FMLN APPROVES FUNES-SANCHEZ CEREN PRESIDENTIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 002269

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2017
TAGS: PREL ES
SUBJECT: FMLN APPROVES FUNES-SANCHEZ CEREN PRESIDENTIAL
TICKET; FUNES ATTEMPTS TO REASSURE VOTERS AND INVESTORS
WHILE PROPOSING CLEAR POLICY SHIFTS

REF: SAN SALVADOR 1947

Classified By: Michael A. Butler, Charge, for reasons 1.4(d).


1. (C) Summary: The FMLN approved unanimously November 11 its
presidential ticket of journalist Mauricio Funes and Salvador
Sanchez Ceren, head of the FMLN's bloc in the National
Assembly. As expected, Sanchez Ceren's acceptance speech
played to the FMLN's core supporters, while Funes' message
was calibrated to appeal to more moderate voters, focusing on
pocketbook issues. End Summary.


2. (C) The FMLN held its 23rd assembly November 11 in San
Salvador in order to approve formally its presidential ticket
of Funes and Sanchez Ceren. The date chosen was heavy with
symbolism, commemorating the 18th anniversary of the
so-called final offensive of the civil war. (Note: The
selection of this date was sure to energize the FMLN's base
while angering the right and potentially alienating a
significant number of voters.) The ruling ARENA party took
out full-page advertisements to commemorate the victims of
that assault; the FMLN called for its supporters to continue
the struggle for social equality in the political arena.


3. (C) FMLN General Coordinator Medardo Gonzales closed his
remarks by putting the Funes-Sanchez Ceren ticket up for
approval by party delegates, which was approved unanimously.
In his acceptance remarks, Sanchez Ceren played to the FMLN's
core supporters, thanking Havana for restoring the sight of
4,000 Salvadorans by way of gratis medical procedures, and
thanked Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and other states for their
support. He repeatedly called on supporters to pursue the
goals of the November 11 final offensive, asserting that the
FMLN had fully done its part in implementing the peace
accords by laying down its arms and integrating into the
political system while ARENA had impeded El Salvador's
democratic development. He lamented the soaring price of
basic foodstuffs for poor Salvadorans, accused ARENA of
merely allowing the rich to become richer, and pledged that
the FMLN would, once in government, make a priority of
extending electrical, telephone, water, health, and education
services to the entire population.


4. (C) In his remarks, Funes noted the death of his son in
October, and quoted the remarks of an unnamed author who
observed that a significant loss can only be overcome by
building something even greater. To wild approval, Funes
declared his intention to build a new El Salvador. He
scolded ARENA for calling November 11 a "day of mourning" and
called on Salvadorans to remember those who had died in the
struggle for a more just and equitable El Salvador.


5. (C) Funes quickly turned to what promised to be a main
theme of his campaign: the economy. Notably, Funes mentioned
neither dollarization nor CAFTA directly, two perennial
themes for the FMLN. He lamented the soaring prices of basic
goods, and noted that by the end of 2008, the minimum salary
will only reach $220 in some cases (there being different
minimum wages in different sectors),and will still not be
enough for poor Salvadorans to meet basic needs. He mocked
the ARENA government for celebrating the fact that "two or
three people a day" fewer are being murdered as a great
success. He alleged that ARENA supporters had been greatly
enriched by the model of private security that has emerged in
the face of the Salvadoran government's inability to ensure
public security. He recalled Saca's campaign pledge that he
would "end the party" for delinquents in El Salvador.
Instead, Funes said, the delinquents have moved into the
presidential palace.


6. (C) Funes said there was no substitute for economic growth
in order to lift Salvadorans out of poverty, but economic
growth that only benefits the rich is unacceptable. In
remarks that were clearly meant to reassure foreign and
domestic investors, he said the FMLN would not abandon market
economics, but that some degree of state intervention would
be needed to end poverty in El Salvador and end monopolistic
abuses. The benefits of economic growth, he said, must
accrue to the majority. He lamented the GOES' lack of
resources due to poor tax policy and tax evasion. He pledged
to remove regressive elements from El Salvador's tax code and
to spare no effort in order to attack corruption, tax
evasion, and smuggling. His administration, he said, would
respect investments, both foreign and domestic, and he said
investors should not fear a Funes-FMLN government. That
said, those investments would be respected under terms of
Salvadoran law, and Funes suggested that there would be a
focus on ensuring companies complied with Salvadoran labor
law. Funes said his administration would seek a more
equitable distribution of income in order to reduce poverty.
In another move to assuage fears of an FMLN government, Funes
declared he would "not be anyone's puppet" nor beholden to
any political force if elected.


7. (C) Moving to foreign policy, Funes asserted that there
would be a change from ARENA's "servile" foreign policy
vis-a-vis the U.S. His administration would, he said, pursue
a multipolar foreign policy that respects El Salvador's
sovereignty and pursues Salvadoran interests. Funes warned
supporters and potential voters "not to be fooled" by ARENA
about policy towards the U.S., saying that his government
will pursue and reinforce close political, economic, and
trade ties with the U.S. He called for more equitable
treatment of Salvadorans under U.S. immigration law. He
asserted that when elected, he would end the participation of
El Salvador's Cuscatlan Battalion in coalition efforts in
Iraq, and that his government would establish diplomatic
relations with both Cuba and the PRC. In a statement that
seemed designed to appeal to the FMLN's core while reassuring
more moderate voters, Funes said that relations with
Venezuela would be carried out on the same terms as those
with the U.S., i.e., based on respect for El Salvador's
sovereignty while taking advantage of commercial and other
opportunities.


8. (C) Comment: Funes, who has still not joined the FMLN, was
given a rock star's welcome by the party faithful in the
overflowing Cuscatlan stadium, with a crowd approaching
50,000. Those in attendance clearly believed the FMLN's
ticket stands a real chance of victory in 2009. In an
apparent indication of his intended appeal to moderate
voters, Funes was dressed in grey trousers and a blue sport
coat, the only speaker on the platform not wearing the FMLN's
standard-issue red. However, ARENA is sure to mount an
aggressive campaign to link Funes to the radical positions
pursued by the FMLN since the Civil War.


9. (C) Comment continued: As expected, Sanchez Ceren's
remarks were clearly aimed at the FMLN's hard-core faithful,
lauding a rogues gallery of leftist regimes in Latin America
and hailing the FMLN's military role in the Civil War.
Funes, on the other hand, was clearly trying to acknowledge
the FMLN's hard core, while focusing his remarks on issues
that will appeal to the centrist voters he needs in order to
win. His economic and trade proposals were packaged in terms
of spreading equitably the benefits of trade and economic
growth while not causing investor panic. His foreign policy
remarks were carefully crafted, avoiding direct criticism of
the U.S. while attacking what Funes views as ARENA's
submissive attitude towards the U.S., while reassuring
Salvadorans both in and out of the country that his
administration will pursue continued good relations with the
U.S. It is clear, though, that U.S.-Salvadoran relations
will change dramatically if Funes is elected, something we
still view as possible but not likely.
BUTLER