Funes wins, first talk with Obama

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release March 18, 2009

Readout of the President’s Call with President-Elect Mauricio Funes of El Salvador

The President spoke with President-Elect Funes today to congratulate him on his historic victory and commend the people of El Salvador for their commitment to the democratic process. The President said he looked forward to working with the new Salvadoran administration and expressed his desire for developing an ongoing dialogue to ensure a productive relationship. The President noted that the two countries could work together on issues of mutual interest, including economic growth and poverty, energy cooperation, and security.

Statement from the US government regarding elections in El Salvador & A Request from Share

It is my opinion that certain members of the U.S. government are interfering in the process of democracy in El Salvador and that they must know the effects they are having. Please read below:

US Government Position Regarding El Salvador’s Presidential Election

The Government of the United States reiterates its official position that it does not support either candidate in the upcoming presidential election in El Salvador on Sunday, March 15. The Embassy of the United States in El Salvador has stated this position publicly and repeatedly.

The separation of powers and freedoms in the United States allows the debate in which members of the U.S. Legislature have expressed their opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the official position of the United States.

The U.S. Embassy will field an observation team on Sunday to monitor the elections which we expect will be free and fair.

The U.S. Government will respect the will of the Salvadoran people and will seek to work constructively with whoever wins that election.

From SHARE:

On Tuesday March 11, three Republican Congresspeople spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives threatening that if the FMLN wins remittances sent to El Salvador should be cut off and Salvadorans should lose their immigration status.

Below are their statements:

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said, "El Salvador's election is on Sunday. If an ally of Al-Queda and Iran comes to power in El Salvador, the national security interests of the United States will require certain immigration restrictions and controls over the flow of the $4 billion of annual remittances sent from the U.S. back home to El Salvador.

Let me note, that my purpose is not to punish Salvadorans, but if a pro-terrorist government takes power, it will be imperative to review our policies in order to protect the national security of the United States."

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) said, "…should the pro-terrorist FMLN party replace the current government in El Salvador, the United States, in the interests of national security, would be required to reevaluate our policy toward El Salvador, including cash remittance and immigration policies to compensate for the fact there will no longer be a reliable counterpart in the Salvadoran government."

Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) stated, "They get 4 billion dollar a year in money coming from the United States into their country to help out the people who live down there. And that money in my opinion, will be cut dramatically if they elect a leftist government. Those monies that are coming from here to there, I am confident will be cut, and I hope the people of El Salvador are aware of that because it will have a tremendous impact on individuals and their economy."

These extremist arguments are reminiscent of the statements that the Salvadoran Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marisol Argueta, issued in October 2008 when she was lobbying for US intervention during a visit to Washington DC. These statements also are a repetition of the interventionist statements issued by US officials in the 2004 elections.

In addition, according to the Salvadoran newspapers, 46 Republican Congresspeople recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling a potential FMLN win a security threat to the United States.

Although these Representatives' pronouncements have little significance in the US, they have a tremendous impact in El Salvador as the statements have made headlines in the Salvadoran media. The threats are perceived as US intervention and generate fear among Salvadoran voters. It is important to understand that these statements carry considerable weight in El Salvador as about a quarter of the population has migrated to the United States and the remittances they send constitute about 20% of the country's GDP.



PLEASE ACT NOW! Call the State Department or e-mail Christopher Webster, Director of the Office of Central American Affairs at the State Department, and urge him to issue a public statement reassuring the Salvadoran people that the United States will remain neutral in the Salvadoran Presidential elections and the US government is committed to working with any political party that has been elected freely and fairly by the Salvadoran people.

Click here to contact Director Webster
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/584/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26809

Or call the Office of Central American Affairs:

Director Christopher Webster 202-647-4087

Deputy Director David Wolfe 202-647-3543

El Salvador Desk Officer Hillary Thompson 202-647-4161

For more information, contact

sharedc@share-elsalvador.o

rg

PLEASE CONTACT THE STATE DEPARTMENT BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13

welcome to 2009...better late than never.

Happy new year to you all. I hope that this year has been treating you well, and if it hasn't, I send you lots of love and good energy, que sigues adelante.

You may not believe me, but i honestly did forget how to log into my blog, so it took a little bit to get back to it...i guess that's what happens when you don't blog for a couple of months, so to you loyal followers--it's just you, lo--thanks for the encouragement. My blog has been a good place for me to reflect, so, you have my gratitude.

So what have i been up to these past two months? In no particular order:

1-El Salvador has been somewhat crazy with presidential elections. For now, and since the peace accords were signed in 1992 following the 12 year Civil War, there has been a right-ist party in the office of president and they have had most control of the assembly like our legislative body. They had a lot of control in assembly until this January when the majority shifted; and on Sunday March 15 the country will be electing a new president. The party in control is ARENA, la Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, (the National Repulbican Alliance) and it is more likely than ever before that the fmln (the left) will win. They are the strongest opposition party and, although comprised of five different political groups, have their foundation in the guerrillas in the Civil War. I am absolutely no expert, and others are, so PLEASE check out their blogs/websites below, but in my humble opinion, politically speaking , the country is potentially on the verge of the biggest change since the end of the civil war. The craziness (which has included some violence but mostly smear campaigns, manipluation and blatant lying) will continue and so we will anxiously wait to see what happens this Sunday.

http://voiceselsalvador.wordpress.com/
as the Voices on the Border Blog (link above) writes, this is a little humor from the fmln: "A new billboard has appeared around San Salvador, portraying The Simpson’s Chief Wiggum satirizing Rodriguo Avila’s campaign ‘Vote Wisely‘. It says ‘Vote Wisely, don’t vote for the ex-cop’."

2. The new students arrived, they are a group of 27 wonderful individuals who have formed and are forming a very empowering and cool community. Each group is very different but I am very happy having each of them here. As before, I am living in Casa Romero and am one of 16 in the house...I'll keep you updated on the students.
(here's an older picture of our library..unfortunately we repainted and our walls are actually pepto-bismol pink...perfectly fitting, really)

3. This semester, I have decided to spend my efforts on documenting the voices of LGBT Salvadrans, activists, and officials. (I, therefore won't be spending nearly as much time at the Hospitalito, La Divina Providencia, but I spoke with Madre Julia about it and will visit when I can.) But, the project that I am working on is something that excites and really interests me.

The project grew out of my belief that when we share our life testimonies, we are able to make our stories valid and thereby validate ourselves. That is, when we are given a voice, we are given dignity and legitimize out own selves, stories, and lives. Thinking on this, I began to do interviews with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Salvadorans. My hope is to give a space for people who have been silenced. My goals, for now, are at the very least to merely create that empowering space where people are able to reclaim their own voices. But, more, I am hoping to use the interviews for a documentary-like video and photo-essay which shares the lives of LGBT Salvadorans. This resource could serve as a tool for LGBT Organizations here in the country or for students in the United States.

So far it has been an incredibly eye-opening experience and I have been surprised by the amount of positive interest the general population has had. Hearing some of the stories has been a true mix of emotional experiences--some painfully challenging to hear and others where I am able to be witness to a sharing which is incredibly liberating. For example meeting with some youth, I have heard stories of finding support from grandparents, marching in the annual Pride Parade, and their finding they are not alone. But, on the other hand, in the case of the trans group I am collaborating with (all male to female), each individual has worked as a sex worker for a substantial part of her life. As may be expected, along with that comes violence, disease and the suffering associated with prostituting oneself. The themes I've been focusing are experiences of youth, the process of accepting one's self, coming out to family, violence, homophobia, discrimination, domestic resources, the effects of religion (after all, the country is called The Savior), and differences among social classes...If anyone has ideas for other topics, please send them right along.

I think that's it for now, I will write more soon about what's going on here and would love to hear from you all as well. animo y adelante.