Left, Right and Center
So I get this random comment from someone somewhere in cyber space who happen to stumble upon my blog. He posted a really interested point, to paraphrase, why did campesinsovote ARENA and urban San Salvador vote FMLN?
It’s an interesting point and although I don’t claim to have all the answers, just ideas I’ve been thinking about it. My intial feeling about the campesinos was expressed in an interview with the mayor of San Miguel, Wilfred “Will” Salgado, “Les respondo que aquí siempre va ganar el que más sale en televisión y al que más saquen en los periódicos” (La Prensa Gráfica 26/3/06), I respond that in this country the winner is always the one that comes out on television and comes out in the newspapers.
Mr. Salgado was talking about ARENA and I agreed. The ARENA propaganda drowned out all other parties during the political campaign (they could afford to do so). I felt the poor rural folk were dupped into voting for ARENA because that’s all they heard for two solid months along with a string of promises and a lot of scare tactics. Although that may play a part, I’m starting to realize, upon further discussion with Salvadorans and American’s alike and with the help of statistics that were complied after the election, most FMLN voters are highly educated middle to high income urban class! Hence why the big cities are FMLN. ARENA is composed mostly of the rural poor. Crazy? Oh, it get’s crazier. The “face” of FMLN is the poor working class farmer, ARENA, the posh urban elite.
But why are these highly educated urbanites voting for a party that is communist anti-globalization? All of the progressive thinkers either quite FMLN or were kicked out. Hmmm…well, it is very possible that with the death of the hard liner leaders, FMLN is emphasizing the nationistic focus, domestic issues rather than be the US’s chew toy, so a more socialist spin. For that, I can understand a Salvadorian professional who would want a party that reintated national priorities such as getting their unit of currency back into circultion.
But that isn’t good buisness for the elite, and thus, we have a divide. The elite, big buisness, ARENA, but these are small numbers, but these few control the nation. Then you have a large sector of young educated professionals, FMLN. Once you leave the urban sprawls you have rural poor who simply hated the war, especially the campesinos where you either hated the guerillas or sympathized wholly. There is no in-between, for this reason it is a very touchly subject for a Salvadorian to talk to an outsider about it. Only now I’m beginning to build the trust to hear these stories, on both sides. No one was the good guy during this war, they both did terribly evil deeds to each other. And they vote, well, any party BUT FMLN. Morazan is still a surprise to me because this is a largely guerilla department. But, as I stated in a previous blog, ARENA did some shady deals along the borders (eg, importing Salva’s from Honduras to vote ARENA with economic compensation).
So, there’s my thought, still forming though. Thanks for bringing up a good point, whoever you are.
Your Affectionate Volunteer,
Scrutape
It’s an interesting point and although I don’t claim to have all the answers, just ideas I’ve been thinking about it. My intial feeling about the campesinos was expressed in an interview with the mayor of San Miguel, Wilfred “Will” Salgado, “Les respondo que aquí siempre va ganar el que más sale en televisión y al que más saquen en los periódicos” (La Prensa Gráfica 26/3/06), I respond that in this country the winner is always the one that comes out on television and comes out in the newspapers.
Mr. Salgado was talking about ARENA and I agreed. The ARENA propaganda drowned out all other parties during the political campaign (they could afford to do so). I felt the poor rural folk were dupped into voting for ARENA because that’s all they heard for two solid months along with a string of promises and a lot of scare tactics. Although that may play a part, I’m starting to realize, upon further discussion with Salvadorans and American’s alike and with the help of statistics that were complied after the election, most FMLN voters are highly educated middle to high income urban class! Hence why the big cities are FMLN. ARENA is composed mostly of the rural poor. Crazy? Oh, it get’s crazier. The “face” of FMLN is the poor working class farmer, ARENA, the posh urban elite.
But why are these highly educated urbanites voting for a party that is communist anti-globalization? All of the progressive thinkers either quite FMLN or were kicked out. Hmmm…well, it is very possible that with the death of the hard liner leaders, FMLN is emphasizing the nationistic focus, domestic issues rather than be the US’s chew toy, so a more socialist spin. For that, I can understand a Salvadorian professional who would want a party that reintated national priorities such as getting their unit of currency back into circultion.
But that isn’t good buisness for the elite, and thus, we have a divide. The elite, big buisness, ARENA, but these are small numbers, but these few control the nation. Then you have a large sector of young educated professionals, FMLN. Once you leave the urban sprawls you have rural poor who simply hated the war, especially the campesinos where you either hated the guerillas or sympathized wholly. There is no in-between, for this reason it is a very touchly subject for a Salvadorian to talk to an outsider about it. Only now I’m beginning to build the trust to hear these stories, on both sides. No one was the good guy during this war, they both did terribly evil deeds to each other. And they vote, well, any party BUT FMLN. Morazan is still a surprise to me because this is a largely guerilla department. But, as I stated in a previous blog, ARENA did some shady deals along the borders (eg, importing Salva’s from Honduras to vote ARENA with economic compensation).
So, there’s my thought, still forming though. Thanks for bringing up a good point, whoever you are.
Your Affectionate Volunteer,
Scrutape
1 Comments:
Yes, thank you whoever you are. I like to have physical proof that my sons education was not all about a tatoo, a piercing, getting the bartenders in Spain to know you by name. Good work son.
Dad
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