OntheWilderSide

(See celebration video at read more…)

(excerpt from) Reuters
El Salvador ex-rebels win power through ballot box
By Catherine Bremer / Mon Mar 16, 2009

* Ex-guerrillas finally win power
* Ruling conservatives ousted after 20 years
* Economic crisis weighs

SAN SALVADOR, March 16 (Reuters) – El Salvador’s former Marxist guerrillas, who fought one of the bitterest conflicts of the Cold War, finally won power through the ballot box after a tight election victory over their right-wing civil war foes. After years as a peaceful opposition party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, cashed in on fatigue over the ruling party’s 20 years in office and fears of the world economic crisis to narrowly take Sunday’s presidential election. FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes, a former TV journalist, beat ARENA’s Rodrigo Avila by nearly 3 percentage points, scotching the notion that the ex-rebels were unelectable due to their violent past and El Salvador’s pro-U.S. history.
Jorge Renderos was a musician from El Salvador who came to America (and Long Island, New York) to live. Jorge was part of the spirit of FMLN, though he did not live to see this recent victory. He played this song for the life celebration of a peace and justice colleague who passed away two years ago. And, now, we can dedicate it back to him on this momentous ocassion. -KW

Video of Jorge Renderos, musician from El Salvador, singing in Spanish. In the video, Jorge starts speaking about 55 seconds in.

Filed under: election, elections, international politics, News, politics, progressive politics, US Politics Tagged: | Arena, El Salvador, elections, FMNL, Mauricio Funes, Rodrigo Avila, San Salvador, spanish, Spanish Language, The Left