Adelante

“We all have to become microphones for the God of peace and nonviolence.” –Oscar Romero

If there is one virtue that is unceasing in the hearts of Salvadorans I have encountered it is hope, esperanza. It's difficult to explain, but I find myself constantly encountering an abundance of hope. From personal testimonies to the Salvadoran Presidential Elections, there is a hope of transformation.

This past Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 El Salvador held their presidential elections. This long anticipated process has continued to be a moment of uncertain even twenty years after the Peace Accords for the Salvadoran people because of a long history of political corruption. In this time of the elections many people are seeking answers to the challenges they face day to day from poverty to violence to education. The Salvadoran people I have encountered continued to express their great concern with the future president of their country. Over the past few weeks, I could feel the weight of tension and anticipation in the air of what is to come. The uncertainty lingered in the air.

My intention of sharing the elections with you is because I know the media coverage of this has been sporadic and limited with many opinions fostering a false conception of how the government is currently running in El Salvador. Also I feel that sharing this with you is really one of the best ways to express how the pillars of accompaniment, academics, community, and spirituality come together. It is precisely in this moment that the knowledge, I have gained over the years studying this country, in these first weeks of listening to personal historias, doing reading for my classes and translating articles in the local papers, this is my small contribution in allowing you to also accompany the Salvadoran people with a greater consciousness of their reality.

The results of El Salvador’s elections will continue to a second round, because the law of this country is that a political party must receive 51% of the total populations vote as a demonstration of an authentic democratic process. In this election there were three major parties participating: the FMLN, Arena, and Unidad. (If you would like more information of the parties you can email me and I will share that information with you). A little over 2 million people participated, slightly less than half the country’s total population. 13 out of 14 departments (provinces) elected the FMLN candidates. This was the first election to include Salvadorans who live outside the country, since about 2 million Salvadorans live in the United States. About 10,000 Salvadorans in the US participated in the election and the statistics of their votes also concluded the election of the FMLN candidate. In total the results came to 49% FMLN, 38% Arena, and 11% Unidad. Since not party received 51% of the votes, this results in a second round of presidential elections where the top two parties, FMLN and Arena, will be voted on again on March 9. The cost of having a second round is a little more than $20 million.

For a country suffering from poverty, the cost of the second elections is extremely difficult. As one person shared with me, “How can we spend $20 million on another election when people, children, are going to bed hungry at night?” But despite this complex emotion the Salvadoran people continue to express this sincere hope for the future of their country. A hope because Romero is interceding for them. Hope because the day of the elections was clam within their communities and did not bring to life horrific memories of the past. Hope because today is a new day. Adelante!