San Salvador, El Salvador – Cientos de salvadoreños se concentraron este 21 de febrero en la Plaza Salvador del Mundo para expresar su solidaridad con la revolución bolivariana de Venezuela y el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro. Los participantes, convocados por los comités de solidaridad con Cuba, portaban banderas y carteles mostrando su oposición a la intervención militar de Estados Unidos en Venezuela. Venezuela está enfrentando una amenaza inminente de intervención militar estadounidense como parte de un atentado de golpe de estado orquestado por el gobierno de Trump para imponer un líder pro imperialista en el país con una riqueza enorme de petróleo. Debido a la sangrienta historia de intervenciones militares de Estados Unidos en varios países latinoamericanos, muchos movimientos populares, a través de todo el continente americano, están solidarizándose con Venezuela y con su promesa de resistir la intervención imperialista de EEUU.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #ElSalvador #Venezuela #PeoplesStruggles #BolivarianRevolution #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Hundreds of Salvadorans rallied February 21 at the Salvador del Mundo Plaza to express solidarity with the Venezuelan Bolivarian revolution and with the government of Nicolás Maduro. At the rally, which was called by Cuba solidarity committees in El Salvador, people carried Venezuelan and Cuban flags and signs showing opposing U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. Venezuela is facing the imminent threat of U.S. military intervention as part of an attempted coup orchestrated by the Trump administration to impose a pro-imperialist leader in the oil rich country. Due to the bloody history of U.S. military intervention in many Latin American countries, movements throughout the Americas are standing up in solidarity with Venezuela as they vow to resist U.S. imperialist intervention.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #ElSalvador #Venezuela #PeoplesStruggles #BolivarianRevolution #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Thousands of students came together at the main entrance of the University of El Salvador (UES), July 5, to march against the right-wing initiative of the Salvadoran oligarchy to privatize water. The protest was organized and led by the UES authorities.

The large march was accompanied by the university community, where students, teachers and workers brought out colorful signs, banners and firecrackers.

The protesters marched to the Legislative Assembly where the university community, led by Rector Roger Armando Arias, demonstrating the opposition of the Salvadoran people to the privatization of the vital liquid.

“The struggle is to make sure the people don’t die of thirst,” said Arias.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #ElSalvador #UniversidadDeElSalvador #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Miles de estudiantes se dieron cita en la entrada principal de la Universidad de El Salvador el 5 de julio para marchar contra la iniciativa de la derecha oligárquica salvadoreña por privatizar el agua. La protesta fue organizada y encabezada por las autoridades de dicha casa de estudios.

La numerosa marcha fue acompañada por la comunidad universitaria, donde estudiantes, docentes y empleados del Alma Mater, dieron colorido con consignas, mantas y petardos.

La manifestación se dirigió hacia la Asamblea Legislativa, donde la comunidad universitaria, guiada por el rector Roger Armando Arias hizo patente su acompañamiento al pueblo salvadoreño en contra de la privatización del vital líquido.

“La lucha nuestra es para evitar que el pueblo muera de sed” acotó Arias.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #ElSalvador #UniversidadDeElSalvador #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – El 27-29 de julio 2017, 300 delegados de organizaciones de solidaridad con Cuba de los países de El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, México y Colombia realizaron el II Encuentro Centroamericano de Solidaridad con Cuba. El Encuentro fue patrocinado por el Movimiento Salvadoreño de Solidaridad con Cuba, compuesto por varios comités de El Salvador que apoyan a Cuba socialista. El encuentro reafirmó la solidaridad con el pueblo y el gobierno socialista cubano.

Desde Cuba llegó Fernando González, uno de los 5 héroes cubanos que estuvo preso en los Estados Unidos hasta 2014 y actualmente es el presidente del Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (ICAP), que construye la solidaridad internacional.

Como parte del encuentro se realizó una marcha el 27 de julio en honor al Día Nacional de Rebeldía de la Plaza Bolívar a la Plaza Martí. En la marcha el espíritu revolucionario e internacionalista se sintió en las calles con banderas de Cuba y otras banderas y mantas revolucionarias.

El 28 de julio ofrecieron homenaje en varios monumentos y tumbas revolucionarias en San Salvador incluso en el Monumento a Schafik Handal, la tumba de Francisco Morazán, la tumba de Farabundo Martí, el monumento a Simón Bolívar, y la cripta de Monseñor Romero. Después los delegados llegaron a la sede del II Encuentro en el Centro de Estudios de El Salvador donde realizaron presentaciones como “América Latina y el Caribe: ofensiva imperial y resistencia de los pueblos”, “Cuba en desarrollo: actualid y perspectivas”, “Solidaridad entre pueblos: una necesidad histórica. La experiencia Cubana”, y “Fortalecimiento de los movimientos centroamericanos de solidaridad con Cuba, Venezuela y Nuestro América. Experiencias de organización y acción por países y lucha en defensa de la soberanía nacional.”

El 29 de julio hubo otra presentación, “Apoyo internacional a la lucha del pueblo salvadoreño en contra de la agresión imperialista, instrumentada por la derecha oligárquica y su partido” a lo cual le siguió una discusión. Rindieron además homenaje al Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Ernesto Che Guevara, y Hugo Chávez. En el evento se dio lectura a la declaración final del encuentro y al plan de acción que se produjo en dicho evento, el cual culminó con un acto cultural.

Un participante en el Encuentro de Costa Rica, Bruno, dijo, “Para nosotros fue muy importante venir a conocer a las diferentes organizaciones de solidaridad que existen en centroamérica y nos interesa muchísimo el hecho de que haya actividades coordinadas. Entonces, queríamos ver el trabajo que hacen las otras organizaciones para hacer actividades coordinadas que tienen mucho más fuerza y mucho más impacto en la solidaridad con Cuba.”

Daniel, un miembro del Comité de Solidaridad Agradecidos con Cuba y con Fidel en Santa Tecla, El Salvador dijo, “El encuentro fue un acto de solidaridad muy bonito y importante. Cuba dio su apoyo incondicional a la lucha en El Salvador en sus momentos de necesidad, como lo ha hecho con los pueblos en toda América y el resto del mundo. Nos da orgullo cumplir nuestro deber internacionalista de apoyar al pueblo y al gobierno cubano en su lucha contra el bloqueo y las crecientes amenazas del imperio. Esperamos seguir fortaleciendo nuestros lazos de solidaridad con las y los hermanos centroamericanos, para que de tal manera enfrentemos mejor los ataques del imperio contra Cuba.”

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #Cuba #ElSalvador #Cuban5 #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – On July 27-29, 300 delegates from organizations in solidarity with Cuba from the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, México and Colombia participated in the Second Central American Gathering in Solidarity with Cuba. The gathering was organized by the Salvadoran Movement in Solidarity with Cuba, which is made up of various committees throughout El Salvador in solidarity with socialist Cuba. The gathering reaffirmed solidarity with the Cuban people and socialist government.

Fernando Gonzalez came from Cuba for the gathering. Gonzalez was one of the heroic Cuban 5 who was imprisoned in the U.S. until 2014 and now is the president of the Cuban Institute of People’s Friendship (ICAP), which builds international solidarity.

As part of the gathering, there was a march on July 27 in honor of Cuba’s national day of rebellion, commemorating the first armed uprising of the Cuban revolution. The march went from Bolívar Plaza to Martí Plaza. In the march there was a strong spirit of revolution and internationalism, with Cuban flags and revolutionary flags and banners.

On July 28, delegates paid tribute at various revolutionary monuments and tombs in San Salvador including the monument to Schafik Handal, Francisco Morazán’s tomb, Farabundo Martí’s tomb, the monument to Simon Bolivar, and Monseñor Romero’s crypt. After that delegates arrived at the Center of Studies of El Salvador (CEES), where the presentations of the gathering would take place. There were presentations such as “Latin America and the Caribbean: Imperialist offensive and the people’s resistance,” “Cuba in development: Present situation and perspectives,” “Solidarity between peoples: A historic necessity – the Cuban experience,” “Strengthening Central American movements in solidarity with Cuba, Venezuela and our America – Experiences with organization, action and struggle in defense of national sovereignty.”

There was also a presentation on July 29 titled “International support for the Salvadoran people’s struggle against imperialist aggression, carried out by the oligarchy and their party.” That was followed by a discussion. Finally, there was tribute paid to Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Ernesto Che Guevara and Hugo Chavez. The final declaration of the gathering was read as well as the action plan that was adopted, and the event closed with a cultural performance.

A participant in the gathering from Costa Rica named Bruno said, “For us it was very important to come and get to know the different solidarity groups that exist in Central America, and we’re very interested in having coordinated actions. So we wanted to see the work that other groups do so we can coordinate activities to have more force and impact in solidarity with Cuba.”

Daniel, a member of the Solidarity Committee Grateful to Cuba and Fidel in Santa Tecla, El Salvador said, “The gathering was a beautiful and important act of solidarity. Cuba gave unconditional support to the struggle in El Salvador in moments of great need, just like they have done with all the peoples of the Americas and the rest of the world. We’re proud to carry out our internationalist duty to support the Cuban people and government in their struggle against the blockade and the increasing threats from the empire. We hope to continue strengthening our links of solidarity with our Central American sisters and brothers, and with that strengthened solidarity we will be able to better confront the empire’s attacks on Cuba.”

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #ElSalvador #Cuban5 #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Decenas de miles de trabajadores salvadoreños salieron a marchar aquí en el día internacional de los trabajadores. El evento inició con tres marchas en diferentes partes de San Salvador que culminaron en la Plaza del Salvador del Mundo con un mitín conjunto. Las marchas empezaron en la Plaza Schafik Handal en Mejicanos, Árbol de la Paz por el Estadio Cuscatlán, y Boulevard de los Héroes. A la marcha se unieron muchos sindicatos, organizaciones sociales y organizaciones de izquierda. Los trabajadores celebraron sus logros incluso un aumento del salario mínimo. También expresaron su rechazo a la propuesta del sector privado para privatizar las pensiones. Los sindicatos presentaron su propia propuesta al gobierno del FMLN de una reforma al sistema de pensiones que garantice el derecho de los actuales pensionados y de los futuros pensionados.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #Labor #ElSalvador #1DeMayo #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Tens of thousands of Salvadoran workers came out to march here on International Workers Day. The event started with three marches from different parts of San Salvador that converged in the El Salvador del Mundo plaza for a unified rally. The marches started at Schafik Handal Plaza in Mejicanos, at Árbol de la Paz by Cuzcatlan Stadium, and on Boulevard de los Héroes. Many unions, social movement organizations and the left participated in the march. Workers celebrated their accomplishments including an increase to the minimum wage. They also expressed their rejection of a proposal from the private sector to privatize pensions. The unions presented their own proposal to the FMLN government to reform the pension system to guarantee a pension for current and future retirees.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #Labor #ElSalvador #Mayday #Americas

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvadorSS #Labor #ElSalvador #Americas

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvadorSS #StudentMovement #ElSalvador #PoliticalRepression #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Los Cinco Héroes cubanos pasaron más de una década en las cárceles de los Estados Unidos, arrestados por el gobierno estadounidense a finales de los años 1990 por haber monitoreado grupos anticomunistas cubanos basados en Miami, Florida quienes han planificado actividades terroristas en contra de Cuba socialista. Los cinco recientemente ganaron su libertad de las cárceles de los Estados Unidos debido a una campaña mundial exigiendo su libertad. Regresaron a Cuba como héroes, todavía firmes en su dedicación a la revolución cubana. La decision del gobierno estadounidense para liberarlos fue uno de los primeros pasos en la restauración de las relaciones diplomáticas entre Cuba y los Estados Unidos.

Los cinco – René González, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández y Fernando González – están visitando varios países para dar las gracias a los pueblos que les apoyaron y que apoyan a Cuba. Como parte de eso, realizaron una visita histórica a El Salvador el pasado 21 de julio. Con una apretada agenda realizaron varios actos de homenaje al arzobispo salvadoreño Óscar Arnulfo Romero, asesinado por los escuadrones de la muerte de la derecha durante la guerra civil; y al patriota cubano José Martí; sostuvieron también una entrevista privada con el Presidente de la República Salvador Sánchez Cerén, un líder histórico del Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), y concluyeron su visita en un acto popular celebrado en la Universidad de El Salvador (UES), primera y única casa de estudios pública en ese país, institución académica con una larga historia de lucha y pensamiento crítico.

Los 5 héroes fueron recibidos calurosamente en la UES, con el clásico grito universitario ¡Esta es la U! Mientras los cubanos dirigieron un emotivo discurso a la multitud que desbordó el Cine-Teatro.

Cerraron su participación con una condecoración por parte de la Comisión Política del FMLN, el liderazgo del partido de izquierda que actualmente gobierna el país, quien les consignó una medalla al mérito; así también la Comunidad Salvadoreña Palestina les obsequiaron unas hermosas Kufiyas blancas y negras los cuales los cinco orgullosamente mostraron en la tarima.

Antes de visitar El Salvador los Cinco Héroes cubanos visitaron Nicaragua en el aniversario de la revolución sandinista de 1979, y también pasaron por Sudáfrica. Los movimientos revolucionarios en esto tres países tienen vínculos profundos históricamente con la revolución cubana.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #Cuba #ElSalvador #FMLN #SalvadorSanchezCeren #Cuban5 #UniversityOfElSalvador #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – The Cuban 5 spent well over a decade in U.S. prisons, arrested by the U.S. government in the late 1990s for monitoring anti-communist Cuban groups based in Miami, Florida that have planned terror activities against socialist Cuba. The five were recently released from U.S. prisons in the face of a worldwide movement demanding their freedom. They returned to a heroes welcome in Cuba, unbroken and firm in their dedication to the Cuban revolution. Their release by the U.S. government was an early move in the renewing of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S.

The five – René González, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández y Fernando González – are now visiting several countries to give thanks to the people that supported them and support Cuba. As part of that, they made a historic visit to El Salvador on July 21. They had a packed agenda, including paying homage to slain Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero who was assassinated by a right wing death squad during the Salvadoran Civil War, and Cuban patriot Jose Martí. They met with Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Ceren, who is a historic leader of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). They closed their visit with a packed mass meeting at the amphitheatre of the University of El Salvador (UES), the only public university in El Salvador. UES is an institution with a long and historic tradition of revolutionary thinking and struggle.

The 5 Cuban heroes were warmly welcomed at the UES with the traditional chant of the universitary students, “esta es la U!” (“This is the U!”). They gave a very emotional speech to the crowd that packed the facility.

They were also given a recognition by the FMLN Political Commission, the leadership of the leftist party that governs El Salvador, and by the Salvadoran Palestinian community who gifted them with beautiful black and white keffiyehs, which they proudly put on while on stage.

Before visiting El Salvador, the Cuban 5 also visited Nicaragua on the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution there, and visited South Africa. The revolutionary movements in all three countries have deep historic ties to the Cuban revolution.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #Cuba #ElSalvador #FMLN #SalvadorSanchezCeren #Cuban5 #UniversityOfElSalvador #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – Manifestantes se concentraron frente a la embajada de Israel en San Salvador el 11 de julio para expresar su solidaridad con el pueblo palestino, y para protestar el ataque militar de Israel en Gaza. Los manifestantes mostraron banderas palestinas y carteles condenando el ataque de Israel contra los palestinos. Esa fue la segunda protesta ésta semana frente a la embajada de Israel aquí. Uno de los organizadores de la protesta de hoy, Logan Kenpo, dijo, “nosotros aquí en El Salvador, hicimos una convocatoria de jóvenes, estudiantes de la Universidad de El Salvador, amigos de facebook entre otros y hemos decidido concentrarnos acá en repudio a la masacre y al silencio y la injusticia que sufre el pueblo palestino y al genocidio que impulsa el gobierno de Israel apoyado por el gobierno de Estados Unidos.”

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #ElSalvador #MiddleEast

San Salvador, El Salvador – Protesters gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in San Salvador on July 11 to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, and to protest against Israel's military assault on Gaza. The protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs condemning the attack on Palestine. This was the second protest in front of the Israeli embassy here this week.

According to Logan Kenpo, one of the protest organizers, “Here in El Salvador young people, students at the University of El Salvador and some facebook friends and others gathered together here today to repudiate the massacre and the silence and the injustice that the Palestinian people are suffering, and the genocide that the Israeli government is carrying out with the support of the U.S. government.”

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #ElSalvador #MiddleEast

San Salvador, El Salvador – Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Marxist leader, former guerrilla commander, teacher and trade unionist, won the March 9 presidential run-off elections by a narrow 6634 votes of the nearly 3 million cast, over the right-wing candidate, Norman Quijano.

Voters turned out in record numbers. 63% of the eligible population voted, and though the margin was narrow, Ceren’s 1.4 million votes were greater than any other president received in the history of the country. Sanchez Ceren is a leader of the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), while Quijano is the candidate of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. El Salvador is still deeply polarized 22 years after the end of the country’s civil war that pitted FMLN rebels against ARENA’s right-wing military rule.

As the Salvadoran National Electoral Authority (TSE) worked to verify the final vote count that showed the FMLN winning, members of ARENA took a slew of actions to delay the process and ultimately tried to nullify the process as a whole. Charging the TSE with fraud on election day but not publicizing any evidence, ARENA walked out halfway through the final count, only returning after the TSE said they would continue the count with or without ARENA’s participation. This followed inflammatory remarks issued by ARENA candidate Norman Quijano late on election day, in which he declared victory before the initial vote count was even completed, implored his party faithful to not “allow this victory to be stolen from us like it was in Venezuela” and to “prepare for war.” He further called upon the Salvadoran army to intervene in the nation’s politics and impose him as victor in spite of the official vote count showing him losing. This would have basically amounted to a coup.

Quijano’s call for the military to intervene and impose his victory resulted in a tense situation for a country still recovering from the ravages of a bloody civil war that ended in 1992, in which the army was used as a brutal repressive force against popular movements and the left. Given the history of military repression in the country, many breathed a sigh of relief when the defense minister and military leaders held a press conference midweek to affirm their chain of command and to denounce efforts to manipulate the armed forces.

Reports from thousands of national and international observers contradicted ARENA’s claims of fraud and instead congratulated Salvadoran voters and electoral authorities for conducting a transparent and efficient process. The United Nations, the Organization of American States and the U.S. State Department all echoed observers’ assessment of the elections as clean and fair. Many organizations that have observed all the Salvadoran elections since the 1992 peace accords stated that this was the most transparent election they have seen here, with several new anti-fraud and transparency measures implemented for the first time. Late on Sunday, March 16, the TSE certified the elections and officially declared Salvador Sanchez Ceren the president-elect.

On Saturday, March 15, a week after the election, hundreds of thousands of FMLN supporters rallied to celebrate and defend the FMLN election victory. Meanwhile ARENA party faithful continue to protest the election results and call for the elections to be annulled. Their actions appear to be taking a page out of the Venezuelan right wing’s destabilization playbook. It comes as no surprise that JJ Rendon, former campaign manager for Venezuelan right-wing opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, was hired by ARENA to run their flagging electoral campaign last year. The cries of fraud in El Salvador echoed Capriles’s cries of fraud when he lost last year’s election in Venezuela against leftist Nicolas Maduro, despite international observers certifying the election as clean in both cases.

ARENA’s campaign focused on fomenting fear that if the FMLN won, El Salvador would become the “next Venezuela.” This drumbeat of fear was ramped up to a fevered pitch in the last few weeks before the March 9 runoff election. The right wing used their control of mass media to bombard people with the message that Venezuela means “chaos and violence.” They saturated the media with ads from the Nationalist Republican Youth playing ominous music over footage of snipers and street violence. This has an impact in a country like El Salvador with a recent civil war and high rates of ongoing street violence.

Fear mongering and a massive infusion of campaign funds from ANEP, the National Association of Private Enterprise, raised the turnout for ARENA in the second round runoff election, but it was not enough to deliver the victory that the right wing hoped for. Instead. the Salvadoran people elected a left-wing former guerrilla commander who is openly allied with Venezuela, Cuba and socialists around the world, to be the commander in chief of El Salvador.

The close results in the March 9 runoff election were a surprise for many, as Sanchez Ceren beat Quijano by 10 points in the first round election in February, but fell just short of the 50%-plus-1 needed to win without a runoff between the top two parties. In polls right before the March 9 runoff election, Sanchez Ceren held a commanding 10 to 15% lead over Quijano. However, in the first round, the right wing was divided between two candidates, ARENA’s Quijano and the Grand Alliance for National Unity’s (GANA) Tony Saca. GANA was formed in a recent acrimonious split from ARENA. Their candidate Tony Saca was president of El Salvador for ARENA from 2004-2009. GANA received nearly 10% of the vote in the first round election in February.

Some assumed, incorrectly, that because GANA split so recently from ARENA that their supporters may lean toward the FMLN in the runoff election. But El Salvador is a country deeply polarized between left and right with virtually no political center. It seems likely that people who voted for GANA in the first round shifted their vote to the other right-wing party, ARENA, in the second round, contributing to the runoff election being closer than most had predicted.

ARENA ruled El Salvador from 1989 to 2009, and its roots are in the right-wing death squads during El Salvador’s civil war. Its founder was Roberto D’Aubuisson, responsible for ordering Archbishop Romero’s assassination in 1980, and founder of the notorious right-wing death squads. In 20 years of governance, they implemented devastating neoliberal programs, including privatization of key services and the conversion of the economy to the U.S. dollar, which leaves the country tied to the ebbs and flows of the U.S. economy. During their terms in office, ARENA was also wracked with multiple corruption scandals. For example Francisco Flores, El Salvador’s president from 1999-2004 is being investigated by numerous agencies, including the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for the disappearance of over $10 million of Taiwanese development funds during his administration.

The FMLN, on the other hand, voices their commitment to a socialist vision for El Salvador, though their ability to implement that vision has been and will continue to be limited by severe resistance from the rich and the right wing of the country, the lack of productive and natural resources, and pressure from international funding sources.

The FMLN has held the presidency of El Salvador since 2009, but the current president, Mauricio Funes, is not a party member and the FMLN has had to govern in a sort of coalition, dividing up positions with Funes’s more moderate forces. So since 2009 the FMLN has focused their efforts on smaller social reforms that have been widely popular, and were largely responsible for the FMLN winning the rural vote that had been voting for ARENA for the past decade. They brought free health care to neglected areas of the countryside; eliminated the ‘voluntary’ fees for health care and schools; and issued land titles to small farmers that were first promised during the 1992 peace accords.

FMLN President-elect Sanchez Ceren served as the Minister of Education in the Funes administration and oversaw the most popular of the programs, the Paquete Escolar, or School Packet, program that provides every public school student with supplies, uniforms and a daily meal, all for free. The health and education programs have had a particularly profound impact on women and girls, who are often left behind when families are forced to pay for education. The FMLN also instituted a number of significant labor policies, including full legal recognition of public sector unions and granting full protection to domestic workers, which benefits upwards of 80,000 women housekeepers, nannies and cooks who have often been working in slave-like conditions.

Polarization and the belligerence of the Salvadoran right wing will be a challenge for the FMLN as they work to deepen their modest social and economic programs and further their vision for Salvadoran society. As Roger Blandino Nerio, Social Movement Secretary for the FMLN, stated, “We can only implement as much socialism as the population will allow.”

The Salvadoran right-wing is hell-bent on preventing even modest reforms from being instituted and will continue its destabilization efforts. The U.S. government has stated that they will work with an FMLN government, but history has shown that they will work to undermine and prevent real reforms that alter existing relations of power from moving forward. The need for solidarity with the FMLN, the labor and social movement and the Salvadoran people will be great in the coming period as they build an alternative vision – one that isn’t based on capitalism – for their country.

Cherrene Horazuk is the president of AFSCME Local 3800, the union of clerical workers at the University of Minnesota, and the former Executive Director of CISPES, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. She was an accredited observer of the March 9 presidential elections, and has been observing El Salvador’s elections since 1994.

#SanSalvadorElSalvador #SanSalvador #ElSalvador #FMLN #ARENA #Elections #Americas

San Salvador, El Salvador – El 30 de julio marcharon mas de 2,000 personas para conmemorar el 36 aniversario de un masacre de estudiantes salvadoreños el 30 de julio 1975. La marcha salió de la Universidad de El Salvador (UES) y marchó hacia el puente donde en 1975 los cuerpos de seguridad y del ejército reprimieron una manifestación pacifica en que los estudiantes marcharon para exigir sus derechos y defender la UES que en este tiempo sufrió represión constante de las fuerzas militares y policiales.

Este día se conmemoró la masacre estudiantil, hecho que conmocionó al país, esta histórica marcha tuvo como escenario la protesta de los universitarios por la intervención estatal del régimen militar de esa época, ocurrido el 25 de julio. Reinvindicaban el talante histórico de la única universidad estatal de El Salvador, fundada en 1841, que históricamente y actualmente es uno de las bases mas fuertes de la lucha popular en el país.

La marcha se llenó del colorido de las varias agremiaciones estudiantiles, organizaciones civiles y sindicatos que acompañaron la marcha entonando el grito de guerra del estudiante universitario: “Esta es la U!” Dichas agremiaciones portaban mantas que reclamaban justicia para todas y todos los caídos y se compremetían a seguir con la lucha.

La marcha se distinguió por la fuerte presencia de organizaciones estudiantiles revolucionarias y comunistas, como el Movimiento Guevarista – 8 de Octubre, la Brigada Revolucionaria Estudiantil Salvadorena (BRES), Frente Universitario Roque Dalton (FURD), Universitarios Estudiantes Revolucionarios Salvadorenos – 30 de julio (UERS), Union de Jovenes Revolucionarias Marxistas (UJRM), Brigada Revolucionaria Estudiantil Anastasio Aquino (BREA), FES-Jorge Arias Gómez, FREUS, MOTUES, PSOCA, BASES, entre otros. La Juventud del FMLN también se sumó a la celebración.

Al llegar al puente donde ocurrió la masacre los estudiantes realizaron una recreación simulada de los sangrientes hechos.

Esta tarde también el equipo de fútbol de la Universidad de El Salvador que milita en la Primera División Salvadoreña juǵo en la Ciudad Universitaria y el once rojo saltó a la cancha cargando una pancarta conmemorativa a la masacre estudiantil del 30 de julio de 1975, un hecho que arrancó los aplausos de la Furia Escarlata y todos los presentes.

Este día culminó con una concurrida vigilia celebrada en el Polideportivo de la Universidad de El Salvador nombrado también Héroes y Mártires del 30 de Julio de 1975, donde varios grupos musicales como Los Torogoces de Morazán, Los Norteñitos entre otros deleitaron a los presentes.

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San Salvador, El Salvador – On July 30 more than 2000 people marched here to commemorate the 36th anniversary of a massacre of Salvadoran students on July 30, 1975. The march started at the University of El Salvador (UES) and marched to the bridge where in 1975 the security forces and military violently repressed a peaceful protest where students were marching to demand their rights and to defend the UES. At that time the UES suffered from constant repression from the military and police.

The July 30, 1975 massacre of students caused huge reverberations around the country. The 1975 student protest was in response to the military taking over the UES campus on July 25, 1975. The students demanded that the military stay out of the only public state university in El Salvador, founded in 1841, which is also one of the strongest bases of the popular movement in the country.

The commemoration march this year was filled with the banners and colors of many student organizations, popular organizations and unions that accompanied the march with the main university student chant: “This is the U!” The organizations carried banners and signs demanding justice for all that died and vowing to continue their struggle.

The march was notable for the strong presence of revolutionary and communist student organizations, such as the Guevarist Movement – October 8, The Salvadoran Revolutionary Student Brigade (BRES), Roque Dalton University Front (FURD), Revolutionary Salvadoran University Students – July 30 (UERS-30), Union of Revolutionary Marxist Youth (UJRM), Revolutionary Student Brigade – Anastasio Aquino (BREA), FES-Jorge Arias Gómez, FREUS, MOTUES, PSOCA, BASES, among others. The FMLN Youth also had a large presence.

When the commemorative march arrived at the bridge where the student massacre happened in 1975, students recreated a simulation of the bloody massacre.

In the evening, the University of El Salvador soccer team, which plays in the First Division, played on campus. The players on UES’s team took the field carrying a banner commemorating the 1975 student massacre. This brought strong applause from the UES Furia Escarlata fan section and all those present.

The day ended with a vigil celebrated in the Polideportive Center in the University of El Salvador, which is also named after the heroes and martyrs of July 30, 1975. At the vigil various leftist popular musicians played such as Los Torogoces de Morazán, Los Norteñitos and others.

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San Salvador, El Salvador – Participants from over twenty countries met here for the International Gathering in Solidarity and for Peace in Colombia and Latin America, July 20-22. People from across Latin America, Europe, Canada and the United States came together for three days, giving their solidarity to the popular movement and rebel forces of Colombia. Speakers included revolutionary leaders, union activists, indigenous activists, academics, and leftist politicians.

“This conference was especially important for North Americans because of the long history of U.S. military aid and intervention in Colombia, and throughout Latin America,” said Colombia Action Network delegate Anh Pham of Minneapolis.

U.S. involvement in Colombia is on the rise since last year, when Congress adopted Plan Colombia, which sent $2 million a day in military aid, advisors, and chemicals to Colombia.

At this historic conference, participants heard first-hand of the of the growing environmental crisis and of the increase in human rights abuses by government-organized death squads, which are funded by the U.S. military aid package, Plan Colombia. The purpose of conference was to stand in solidarity with the people of Colombia, to unite in opposition to Plan Colombia, and to back the Colombian people's right to self-determination and national sovereignty.

The conference was hosted by the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front), the second largest political party and former guerrilla army of El Salvador. Though this was the first annual conference for peace in Colombia, the Salvadoran people are not new to international solidarity.

While U.S. politicians claim this aid is an effort to fight the “war on drugs”, conference panelists repeatedly addressed the real purpose of U.S. warfare in Colombia. U.S. military personnel and weapons – conventional and chemical – are being used to fight the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – Army of the People), the largest guerilla army. The FARC controls 40% of the countryside, and enjoys the support of poor and working people. The U.S. government is concerned that U.S. political and economic interests, including oil resources, in the region are threatened by the strength of the FARC-EP.

Rick Jacobs, a delegate from the Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee described Colombia's civil war, “It's the courageous people of Colombia fighting for freedom, democracy, and their lives against the allied forces of the Colombian oligarchy, the drug mafia and its paramilitary armies, international oil and mineral interests, international finance, including the IMF and World Bank, and the U.S. government. Colombians are fighting against this alliance in different ways – some in the countryside and in the cities, some are organizing in the streets, and others are fighting underground.”

Jacobs continued, “It was clear that all of Latin America knows what's going on in Colombia – who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. If the U.S. wanted to go after big drug traffickers, they could ask any Colombian where they live, and catch them just like that. Instead, the government has formed an alliance with Colombia's worst elements.”

In an effort to silence opposition to Plan Colombia, the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador tried to prevent the conference from happening at all. Julie Schechter, the Embassy's point person on human rights, convinced the University of Central America to back out as the conference location. This interference did not stop the event, but conference had to be moved to three different locations. When Schechter briefly attended the conference, she was chased away by pressure from U.S. activists.

Tom Burke, of the Chicago Colombia Solidarity Committee, said that the role of the FARC-EP and the ELN (Army for National Liberation) representatives was crucial to the success of the conference. “In the United States, our media and our government give us incorrect messages about the revolution in Colombia. I think it was very important that the two largest revolutionary groups in Colombia were represented at the conference.” He continued, “They had the opportunity to combat the stereotypes that our government and the Colombian government promote, and to see the international solidarity with their fight for a just future for Colombia.”

Jennifer Molina from the Colombian Action Network was inspired. She stressed, “I felt the conference gave excellent analysis on the relationship between the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement for the Americas) and Plan Colombia. We had international unity in seeing the FTAA as the economic arm and Plan Colombia as the military arm of U.S. imperialism. And we actively strategized about responses to U.S. intervention. I feel so energized about the movement we are building – to construct social justice across borders.”

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Los manifestantes partieron del monumento de El Salvador del Mundo en San Salvador, protestando contra la detención ilegal de los activistas bajo el delito de 'terrorismo' de acuerdo a una recientemente aprobada ley 'antiterrorista'.

Cuatro de los 13 activistas arrestados son líderes de la Asociación Rural de Comunidades para el Desarrollo de El Salvador (CRIPDES), una organización con una larga historia de lucha por la justicia en favor de la gente pobre en el área rural de El Salvador. Los activistas fueron arrestados el 2 de Julio por la Policía Nacional Civil mientras protestaban pacíficamente por la visita del Presidente de El Salvador, Elías Antonio Saca a Suchitoto. Saca había planeado un viaje a las comunidades en el área en la víspera de la aprobación de un plan para privatizar el servicio del agua en El Salvador.

La violenta intervención de los agentes de la Policía Nacional Civil finalizó en una situación caótica con numerosas personas arrestadas, heridas y capturadas. La Policía utilizó gas pimienta y represión para dispersar a los manifestantes pacíficos, quienes estaban gritando consignas en contra de las intenciones del gobierno de privatizar el agua.

Este sábado los manifestantes marcharon hacia el lugar donde los activistas están aun bajo arresto ilegal. Los marchantes dijeron que el hecho de que los activistas fueran detenidos y acusados de 'terrorismo' por protestar pacíficamente muestra que los derechos humanos son constantemente violados e irrespetados en El Salvador.

Otros recientes ataques a activistas políticos también apuntan al aumento de la represión contra la izquierda y el creciente movimiento popular. Por ejemplo, recientemente vendedores callejeros que protestaban contra las políticas del gobierno fueron también atacados por la policía y luego acusados de 'terroristas'.

En otro caso muy reconocido, los ancianos padres de Marina Monjarás Manzanares, una veterana presentadora de radio conocida como “Mariposa” en la Radio Venceremos del FMLN, fueron crudamente torturados y asesinados en su casa en Suchitoto el año pasado. Acciones como esta apuntan a la existencia de escuadrones ilegales de derecha vinculados al gobierno, con el objetivo de eliminar a la oposición. Dichos escuadrones de la muerte operaron con total impunidad durante la guerra civil en El Salvador que finalizó en 1992.

El hecho de que esta masiva marcha haya sido organizada en tan corto tiempo muestra el poder que el movimiento social tiene para movilizar gente. Dirigentes sociales aseguran que las protestas continuarán hasta que los activistas sean liberados.

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