Obama's Take on the Left in Latin America?

by Teo Ballvé

Feb 28, 2009


Washington's former arch-enemies are on the verge of taking power in El Salvador, posing the first major foreign policy test on Latin America for the Obama administration.

In the 1980s, Washington spent $6 billion trying to defeat the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) rebels. The bloody proxy war left a ravaged country and 75,000 people dead – the vast majority at the hands of the US-backed army and allied death squads.

The FMLN traded the bullet for the ballot in 1992, when it became a legal political party with the signing of peace accords. Now, an FMLN victory stands to bring an end to 20 years of one-party rule by the far-right ARENA party.

The FMLN's candidate is Mauricio Funes, a bookish and charismatic former journalist. It's the first time the party has chosen a candidate from beyond the ranks of ex-rebel commanders, and his candidacy has given the FMLN a consistent double-digit lead in the polls.

The Obama administration has taken a cautious approach to recent electoral victories by leftist leaders in Latin America. The State Department congratulated Bolivia on a referendum that ratified a new constitution drafted by its leftist government. And when Hugo Chávez won a plebiscite on lifting term-limits for all elected officials, the Obama administration promised to "maintain a positive relationship with Venezuela."

But it's unclear how Washington will respond to a presidential victory by the party of El Salvador's former guerrillas. The response from the State Department and hopefully from Obama himself (will he call Funes for congratulations?), will provide clues about how the new administration plans to steer relations with leftist leaders from the region in the upcoming Summit of the Americas in April.

Granted, Funes is unlikely to take a combative stance toward Washington. His country depends too heavily on the good graces of the White House, particularly on immigration and economic matters, so it's not surprising Funes has promised to maintain good relations with all the countries in the hemisphere, from Venezuela to the United States.

For those interested, I recently worked on a lengthy report on the upcoming elections in El Salvador. You can download it for free on the NACLA website.

 



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