Black Wednesday
Violence at the National University
Protests before the National University of El Salvador (UES) occurred on Wednesday, July 5th due to the price hike in urban and interdepartmental public transportation and electricity. Due to rising global costs of energy and oil, the national government declared that it could no longer could pay the subsidies that controlled the prices of public transportation and energy. July 1st marked the last day the national government would pay the subsidies.
'Don't Raise The Price of Transportation'
Protests began around 6:30 am, July 5th near the entrance of the UES nearly an hour later the protests began to turn violent, destruction of private property such as signs, phonebooths and university property were targeted. About 9:30 am an ATM machine was destroyed by a growing mob. By about 10:30 am the Unidad de Mantenimiento del Orden or UMO (The Unit of Preservation of Order) which I have not seen in the papers since they were activated in last April's riot, the equivalent to our riot police, was called upon and organized behind the police, who formed some distance away from the entrance of the National University and the rioters. The UMO, as riot police do not use the same weaponry as the national civil police, PCN, who are armed with assault rifles, pistols, AK-47’s and like. Rather, they are equipped with batons, heavy armor, shields and tear gas.
Police
UMO
Rocks, 9 mm’s, homemade arms such as pipe bombs and small cannons were used against the police and the UMO. One protester fired a M-16 killing two officers from the UMO, one of them, the father-in-law of my former mayor. While this blog was being written the former mayor of Sesori made his attempt today to reach San Salvador, being Friday July 7th, in an attempt to reach the capital to mourn the the loss with his sister. Due to protests against the violence and the increase in taxes, the main roads in and out of San Salvador, the nation’s capital, were blocked off to all traffic. I am unaware if he made it to the capital in time for the funeral.
No in or out of the capital
The gunman was a trained "francotirador" or sniper, killing one officer by passing a bullet through his head and killing the other by a bullet through the heart. The shooter was later identified as JosÈ Mario Belloso Castillo a radical active member of the far-left FMLN who recently was part of the "consejo municipal" or municipal advisory board, part of a municipality in greater San Salvador from 2000-2003. A report in the Diario de Hoy (that was not found in La Prensa Grafica) noted that the gunman was trained in Cuba (which is common among the FMLN) as a sharpshooter. The FMLN are distancing themselves from the shooter, all deputies are denying having known the man.
Shooter, type of weapon M-16. The man behind the shooter was captured.
When it was over, 31 people were captured, their ages ranged from 17-45 years of age. Of casualties instilled, 2 dead and 10 wounded police and UMO officers.
2 UMO officers are killed, one being the father-in-law of my former mayor
The nation is in a state wide man hunt to catch the shooter.
Where I live, the town in shame over the whole ordeal and feelings of extreme embarrassment have filled the faces of my workmates. Many noted how sorry they were that I had to be here to witness the sharp rise in violence in their country. A small minority were excited about the protests and see it as the fault of the center-right ARENA government, globalization and US intervention whose frustrations date back well before I born.
The political problem: The ARENA government has denounced the far-left FMLN accusing them for invoking the riot. The FMLN is also being attacked for coordinating numerous other protests throughout the country. Furthermore, many legislative measures have been at a stand still due to the 32 member FMLN legislative body (of 84 possible seats) against the majority 34 of ARENA. This has only added more fuel to the fire.
The FMLN: More and more the FMLN is becoming a party divided, on one corner you have the orthodox communist militants and on the other you have those that want to move more toward the center. Since the Peace Accords in 1992 this divide has been growing wider and wider. Several prominent leaders have either quite or have been expelled from the organization do to irreconcilable differences. The party is split with the proposed Northern Highway, gay marriage and several other measures that will determine the political course of the FMLN. In many cases they simply have withdrawn from voting. What does fate hold for the FMLN? A party in shambles, divided by internal conflict, it’s anyone’s guess what will become of the Frente.
Protests before the National University of El Salvador (UES) occurred on Wednesday, July 5th due to the price hike in urban and interdepartmental public transportation and electricity. Due to rising global costs of energy and oil, the national government declared that it could no longer could pay the subsidies that controlled the prices of public transportation and energy. July 1st marked the last day the national government would pay the subsidies.
'Don't Raise The Price of Transportation'
Protests began around 6:30 am, July 5th near the entrance of the UES nearly an hour later the protests began to turn violent, destruction of private property such as signs, phonebooths and university property were targeted. About 9:30 am an ATM machine was destroyed by a growing mob. By about 10:30 am the Unidad de Mantenimiento del Orden or UMO (The Unit of Preservation of Order) which I have not seen in the papers since they were activated in last April's riot, the equivalent to our riot police, was called upon and organized behind the police, who formed some distance away from the entrance of the National University and the rioters. The UMO, as riot police do not use the same weaponry as the national civil police, PCN, who are armed with assault rifles, pistols, AK-47’s and like. Rather, they are equipped with batons, heavy armor, shields and tear gas.
Police
UMO
Rocks, 9 mm’s, homemade arms such as pipe bombs and small cannons were used against the police and the UMO. One protester fired a M-16 killing two officers from the UMO, one of them, the father-in-law of my former mayor. While this blog was being written the former mayor of Sesori made his attempt today to reach San Salvador, being Friday July 7th, in an attempt to reach the capital to mourn the the loss with his sister. Due to protests against the violence and the increase in taxes, the main roads in and out of San Salvador, the nation’s capital, were blocked off to all traffic. I am unaware if he made it to the capital in time for the funeral.
No in or out of the capital
The gunman was a trained "francotirador" or sniper, killing one officer by passing a bullet through his head and killing the other by a bullet through the heart. The shooter was later identified as JosÈ Mario Belloso Castillo a radical active member of the far-left FMLN who recently was part of the "consejo municipal" or municipal advisory board, part of a municipality in greater San Salvador from 2000-2003. A report in the Diario de Hoy (that was not found in La Prensa Grafica) noted that the gunman was trained in Cuba (which is common among the FMLN) as a sharpshooter. The FMLN are distancing themselves from the shooter, all deputies are denying having known the man.
Shooter, type of weapon M-16. The man behind the shooter was captured.
When it was over, 31 people were captured, their ages ranged from 17-45 years of age. Of casualties instilled, 2 dead and 10 wounded police and UMO officers.
2 UMO officers are killed, one being the father-in-law of my former mayor
The nation is in a state wide man hunt to catch the shooter.
Where I live, the town in shame over the whole ordeal and feelings of extreme embarrassment have filled the faces of my workmates. Many noted how sorry they were that I had to be here to witness the sharp rise in violence in their country. A small minority were excited about the protests and see it as the fault of the center-right ARENA government, globalization and US intervention whose frustrations date back well before I born.
The political problem: The ARENA government has denounced the far-left FMLN accusing them for invoking the riot. The FMLN is also being attacked for coordinating numerous other protests throughout the country. Furthermore, many legislative measures have been at a stand still due to the 32 member FMLN legislative body (of 84 possible seats) against the majority 34 of ARENA. This has only added more fuel to the fire.
The FMLN: More and more the FMLN is becoming a party divided, on one corner you have the orthodox communist militants and on the other you have those that want to move more toward the center. Since the Peace Accords in 1992 this divide has been growing wider and wider. Several prominent leaders have either quite or have been expelled from the organization do to irreconcilable differences. The party is split with the proposed Northern Highway, gay marriage and several other measures that will determine the political course of the FMLN. In many cases they simply have withdrawn from voting. What does fate hold for the FMLN? A party in shambles, divided by internal conflict, it’s anyone’s guess what will become of the Frente.
1 Comments:
Great post. This is one of the better written descriptions in English I have seen of the events of July 5. Thanks.
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