International: Democracy with a Side of Intervention

Like in the U.S. mass movements in the 1960s and 70s, the student and youth movement in El Salvador is considered one of the strongest and most influential forces in the social justice struggle.

In about five months El Salvador will embark on a grand adventure, and enter a transitory stage in its history: Voters may elect the former guerilla movement-cum-leftist political party Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN, for its Spanish name) as the political party for the presidency. This would be a drastic change, which is both symbolic (this will be the first regime change since the government and the FMLN signed peace accords in 1992) and tangible. The current right-wing administration of ARENA (Nationalist Republic Alliance) is against a wall and, in desperation, are increasing repression and violence. In fact, since 2006 there have been 24 assassination of FMLN affiliates, officials, and organizers. Ten of those assassinated were youth.

Like the U.S. mass movements in the 1960s and 70s, the student and youth movement in El Salvador is considered one of the strongest and most influential forces in the social justice struggle. They possess the ability to protest injustices in masses while fully and transparently participating in the development of both local and national polices.

Due to the significant role young people play in Salvadoran society and their long historical ties to the social justice movement prior to and after the 1992 accords, the FMLN values the support and contributions they made to the party, but more importantly to the struggle for basic rights, like the right to potable water, education, healthcare, etc. The Farabundo Marti Youth, one of the largest organizations of young people in the country, is a sub group of the FMLN dedicated to dealing with youth related issues in the community while “committing themselves to the cause of the Salvadorian people, to fight for the democratization of the country, thus changing the existing model, to build a more just society, dismantling the Capitalist System and to clear the way for Socialism.” (Juventud) They are equal partners in making FMLN party decisions, and many members have official roles and duties in the party itself. This symbiotic relationship between the FMLN and its youth wing is so important and sacred in part because many who joined the FMLN decades ago when it was an armed insurgent group, were youths and students and are now elected officials.

But, the left aren’t the only ones to recognize just how powerful youth are to the movement and how dangerous they are to the right-wing agenda. This is why violence against youth has risen and why university students in particular have been targeted.

By now you may be asking yourselves, “Well, damn…that’s awful, but what’s that got to do with me?” Keep this question in mind.

I was recently in El Salvador on a “fact-finding” delegation organized by CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the Peoples of El Salvador) which took a group of U.S. citizens, unionists, teachers, students, journalists and other activists to El Salvador. There we further investigated U.S. intervention in the 2004 presidential elections and the current state of the country.

During a meeting on June 27, 2008 with the U.S. Ambassador in El Salvador we shared our findings of increased human rights violations by the PNC (National Civilian Police), who are currently trained in the newly implemented ILEA (El Salvador’s version the School of the Americas). The ILEA is funded by the U.S., with our own tax dollars. Furthermore, when we asked Ambassador Glazer if the U.S. government had intervened in the 2004 presidential elections on behalf of the ARENA party, Glazer replied “yes.” This is only one example of the most recent forms of U.S. intervention in El Salvador.

Considering the long-lasting relationship of exploitation and dominance that the U.S. has had and still has with El Salvador I feel as a U.S. citizen and daughter of Salvadoran refugee parents a duty to make certain that both the right-wing Salvadoran government and the U.S. government respect the results of the 2009 elections. Only under those conditions can the will of the Salvadoran people be expressed. It is for this reason that I am signing up to be an international observer for the March 15 presidential elections. I encourage you to do the same. Knowing what you know now, knowing what our government is doing and has done in our name, wont you stand in solidarity with the people of El Salvador? What role will you play in defending true democracy?

For more information on how to get involved in solidarity work with El Salvador and on how to become an international observer please contact CISPES (The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). CISPES will organize two delegations in early 2009 for the hugely important Salvadoran elections. The first one will be for the legislative and municipal elections on January 18. The second delegation is tentatively set for March 9-19 and will be to observe the presidential elections.

For more information about the March delegation or to have your name in the database of potential delegates write to elizabeth@cispes.org