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