Hypocrisy, El Salvador style
El Salvador's right-wing ARENA party is calling for the resignation of current Minister of Defense David Munguia Payes. They want him to resign for having allegedly approved the awarding of benefits to gang members in connection with the 2012 truce when he was Minister of Public Security. A quick trip to the ARENA website shows dozens of other press releases attacking the FMLN government of Mauricio Funes for its role in the 2012 truce process with the gangs.
Yet the hypocrisy of this position was exposed Saturday with the publication of a video.
El Faro has made public a video showing ARENA party officials meeting with representatives of all three gang factions in El Salvador in 2014 before the presidential election. One participant was Salvador Ruano, the ARENA mayor of Ilopango, and the other was an ARENA deputy in the National Assembly, Ernesto Muyshondt, who was also a spokesman for the party's presidential candidate Norman Quijano. On the recording, the ARENA officials discuss improving the conditions of imprisonment for gang members and a possible nominee for Minister of Public Security as part of a new truce if Norman Quijano won the presidential election. The ARENA officials expressed hope that the gangs could deliver votes for Quijano from their territories. El Faro has confirmed the authenticity of the recording with the participants in the meeting.
When I was an election monitor for the 2014 election, particularly for the second round of the election between Quijano and Sanchez Ceren, I heard many rumors that the gangs were behind votes for ARENA. I dismissed those suspicions at the time, thinking it was crazy that ARENA, originators of the mano dura gang control policies in the country, would be making deals with the gangs for votes. Perhaps I was wrong.
Yet the hypocrisy of this position was exposed Saturday with the publication of a video.
El Faro has made public a video showing ARENA party officials meeting with representatives of all three gang factions in El Salvador in 2014 before the presidential election. One participant was Salvador Ruano, the ARENA mayor of Ilopango, and the other was an ARENA deputy in the National Assembly, Ernesto Muyshondt, who was also a spokesman for the party's presidential candidate Norman Quijano. On the recording, the ARENA officials discuss improving the conditions of imprisonment for gang members and a possible nominee for Minister of Public Security as part of a new truce if Norman Quijano won the presidential election. The ARENA officials expressed hope that the gangs could deliver votes for Quijano from their territories. El Faro has confirmed the authenticity of the recording with the participants in the meeting.
When I was an election monitor for the 2014 election, particularly for the second round of the election between Quijano and Sanchez Ceren, I heard many rumors that the gangs were behind votes for ARENA. I dismissed those suspicions at the time, thinking it was crazy that ARENA, originators of the mano dura gang control policies in the country, would be making deals with the gangs for votes. Perhaps I was wrong.
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Spanish is ok, but have a difficult time with news broadcasts. Your insightful posts on
what is happening here is very helpful. I have urged all Americans in ES to read your blog regularly..