FMLN CANDIDATE IDENTIFIES PROBLEMS, OFFERS FEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000689

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL ES
SUBJECT: FMLN CANDIDATE IDENTIFIES PROBLEMS, OFFERS FEW
SOLUTIONS


Classified By: The Ambassador, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes
addressed the diplomatic corps June 4. He discussed his
experience as a journalist, identified looming fiscal
problems as a priority issue for the next government and
reiterated his support for CAFTA-DR. He lamented persistent
media comparisons of the FMLN with other left-wing parties in
Latin America, saying he would have to govern based on the
realities of El Salvador and complained of unfair treatment
by the Salvadoran press. He accused current Salvadoran
military officials of human rights violations during the
civil war and called for these alleged violations to be
investigated fully, not in order to prosecute, but to provide
closure to victims and their families. In contrast, he said
alleged FMLN-FARC ties were a "closed" issue, since these
contacts took place in the past. He criticized foreign
investment in the banking sector as serving only to enrich
investors. Funes' short temper was on display when he was
unable to articulate a plan to address the crisis of public
transportation. His most specific response to the public
security crisis was raising the number and pay of police
officers. He said if elected, El Salvador would establish
diplomatic ties with Beijing. End Summary.


2. (C) The San Salvador diplomatic corps invited Mauricio
Funes, former TV journalist and FMLN presidential candidate,
to a June 4 luncheon to hear his views on several topics
related to his candidacy. Funes opened by discussing his
experience as a TV journalist. He then pointed out that he
was not currently a member of the FMLN but that he would join
the party because the constitution requires that a candidate
be a member of the party he or she represents. He noted that
perceptions of the FMLN are influenced by prejudices held by
voters and the media and that the FMLN is -- unfairly --
always compared to other governments of the left.


3. (C) Funes emphasized that if he is elected it will be
important for government institutions to function. He said
one of the by-products of 19 years of ARENA government is
that Salvadoran government institutions have been weakened.
Funes predicted serious fiscal problems for the next
government, no matter who wins the election. He has met with
the World Bank and his views have been informed by its
analysis of El Salvador's fiscal situation. Funes said that
if the right and the business community perceive that an FMLN
government would negatively affect their business interests,
this would send a message to foreign business interests that
it would be imprudent to invest in El Salvador. The result,
he said, would be disastrous. Funes said foreign investors
need to know that "we are not constructing socialism in El
Salvador."


4. (C) Funes identified poverty, social and economic
marginalization and high crime rates as three important
problems facing El Salvador, none of which are the result of
socialist policies. Both sides, he said, need an
understanding between them to address these problems
effectively.


5. (C) Funes said he was tired of media comparisons between
the FMLN and other leftist governments in the region. He
said that while the FMLN has an ideological affinity with
these governments, an FMLN government would have to govern
based on the realities of El Salvador. Funes said that
during a recent trip to Berlin, Germany, at the invitation of
the Social Democrats, he made contact with an important
government, not just with the Social Democrats or with any
particular party. According to Funes, he transmitted the
message that an FMLN government would not negatively impact
ongoing negotiations between Central America and the European
Union and that all agreements with the EU and other countries
are important, especially a free trade agreement with the EU.


6. (C) Funes then discussed Brazilian President Lula, and his
desire for a close relationship with Brazil because Lula has
demonstrated howto finance a range of social programs with
interally generated funds. (Comment: Funes did not addess
El Salvador's relative lack of natural resouces compared to
Brazil. End Comment.) Funes thn said his government would
not nationalize anything and criticized what he called
"crooked contrats" awarded by the Saca government. Funes
made he point that he was the first FMLN candidate sinc the
civil war to be ahead of the ARENA candidat in the polls.
He said that poll results changed in 2007 when the FMLN
selected an outsider (him) to be the party's presidential
candidate.


7. (C) Funes spent considerable time complaining about unfair
treatment at the hands of the Salvadoran media, and pointed
out that he was no longer speaking to some of them. (Note:
Following unfavorable coverage in May by Salvadoran daily El

Diario de Hoy, Funes has since refused to respond to
questions from that paper's reports or answer questions from
journalists accompanying EDH reporters.) Funes said he
expected an uphill campaign battle and that his campaign had
limited funds and did not enjoy the advantage of using
government apparatus to assist in his campaign. (He did not
address press reports of significant campaign funds from
Venezuela.) Funes said he could not understand why President
Saca continues to run campaign-style advertisements at
government expense, even though Saca is no longer a candidate
-- former National Civilian Police (PNC) Director Rodrigo
Avila is. (Comment: We don't understand it, either.) Funes
went on to say that the government recently spent $45,000 to
publish in all national newspapers Saca's entire address to
the Legislative Assembly on the fourth anniversary of his
term, but cannot fix broken elevators in the hospitals.
Funes then noted Minister of Public Security and Justice Rene
Figueroa's resignation as ARENA's Vice President for Ideology
and from COENA (ARENA's executive committee) to commit
himself full time to be a "dirty campaigner for Rodrigo
Avila."


8. (C) Responding to a softball question on human rights from
the Ecuadoran Ambassador, Funes accused current military
officers of being major human rights violators in the civil
war. Funes said that while the FMLN respected the peace
accords amnesty, many of the worst human rights violations
during the civil war had never been properly investigated.
He said these violations should be fully investigated, not in
order to prosecute the guilty, but to reveal the truth and
bring closure to victims, families. Funes said the current
government had assigned some of these military officers to
various overseas assignments. While throwing accusations at
Salvadoran military officials who were involved in the civil
war fifteen years ago, Funes sought to convince assembled
diplomats that the "current FMLN" has no connection with the
FARC. He said it would be unfair to make that accusation
since FMLN-FARC contacts took place a long time ago and that,
as far as the FMLN is concerned, the issue of FMLN-FARC
contacts is "closed." Funes reiterated that there was no
real evidence linking the FMLN to the FARC and said he agreed
with the American Ambassador that the FMLN does not want to
be "friends of terrorists," either. (Note: Ambassador was
quoted in the Salvadoran press May 19 saying the U.S.
considers the FARC to be a terrorist group and that any group
that cooperates or collaborates with the FARC is no friend of
the U.S.)


9. (C) In what appeared to be a veiled hope for an FMLN
victory in the Legislative Assembly to accompany his own
hoped-for win, Funes said that the Salvadoran Legislative
Assembly in its current form is a hindrance to passing
legislation that the country needs and must be changed when
he takes office. He recalled that the last time that there
was not an ARENA government in power (going back to Napoleon
Duarte in the 80's),ARENA legislators opposed any initiative
coming from the party in power.


10. (C) Funes said CAFTA-DR should not be a campaign issue.
He pointed to foreign investment in the banking sector of El
Salvador and said this was not the kind of foreign investment
the country needed. This type of investment, he continued,
while boosting the overall investment figures for El
Salvador, only made a few people rich. (Note: Funes made no
mention of the positive implications an efficient, integrated
financial sector can have in a global market.)


11. (C) Funes' answers to questions from the diplomatic corps
were disjointed and rambling, littered with non-sequiturs.
Ambassador asked Funes how he would propose to solve the
public transportation problem, with private bus owners and
drivers operating with impunity and immunity. Funes answered
that the public transportation problem was the fault of
successive ARENA governments and that many of the bus
companies in question are owned by members of the National
Conciliation Party (PCN) which is an ally of ARENA in the
Legislative Assembly. Ambassador thanked Funes for his
analysis and repeated his question, asking what Funes would
do to solve the problem. Funes became visibly annoyed at the
repeated question. After five more minutes of comments that
did not answer the question, highlighted by body language
that indicated his irritation, he moved on.


12. (C) Responding to a question of what he would do
differently to combat the public security problem in El
Salvador, Funes said it was a difficult question to answer.
He asserted (correctly) that private security costs amount to
some 11 percent of GDP. He blamed part of the public
security crisis on ARENA, alleging that party wants the
crisis to continue because "businessmen associated with ARENA
are profiting from the private security companies." He
estimated there were 30,000 private security guards in the
country, twice the number that make up the (PNC). (Note: The
PNC has some 16,000 police.) He said solving the crime
problem would be difficult and said the government must
address the causes of crime, including prevention, rather
than only focusing on the repression of criminals. He
alleged there was corruption in the upper ranks of the PNC
and said the lower ranks received miserable pay. Funes
offered no immediate solution to the crime problem other than
increasing the number of police and improving their salaries.


13. (C) Asked by the Dominican Ambassador about his statement
that if elected, he would establish ties with the communist
China government (PRC),Funes said he would do this in order
to take advantage of the investment and employment
opportunities presented by increased trade with China. He
said that at the proper time this issue would be discussed
with Taiwanese government representatives. (Note: El
Salvador maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, not the
PRC.)


14. (C) Comment: Funes has not given serious thought to
formulate policy solutions to some of the main problems
facing the country. He is unable to explain what he would do
to solve the public transportation and public security
problems facing El Salvador.


15. (C) Comment continued: Funes' short temper and thin skin
were on display to the diplomatic corps. This, combined with
his combative, hostile relationship with the Salvadoran press
poses a significant vulnerability to his campaign which ARENA
is sure to exploit.
GLAZER