
|
PDC |
153,654 |
6,94 |
5 |
|
National Total |
2215,589 |
100,00 |
84 |
|
|
|
|
|
As you can see the FMLN obtained the largest quantity of valid votes and thus can be predicted to win in the future. However, the triumph of ARENA in San Salvador has caused some fear in some members of the FMLN because the victory of ARENA will begin a million dollar campaign through the means of communication, such as the Central Government which spends public funds on announcements of the achievements of the ARENA party in order to convince the public that they are the best option.
Our parish is raising consciousness among parishioners and members of the civil society over the need to participate in the electoral process, to exercise their rights and be vigilant to avoid and denounce any fraudulent acts.
We feel overall content, however, there are doubts and confusions. In Mejicanos and in many other municipalities, the FLMN won. Undoubtedly, the people in these places have become conscious and have opened their eyes to the hard reality of the previous neoliberal governments.
The part which confuses us and disturbs us is the dirty campaign and the fraud, both obvious and hidden, that has allowed ARENA to win the capital.
This is worrisome because a new electoral process is beginning and one asks, “Will it be clean?” “Will the means of communication, owned by the same people in power, continue misinforming the population?” “Will hundreds of Nicaraguans and Hondurans be brought in again to vote for the party in power in exchange for a few dollars? The surest answer is that they will continue to do it, and we can do little more than worry.
We know that many people have already opened their eyes and desire a change and want to look for a new method that will better address the interests of the majority. The problem is that the same owners of everything are also the heads of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and there will always be fear and a lack of confidence in any voting process.
We joyfully wait for better times, hoping that Monsignor Romero and those others who offered up their lives will encourage us for the elections in March.
Sincerely,
The Sister Parish Team