A Hopeful Country Admist a Historic Moment
Friday, March 6, 2009 at 04:27PM .
FMLN president-elect, Mauricio Funes, won the popular election on Sunday, March 15, 2009 in what is being called a historic moment. After two decades of conservative rule, the people of El Salvador have spoken and a newly elected FMLN candidate prepares to take office. FMLN president-elect, Mauricio Funes, won the popular election on Sunday, March 15, 2009 in what is being called a historic moment. Mr. Funes will take office on June 1, 2009. He succeeds ARENA President Antonio Saca.
Mr. Funes led the polls Sunday night with 51.2% of the vote. It is reported that Mr. Funes compares himself to the likes of President Obama and will lead the country by model of Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva.
For years the FMLN, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, has been fighting against an ultra-conservative government, the ARENA party. The polls were calm with a sense of rising excitement as the night went on.
For those of us who have been to El Salvador, I’m sure you can picture the sea of RED being displayed and flown with pride. As with many other Central American countries, El Salvador has elected themselves a leftist party in hopes to rectify some of the injustice suffered and endured.
While Mr. Funes may have won the election, his battle in most respects is just beginning. He faces a change in government during some of the most recent dire economic constraints the world has seen in years. He is reported as stating that his first priority will be to tackle the economic crisis, find jobs for returning migrants, invest in farming to reduce the dependence on imported food, and fight tax evasion by the wealthy.
A country that we have all come to love has a new sense of excitement and fear with new leadership taking office. Excitement that a better life may be realized under the leadership of Mr. Funes and the FMLN party and for some, a sense of fear with the exiting of the ARENA party. That sense of fear is driven by one word – change!
Please be sure to check out the US and International coverage of the Salvadoran elections. Many articles can be found at: The New York Times, Reuters, and The Washington Post.
If you have been or were an election monitor, I would love to hear from you. Please contact me at jpirtle13@hotmail.com so you can share your story.
Reader Comments (1)
I am trying to contact the person who is in charge of the coffee orders at this point since Kathy is in El Salvador. Our church serves coffee every Sunday. We were thinking of not only placing an order to sell the coffee, but to also serve the coffee on Sunday mornings during the social gathering. I remember at one time there was a larger bag of coffee that was also slightly cheaper. I didn't see that on the order form, so am writing to find out about the possibility. Thanks for your attention to this question.
We would also then like to order some to sell in our church. We would like to order
3 whole dark 3 ground dark
3 whole french 3 ground french
3 light 3 ground light
We will pay when we find out whether we can get the larger quantity. Please let me know at : sdeibner@mountvernon.k12.ia.us
I am part of the First Presbyterian Church from Mount Vernon whose youth members were a delegation in March of 2008. Thank you, Sue Deibner