FUNES MEETS ZAPATERO, AND HILARITY DOES NOT ENSUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000857

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2018
TAGS: ES PGOV PREL SP
SUBJECT: FUNES MEETS ZAPATERO, AND HILARITY DOES NOT ENSUE

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


1. (U) Summary: A paid political advertisement which the
(left-wing) FMLN placed in local newspapers, purporting to
demonstrate Spain's support for the Presidential candidacy of
the FMLN's Maurico Funes, has drawn the ire of Salvadoran
President Saca and the (conservative, pro-U.S.) ARENA party.
The Spanish Ambassador to El Salvador met privately with
Funes to express Spain's aggravation over the FMLN
advertisement. The presidential election will be held March

15. End summary.


2. (U) On July 9, the FMLN ran full page advertisements in
local dailies La Prensa Grafica and Diario de Hoy featuring a
large photo of FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes
posing with Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero
under a banner title reading "Spain recognizes the leadership
of Mauricio Funes." (Note: Zapatero is also the Secretary of
the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, PSOE. End note).
Smaller photos underneath portrayed Funes posing with lower
level Spanish governmental officials. A summary text below
the photos characterized Funes' meetings in Madrid as "an
historic encounter decisive for the future of El Salvador,"
and went on to state that Zapatero told Funes that if he were
to win the Salvadoran presidential election, ties between
Spain and El Salvador would be "reinforced," with increased
commercial, political, and cultural interaction between the
two countries. The advertisement concludes with the
statement that the meeting with Zapatero and others was a
"demonstration of the prestige and international support"
Funes enjoys.


3. (U) ARENA's angry reaction was not long in coming. ARENA
parliamentarians decried the Funes advertisement, and later
complained directly to Spain's Ambassador to El Salvador. As
the controversy lingered, on July 16 Salvadoran President
Antonio "Tony" Elias Saca weighed in publicly, alleging that
the FMLN's Funes "lied" about the nature of the meeting with
Zapatero, mischaracterizing it as an official Spanish
government endorsement of Funes' candidacy, rather than an
informal get together under the auspices of the PSOE.


4. (C) After a full week of media coverage, Jose Javier
Gomez, Spain's Ambassador to El Salvador, continued to
express publicly his displeasure with the FMLN's
advertisement, saying "we do not want to be and we should not
be involved in an electoral campaign, and we simply ask that
you please not involve us." He clarified the nature of the
Funes-Zapatero meeting, explaining that rather than an
official state function, it was instead an "informal meeting"
that took place during a PSOE event. On July 16 the Spanish
Ambassador told Political Counselor he met with Funes July 15
and conveyed the Spanish government's unhappiness with the
FMLN's misrepresentation of the informal Zapatero meeting.
Funes at that point apologized for the advertisement and
resulting problems. The Spanish Ambassador also reiterated
to us that he told Funes that the Spanish government would be
making no more declarations on the matter, that they were not
a part of the campaign, and that the FMLN should refrain from
trying to make them one.


5. (U) The FMLN's reaction to the controversy has been more
muted than ARENA's frontal assault. Funes insists that he
has "not made improper use" of the picture of him and
Zapatero, noting that "we publicized what happened, we didn't
invent the photographs." Press reports allege that Funes,
advisor Hato Hasbun, and FMLN spokesman Sigfredo Reyes have
all "apologized" to the Spanish Ambassador for the
advertisement. Vice Presidential candidate Salvador Sanchez
Ceren, an FMLN hard-liner and former guerrilla leader, has
downplayed the issue and asserted that there is "no need" for
the FMLN to apologize. At the same time, Funes has attempted
to shift the terms of the debate and put the onus for the
lingering scandal on ARENA, telling the local media that he
"regrets" that the Salvadoran government and the ARENA party
have "pressured" the Spanish Ambassador and "put him in an
uncomfortable position" over the photos.


6. (C) Comment: The FMLN overreached with the Zapatero
advertisement, particularly with the text suggesting that
Spain was officially endorsing Funes. At the same time,
Funes' attempt to blame ARENA for dragging this story out may
serve to cut the media legs out from under this particular
FMLN blunder, and possibly leave ARENA vulnerable to credible
accusations of overreacting if they continue to push the
issue.


7. (C) Comment continued: From a wider perspective, this
evolution demonstrates Funes' continuing determination to
position the FMLN amidst the ranks of moderate socialist
parties such as the PSOE. In so doing, he hopes to draw the
Salvadoran voters' attention away from the hard-left history
of the party, and to tamp down public apprehension over the
presence of former guerrilla stalwarts such as Salvador
Sanchez Ceren within the upper ranks of the FMLN leadership
cadre. Given his fourteen point lead over ARENA presidential
candidate Rodrigo Avila, we expect Funes to continue these
efforts. End comment.
GLAZER